Pulse Legacy Archive December 2011 | Page 32

GIVING TOWARDS HEALTH (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28) Social Cause: Nursing Excellence Giving towards health need not solely mean supporting a particular health issue. In the case of Fayez Spa located in Ontario, Canada, its philanthropy work is foc used on nursing excellence. In May this year, the spa launched its Nursing Excellence Award wherein recipients recognized for their outstanding medical care received framed certificates of Nursing Excellence and a $2,500 Fayez Spa gift card. The inspiration to launch a Nursing Excellence Award came after Fayez Spa owner, Fayez Tamba, received exceptional care from one particular nurse while recovering from a surgery at London Health Sciences Centre, Victoria Hospital in Canada. Anxious leading to the surgery, Tamba says the post-surgical care he received exceeded his expectations, and the nurse assigned to his recovery epitomized kindness, gentleness, and attentiveness. “In short, her care was exemplary, and on the way home, I became determined to demonstrate my "Sometimes, one must do the right thing for his community, and because of the exemplary care of my nurse, creating an award [that can be used as a forum to enourage more poeple to show their appreciation for the entire nursing profession] was simply a no-brainer." appreciation by giving her a spa day [which, I was told, was not possible because nurses are not allowed to receive gifts from patients],” he says, adding that his efforts to look for ways to reward exceptional nurses eventually led to a partnership with the Nursing Week Gala conveners to honor rarely recognized and generally under-valued nurses through the Nursing Excellence Award. To help promote this initiative, Fayez Spa added a nominations page on their spa Web site, encouraged nominations through Fayez Spa E-news, created an online Nursing Excellence Award icon and prominently featured it on the spa’s home page as well as posted the nominations criteria on their Web site. “We also did radio and newspaper advertising to invite deserving nominations as well as issued a news release that resulted in radio and TV interviews and newspaper editorials. Since the gala, ongoing 30 PULSE ■ December 2011