Many health service providers, community groups and individuals work hard to improve access and equity to French language health services. The Réseau’s recognition awards are a way of thanking our partners for their contribution.
Individuals and providers from Northern Ontario, including staff and Board members of the Réseau can submit a nomination for the Recognition Awards.
This award is given to a health service provider who makes considerable efforts to improve access and equity to French language health services.
This award is given to a community organization or educational institution that collaborates with the Réseau to improve the well-being of the Francophone community in Northern Ontario.
This new award recognizes the efforts and commitment of a community volunteer group or individual who has contributed to the vitality of the Francophone community.
Recognition Award: Health Service Provider
For 35 years, the Centre de santé communautaire du Grand Sudbury has been guided by a clear vision: ‘A healthy Francophone community’. Through its concrete actions, leadership and deeply human approach, this organization embodies the values of equity, diversity and inclusion in everything it does.
But their impact goes far beyond traditional clinical care, as they have a direct effect on the determinants of health.
Thanks to a dedicated team, a committed board of directors and the support of their volunteers, they are breaking down linguistic and social barriers to provide accessible and inclusive programs. They are, without a doubt, a cornerstone of the Francophone community.
Thank you for your tireless and inspiring commitment!
Recognition Award : Partnership
Since its creation, the Cochrane District Ontario Health Team has placed language equity at the heart of its structures and practices. Among its most notable achievements is the introduction of mandatory training on active offer for all staff, with 100% of the team now having received this training.
The Cochrane District OHT also plays a remarkable mobilizing role across its region by spearheading the Winning Strategies for Serving Francophone Clients initiative. Thanks to this commitment, 25 partner organizations have followed suit and taken concrete steps to positively transform the experience of Francophone patients. To guide this long-term vision, the OHT has also established a Francophone Advisory Committee.
This commitment is reflected on a daily basis in their communications, ensuring that French is actively and consistently featured on their website, in their emails and on their social media platforms.
Thank you for your commitment to healthcare in French!
Recognition Award : Volunteer
The Réseau pays tribute to two exceptional women. Their paths share a common cause: improving the quality of life for our elderly residents in long-term care. Both residents of Sturgeon Falls, their history at Au Château long-term care home spans more than two decades.
This commitment stems from a deeply personal and family experience. Rachel cared for her mother for 27 years. Jovette, for her part, looked after her mother-in-law for ten years, and has now been caring for her brother-in-law for thirteen years.
This experience has given them a unique insight into the realities of long-term care. For over twelve years, Jovette has brilliantly chaired the home’s Family Council, whilst Rachel has served as its secretary for more than a decade. Together, they form a duo that brings people together, guided by attentive listening and openness, with a shared goal: to improve the quality of life for residents. They ensure that the concerns and needs of families, particularly those of francophones, are heard and taken into account.
Finally, their leadership extends across the province. Since 2020, they have been actively involved in the Réseau francophone des Conseils de familles Ontario, sharing their experiences and contributing to discussions on the realities faced by Francophone carers and the importance of strengthening the provision of long-term care in French.
Congratulations on this much-deserved award!
Recognition Award : Volunteer
The Réseau honours Jean-Pierre Bergevin, a pillar of the French-speaking community in the North, for his outstanding commitment. A professor at the Université de Hearst for over 50 years, he has taught generations of students and helped establish the Centre Labelle Centre and the Postgraduate Diploma in Psychotherapy, ensuring a new generation of French-speaking mental health professionals.
His commitment extends beyond the academic world. He has played a key role in setting up several mental health and addiction services, as well as working with young people through various community and cultural projects.
Altruistic and dedicated, Jean-Pierre continues to support his community with passion.
Congratulations on this well-deserved award!
Recognition Award : Partnership
The Réseau is presenting its recognition award to Dr Nicole Ranger, Dr Meghan Cusack and Dr Mélanie Patrie for their outstanding commitment to healthcare in French in the North.
Thanks to their leadership, clinical simulations and terminology workshops are now offered in French — a first! They have also played a key role in making the Active Offer training mandatory at NOSM University—Université de l’EMNO, whilst working to establish a francophone pathway in medicine.
Thank you for your meaningful and inspiring contribution!
Recognition Award: Health Service Provider
North Centennial Manor, a long-term care home in Kapuskasing designated under the French Language Services Act, has reached significant milestones this year by initiating its application for full designation.
The team stands out for its best practices, such as proactive shift scheduling to ensure a Francophone presence on every shift and financial support to encourage staff to take French as a second language courses.
Thanks to these numerous initiatives and its strong ties with the community, the Manor is recognized as a home of choice for Francophones.
When we speak of Anne, we cannot overlook the role she has played in her work with health service providers in the Northeast. Anne has dedicated her career to improving access to services in French. She worked as a French Services Coordinator at the NE LHIN, semi-retired and then worked as a Planning and Community Engagement Officer at the Réseau. While at the Réseau, Anne was instrumental in the development of Active Offer training. Despite Anne’s retirement, her dedication to French-language services continues to be felt in her community. Anne was a founding board member of the Centre de santé communautaire de Nipissing-Ouest, and has served and continues to serve on several boards to ensure a Francophone lense. Anne has earned the respect of her peers, providers and many community groups. A respect that lives on today thanks to her perseverance in ensuring that French-language services are always at the forefront.
Congratulations!
PHARA is an organization that provides services that promote independence and housing opportunities for people with disabilities, as well as housing opportunities for low and moderate income people in the North Bay area.
The organization has had great success in improving French-language services since the arrival of it’s Executive Director Mike Van der Vlist. He has managed to make many changes in a short period of time for PHARA to meet the requirements of their designation. A large majority of employees have completed the Active Offer training. A highlight came in 2021, when Mike arranged for a front-end loader to remove a huge engraved stone at the entrance with English only lettering and erect a new bilingual sign. Mike’s comment at the time: “Unless someone brings another front-end loader to turn it, the English only is forever gone. Mike and his team have a great deal of respect for the clients they serve, which is reflected in their everyday actions.
Congratulations!
Nicole Beaudry is a retired nurse and volunteers her time to a multitude of organizations where she acts as an advocate for the Francophonie. She has given her time to the Family Council of Au Château long-term care home, FARFO, the Université du troisième âge de Sudbury, the Club d’âge d’or de la Vallée de la région du Grand-Sudbury, the Initiative francophone des communautés ontariennes francophones facilitant la recherche équitable (IF-COFFRE), the North East Family Councils Network, and the Réseau francophone des Conseils de familles Ontario (RFCFO). Nicole’s involvement and leadership within the Réseau francophone des conseils des familles de l’Ontario enabled them to obtain a grant to hire a consultant to support its growth and activities, which aim to help Francophone family caregivers access support, share knowledge and make new connections, all in French.
As a caregiver for 6 years, Nicole has given tremendous support to the cause of French-language health services for long-term care residents and their caregivers. Now post-caregiving, Nicole hopes to continue volunteering with French-speaking organizations.
Congratulations!
For several years now, there has been a growing shortage of certified mental health workers. In addition, the incidence of mental health problems is on the rise and the resources available to help people suffering from these problems are limited.
Faced with this reality, in 2021-2022 the Université de Hearst developed and implemented the Graduate Diploma in Psychotherapy, a post-graduate university program based on the competency profile of the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario.
Following changes to the Psychotherapy Act, 2007, membership in an authorized college such as the College of Psychotherapists is now required to practise as a psychotherapist. The graduate diploma in psychotherapy was recognized in July 2021 by the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Thanks to this program, the Université de Hearst is making a major contribution to improving the delivery of mental health services in French in Northern Ontario.
Congratulations!
The Services de santé de Chapleau Health Services is an integrated health care provider encompassing a hospital, a long-term care home, a mental health and addictions program, an apartment complex for seniors, home and community support services, a medical centre in Chapleau and a nursing station in Foleyet.
Designated under the French Language Services Act, the visibility of their French-language services is evident. On their logo, a plant with three leaves reflects the three main cultures: English, French and First Nations. The stem of the logo depicts the letters “H” and “S” for the words “health” and “santé”. At the long-term care home, activities reflect the Francophone culture in its celebrations of Francophone days, music and French-Canadian recipes.
The francophone lens is applied by both the General Manager, who sits on several Northern Region planning tables, and her management staff as part of their planning work.
Congratulations!
Mathilde is a Franco-Ontarian woman who is very involved in the health care field in the Nipissing region. She saw her greatest wish come true in 2017 with the announcement of the construction of a hospice for the residents of the Nipissing and East Parry Sound region. In 2020 the Nipissing Serenity Hospice was born. The journey has been challenging on all levels, including the application for designation as a hospice. Although she has encountered strong resistance regarding the designation of the hospice, Mathilde continues to advocate for the importance of offering services in French. She will continue to work for the designation of the hospice because she believes in the importance of equitable service for Francophones in the region.
Congratulations!
NOSM University’s commitment to the Francophonie is ongoing and is reflected in the work being done on an equity and inclusion strategy. Over the past ten years, the University has made great strides in building a culture of equity and inclusion that aims to ensure the training of future physicians who are able to practice in Northern Ontario communities. Active offer is also an integral part of the University’s culture. The University recognizes that this is just the beginning and wishes to continue to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to Francophones and Northern communities.
Congratulations!
The Porcupine Health Unit has shown exemplary leadership during the pandemic. From the beginning of the pandemic, the Health Unit made sure to deliver its communications and publications in French. 73 members of their staff participated in the presentation on the importance of active offer and other staff have access to the recording of this presentation at any time and as of April 1st, 2022, this presentation is mandatory and part of the orientation for all new staff. Congratulations!
Through the use of social media, the AFRL was able to raise awareness about their organization and share information on their activities, not only in Red Lake but also in the North West. They have created a strong partnership with the community and the Francophone population. Congratulations to the members of the Association francophone de Red Lake for their engagement towards the Francophonie.
The ability of Centr’Elles to adapt during the pandemic, their collaboration with their partners and their continuous efforts to assist Francophone women and the most vulnerable had a positive impact on the Francophone community of Thunder Bay and the North-West. Congratulations to Rose Viel, Executive Director and her team. They were able to adapt quickly to the pandemic to reach Francophones.
Récipiendaire du Prix de reconnaissance communautaire, Pierre Bélanger est un enseignant à la retraite membre fondateur du Centre de santé communautaire francophone de Timmins. Il a travaillé d’arrache-pied pendant plus de 30 ans afin que la communauté de Timmins obtienne le Centre de santé communautaire. Il a fait et continue de faire une différence dans la communauté francophone de la région de Timmins en constatant les besoins et défis en santé en français.
Jessica was the President of the Board of Directors of the Centre francophone de Sault-Ste-Marie from September 2017 to September 2020. She is recognized in the community by her hard work to promote the well-being and culture of Francophones and Francophiles in the region. Jessica is a young special education technician and teacher at École publique Écho-des-Rapides. She is also studying full time to obtain her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Jessica demonstrates real teamwork and initiative on matters related to the advancement of health of Francophones. Her openness has resulted in a solid partnership between the Centre Francophone and the Réseau.
Le prix de reconnaissance communautaire a été est remis à Madame Monique Lapalme, membre de la communauté de Sudbury. Madame Lapalme a œuvré pendant plusieurs années auprès de la communauté francophone. Elle est une personne très respectée auprès des organismes et des communautés francophones, ainsi que des fournisseurs des services de santé dans le Nord-Est. Elle n’a jamais cessé de croire dans un accès équitable aux services de santé en français et a continué tout au long de sa carrière d’innover afin d’encourager les fournisseurs à bien desservir leur clientèle francophone.
Le prix de reconnaissance pour un fournisseur a été remis à La Maison McCulloch qui travaille sans arrêt à perfectionner l’offre et la qualité de ses services en français. La culture organisationnelle y est parfaitement bilingue, ce qui témoigne de leur engagement à la satisfaction de leur clientèle et des familles.
