By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Thanks for long service were a prominent feature of the June Northumberland Hills Hospital board meeting, starting with Chair Beth Selby’s remarks.
Selby’s gratitude was extended to member of the senior leadership team, board and committee members for their contributions, but she singled out two retiring long-serving board members. Starr Olsen joined the board in 2015, and Pam Went tackled the extraordinary challenge of serving as chair during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also noted that Don Morrison – a former chair who served during the time when NHH was being constructed (“on time and on budget,” as he so often reported) – had been honoured on a wider scale by receiving the Town of Cobourg’s Outstanding Senior Award at their April Civic Awards ceremony.
Now in her second term as chair, Selby – a board member for 10 years and a committee member prior to that – recalled how she had been recruited by former board chair John Farrell at a Rotary Club meeting.
NHH President and Chief Executive Officer Susan Walsh reported on their May 29 Long Service Awards that had been given out May 29.
“This is one of the largest Long Service Awards we have had,” Walsh said of the annual ceremony.
“We had to find a bigger location because we didn’t have enough space.”
Another important thing about this year’s ceremony is that it took place during NHH’s 20th-anniversary year. And because individuals were celebrated for milestones marking 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 45 years of service, Walsh pointed out, many of them have been with NHH since its doors opened on DePalma Drive.
Her report said that 94 individuals were recognized (staff and physicians) representing a remarkable 1,745 years of service celebrated.
