Red carpet rolled out for Values in Action award ceremony

The red carpet was rolled out last Tuesday night to recognise some of the outstanding staff East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) gets to call its own.

For the third year running, the annual Values in Action (ViA) award ceremony saw big smiles, loud cheers and plenty of applause fill the beautifully decorated atrium at Kirkman House. EMHS Board members, including Board Chair Pia Turcinov AM, joined executives, staff and some special guests to celebrate all four quarterly winners – Mark Gajek, the Accounts Receivable team, Hassan Ali Hassan and Marie Poole – and await that drumroll moment when the overall 2023 winner was announced.

Many congratulations to nurse Marie Pool for taking home the grand prize! Marie was nominated by her Armadale Health Service (AHS) colleagues Clare Dyson and Kathleen Grey for her ongoing commitment and dedication not only to her patients but her team as well. While all the EMHS values shine out through Marie, she was named the overall winner for always demonstrating the highest levels of integrity in her work and for inspiring those around her.

Tears flowed as Marie’s name was called, with both her husband Gray and her drying their eyes before embracing in an adorable hug that melted hearts around the room.

“It’s a great honour…it is lovely,” a visibly moved Marie said.

“It’s nice for Gray to be here as well, because obviously a lot of things happen at work, which you don’t always get to share with your family.” 

Presenting Marie with the ViA trophy and winner’s certificate was Board Chair Pia Turcinov, who delivered a short yet stirring speech about EMHS and its values.

“As healthcare providers, we can only be the best at delivering care if we bring along our humanity,” Pia said.

“The East Metro values remind us of that humanity and when we see these values in living colour and action, we are inspired to be even better versions of ourselves.

“So, thank you to all our quarterly winners for the inspiration,” she finished.

Acting Chief Executive Sandra Miller also gave a heartfelt speech about the awards and why it is important that staff are recognised for their ongoing dedication and commitment not only to our health service but the values that hold it together.

“It provides an opportunity to celebrate individuals and teams, who consistently demonstrate our organisation’s values,” Sandra said.

“These are people who don’t just display the highest standards of behaviour occasionally…they exemplify our values every single day – making them the best role models or brand ambassadors we can hope to find.

“Last year, we received 70 nominations for individual staff members or teams, who epitomise our East Metro values.

“This marked quite the encouraging jump from the previous year, so a big thank you to all those who took time out to nominate their colleagues. I am confident, we will receive even more nominations this year.”

Congratulations once again to Marie and all the quarterly winners – for your exceptional work. 

You can watch some of the highlights here (external link) or on the EMHS Facebook page (external link).