BC Care Providers Association
and EngAge BC are pleased to announce our nominees for the Care Provider of the Year Award in Assisted Living who demonstrate a commitment to quality, compassion, and excellence in delivering care to residents. Our Events and Recognition committee were impressed by the stories and examples nominators provided that displayed our nominees’ efforts in initiatives and projects that enhanced care practices, organizational performance, or resident quality outcomes.
Meet our nominees:
Carly Kershaw who is an Assisted Living Worker at Golden Life Management in Joseph Creek Village located in Interior Health. Carly is described as instrumental in organizing resident care in her team, she also ensures the needs of her team and residents are met all with a friendly and helpful demeanor.
She makes bath days special for residents and they look forward to spending time with Carly. She plays an active role in her union and advocates for measures that improve the quality of life for residents and the quality of the work environment for staff.
Courtney Merrells is the General Manager of Parkside Community in Interior Health. Courtney has faced staff shortages, evacuations due to the summer wildfires, and a COVID outbreak this past challenging year. She stepped up to rally her team and community to keep her residents safe and comforted.
She spearheaded a campaign in her community and with the local volunteer fire department to collect TVs and comfort items for evacuees that were quickly moved into her site. She did not forget the support of the local volunteer fire department and lead a fundraiser this fall raising over $1000 for them.
Lisa Bysterveld is the Licensed Practical Nurse Team Leader of Elim Village’s The Emerald. Not only is Lisa a leader of an LPN team in a 109 units Assisted Living building, but she is also a teacher and mentor to her team.
She is involved in many initiatives and projects within Elim Village such as maintaining their Falls Prevention strategies, improving skills testing for medication https://bccare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/medcare-img22.jpgistration, and ensuring the highest standards of infection prevention and control. During Lisa’s participation in the Health and Safety Committee and the Collective Agreement Negotiating Committee, Lisa advocated for a safe work environment and improved compensation and benefits. She is also a recipient of Elim’s Umbrella Award, which is a peer-to-peer recognition program to celebrates employee’s professionalism and kindness.
Michelle Bragg is a Site Leader at Park Place Seniors Living in Fraser Health. Michelle exhibited exceptional leadership during the pandemic and her ability to stay organized and clear minded while guiding residents, family and staff is deeply appreciated and respected in her community.
She maintained weekly Zoom meeting with families and residents to keep the lines of communication open. One family member wrote a letter to Dr. Bonnie Henry to acknowledge Michelle’s efforts and described her as firm, kind, strong and incredibly empathetic and going above and beyond.
Stay tuned for announcements of other nominees for other categories and awards. Award winners in each category will be announced in January 2022.
The Care Provider of the Year | Assisted Living Award is proudly sponsored by CareRX.
CareRx is Canada’s leading provider of specialty pharmacy services to seniors. They serve approximately 92,000 residents in over 1,500 seniors’ and other communities (long-term care homes, retirement homes, assisted living facilities, and group homes).
At the core of their business is the care they have for the individuals and teams they serve and work with. They put care into every aspect of what they do.
