We are pleased and proud to share that two of our staff members and two of our
volunteers accepted prestigious awards at the recent Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) annual
conference in Toronto. Three of the award recipients were recognized for 2022 successes, and one
was recognized for a 2021 achievement due to the pandemic preempting last year’s in-person event.
About our Award Winners
Maria Empringham, our Director of Clinical Services, accepted The Joan Lesmond HPCO
Scholarship, an award honoring the memory of a nurse, educator, mentor, and life-long learner. This
award reflects Maria’s excellence in supporting our team; as a former palliative nurse at the bedside,
her guidance as a leader is influenced by her wealth of experience. Maria also demonstrates a
personal commitment to continuous learning and mentorship, and places great importance on
promoting excellence in our care through growth and education. Maria is passionate about the
specialized care our palliative team delivers, and she prioritizes and enables a wide variety of learning
opportunities for our team to help evolve both their individual practice and our service to residents and
families.
Jackie Young, our PSW Lead at Innisfree House, accepted The Life and Death Matters Personal
Support Worker Hospice Palliative Care Scholarship. This award acknowledges the invaluable
contribution Personal Support Workers provide in supporting excellent care for the dying and their
families, and for helping to move the work of quality hospice palliative care forward. Every day, Jackie
demonstrates her strong passion for palliative care in the direct service she provides to residents and
their families, and the continuous learning she both engages in and promotes with our team. She
excels as an educator, care provider, and mentor, and she supports our hospice well outside her role
by working on committees, participating in fundraising events, and raising awareness about our work in
the community.
Ray Robbins (2021) and Marj Goodyear (2022) were both inducted into the June Callwood Circle of
Outstanding Volunteers that acknowledges and thanks outstanding volunteers throughout Ontario. Our
volunteers are incredibly special people who are vital to the efficient operation of our hospice Houses.
Ray is an invaluable resource for us, sharing his time and many talents doing all manner of handywork
inside and outside our Houses to keep things running smoothly. Marj is a warm welcome and a
friendly, familiar face at Lisaard House, helping family and other visitors feel right at home when they
arrive.
“I am so proud of all of our award recipients,” says Andrea Binkle, Executive Director, “We know what
a great team of staff and volunteers we have helping us Make Moments Matter at Lisaard & Innisfree
Hospice, and it’s wonderful to see that it’s recognized in front of their peers in the wider Ontario
hospice care community as well.”
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