Meet VICKY TIBANDO
Switchboard and Resource Centre - TMH

What does an average day on the switchboard look like?

There's definitely always something different. You never know what call you're going to be getting and what you're going to deal with in a day. Our call volume has definitely gone up during COVID. Today I had 500 calls during my shift. 

We also do the mail distribution up here, so when some of the mailboxes get a little bit full, sometimes I'll bring the mail down to the departments. 

Do you live in the area and if so, what do you enjoy about it?

My daughter has had cancer and she's all free and clear, but we don't want to do too many things even though she's not technically immunocompromised anymore. Through Make-A-Wish she had been approved for a wish trip, but with COVID hitting that's been squashed, so she's been asked to choose something different. She's having a hard time choosing something that is as amazing as going to Disney.

My husband doesn't like to fly so wherever we go we'd need to drive. We flew to Vegas and took a bus back home because of this, so it was three days on a Greyhound bus. I have family from New Brunswick and it would be nice to go there, but everyone wants to go lay on the beach and go somewhere warm.

How long have you worked in this role?

I started when the pandemic broke out, so February will be two years. I'm still a newbie I guess. I went to school for medical office and I've always wanted to be in a hospital setting. I'm really enjoying the switchboard setting. It's not a patient-facing role, but we obviously speak with a lot of patients over the phone and I enjoy the people that I work with. That's what makes all the difference, if you like the people that you work with then you're not really working right? 

What specifically do you like about this team of people you work with?

I think we all get along pretty well. We're all relaxed and we all just work as a team. If you need a shift covered then someone will help you out, or if I have any questions, somebody is always there to answer them. We're always helping each other out. 

Interesting fact, this office is actually the old maternity ward and there's a gentleman that works in here who was actually born in this room!

Meet SHANNON REID 
RPN Endoscopy Unit - PECMH

What do you enjoy about living in the area?

I live in Belleville, but work in Picton. After work if you want to go someplace, there's always something to do. I spend a lot of time with my kids after work at their different sports and activities. I enjoy curling up with a book and having some quiet time when I can. My son plays hockey and we have kids in rugby, so I spend a lot of time on the road. 

Have you been able to do any travelling?

We haven't, but when hockey started back up we went to Niagara Falls, which was nice. Prior to COVID we would go to the States at least once a year as a family. We'd often go to Florida, Las Vegas, Cuba and a few other places. But we're not ready to travel quite yet.

How long have you worked at PECMH?

I've been here about 6 years now, and with the hospitals in QHC for almost 19. I started out in long-term care when it was still WCA back in the day. I was there for a few years, then went to Quinte 6 when it was still surgery. I did the operating room course and then I had a split job for a while between Quinte 6 and the operating room. I then went to Trenton and did minor procedures and operating room there. So I've been around here and there.

How have you handled dealing with COVID?

COVID increased the sense of teamwork because we’ve all had to pick up for other people if they had to stay home. Everybody just pulled together closer instead of getting frazzled about it, we just all pull together as a team and make it work. There are stresses of course, but they were more so when COVID was more unknown. Through education and learning things about the virus, it hasn't been as stressful. We've had a lot of good support from senior leadership and the health unit.

If you were to talk to a student or someone about why they should become a nurse, what would you say?

If you have the need and the want to help and to make a difference with people, this is where you do it to be honest. People come to you in their most vulnerable state. We see and do all sorts of things with people to help them when they are vulnerable. You build a relationship with them, they trust you and even the simple act of just holding their hand and helping them is very rewarding. At the end of the day, you just have such a good feeling. 

I love my job and can't say enough good things about it. I love working in Picton and have loved every site I've worked at. The people you work with become part of your life and your family, and you gain a lot of good friends. My best friend works in the unit with me, so you get close to people, it's really nice.

How have you enjoyed working for QHC hospitals?

It's a great job and really positive, especially in the smaller hospitals. It's a work family, everybody helps everybody out. I can't say enough good things about Picton, it's really good to come to work here and we have a great little team. It's a small department, but it's really built on teamwork. 

Nursing is the most rewarding and frustrating profession all in one. I knew from a young age I wanted to be a nurse and it was like a dream come true for me. I knew I wanted it, but I did it a little backwards. I had a child first then went to school, so that was a bit challenging, but I knew I wanted it and I chased after it. 

Are you looking forward to the new hospital?

It'll be nice to have an updated, newer environment to work in, but you know what, it's really the people that make the hospital. We have a really, really  good team, not just endoscopy, but all of our support services here. 

Meet KELLY HUGHEY
Patient Registration - NHH

What’s your favourite food? 

I like pizza, any type!

Favourite colour?

It would definitely be yellow, I get told I'm very cheery all the time. 

What do you enjoy about working at QHC North Hastings Hospital? 

I like knowing everyone here. You never know if it's going to be busy on a day, or who's going to come in. It's always the unknown that's exciting. We've had people from Ottawa, people from the States that come up here. They all have different stories to go with the reason they're here. 

Meet MATT KOORNNEEF
PT, SLP, Rec Therapy Team Lead - BGH

What does a fun weekend look like to you?

I have a wife and two young boys, so we quite often will go to different conservation areas.  We'll go out hiking and in the summers we're quite often on the Bay of Quinte. We have family members that live on the bay, so we're out on jet skis or a boat. I'm more of an outdoors guy, so I like going out on the weekends with the boys, playing some different sports and other recreational activities, and camping in the summer.

Do you like to travel?

We used to go down to the States quite a bit before COVID, and when it was the two of us we went out east and to the Dominican on our honeymoon. The farthest away I've ever been was when I was in school I did a 3 1/2 month placement in Ghana, Africa as a physio placement there.

During COVID we've explored Ontario quite a bit more and we're hoping to travel around Canada a lot more after COVID. We could literally pick vacations only in Canada for a while since there's so much to explore.

Any favourite local eateries?

We really like Tomasso's in Trenton as well as Chilangos and Burger Revolution. I'm discovering local food trucks that I never knew existed.

How have you liked working at QHC?

It's been really, really good, and speaking specifically about the therapy team, it's phenomenal. It's kind of like we're a big family. We help each other out at work, but then if people need help outside of work, there are people willing to do that as well. There's an overwhelming sense of camaraderie here, which I think is key.

I wasn't always keen on working in a hospital system, but looking at the opportunities that it gives you, having an AMP clinic, being able to work on our integrated stroke unit, being able to go to the different medical floors and see the different programming that's going on there. It's pretty impressive what QHC has to offer given the size of our area that we're dealing with. 

I went from being able to be a physio, working on the floors, and now I have the opportunity to be the physio team lead, so it opened up a whole new aspect of work. It is looking at some more of the scheduling/managerial side of things, which it’s nice to understand more of the ongoings of the corporation. It also gave me even more of an appreciation for what our team does and the effect of therapies across the corporation.

I think it's pretty clearly documented the positive impact that our therapy team has had on people, and I think it's something that I'd like to foster and move forward with. I would say at QHC, the respect and the cooperation between therapies and the doctors is fabulous. There's a lot of respect between professions here. 

The work that each individual profession does and the overlap and the collaboration is what does so well for our patients. That becomes a larger circle when you include nursing and PSW and PFC. It just gets stronger and stronger as you go out. 

How have things been during COVID?

I think overall across the organization teamwork is quite good, despite COVID making things many times more difficult. There's staffing shortages, there's equipment shortages, there are other difficulties and our response has been, how do we find creative ways to make this still work? And we are finding ways!