Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) is celebrating the dedication and contributions of its long-serving employees, physicians and volunteers at its annual long service recognition celebration on Oct. 29.
This year, nearly 145 people were honoured at the event for reaching milestones ranging from 25 to 45 years of service.
The annual event offers staff the opportunity to reflect on the impact they have had on patient care and the Kingston community.
For Connell 3 charge nurse John Loyst, 25 years at KHSC comes down to one thing: the people.
“The people you work with and for are everything in nursing,” he said. “From top to bottom, people generally want to help other people to do a good job, whatever that job is.”
Loyst has taken on roles across the organization, but spent most of his career in critical care, including 13 years with the Rapid Assessment of the Critically Ill Elderly team. After spending four years working in North Carolina early in his career, he returned to Kingston, where he says he knew he wanted to stay.
That sense of connection is shared by Margaret Bollen, who is marking 45 years at KHSC. Her career has spanned the evolution of medical imaging, with roles in X-ray, CT, cardiac catheterization, interventional radiology and quality control. Today, she works as an X-ray radiation safety specialist.
For Bollen, the opportunity to keep learning has been a defining part of her experience.
“I love to learn and I loved the advances that were being developed in equipment and I actually loved change,” she said.
Even when opportunities arose elsewhere, Bollen said she never felt the need to leave.
“I never had the thought of moving elsewhere even though I was offered positions at other institutions,” she said.
For Maria Rizzo, 25 years at KHSC have provided opportunities to grow while finding new ways to support patients and staff. After spending 20 years in Health Information Services, Rizzo moved through several roles before finding her current home as a unit clerk in the Children’s Outpatient Centre (COPC).
“I have enjoyed working different positions and in different areas for the hospital and learning and expanding myself at KHSC,” she said.
Her current role has brought together her passion for helping others and her love of working with children.
“I really love working as Unit Clerk in this pediatric setting because I love kids. It makes me happy,” Rizzo said.
While their careers have taken different paths, Loyst, Bollen and Rizzo each point to something beyond the jobs themselves that has kept them at KHSC - the people, opportunities and sense of purpose that come with being part of the organization.
The annual recognition event is an opportunity to celebrate those contributions and recognize the people who have dedicated an important part of their careers to KHSC and Kingston community.
