Gretta Lynn Ell Wins CAH Award for Innovation in Health Care Delivery

Before our February 17^th  Annual Distinguished Lecture, which was attended by approximately 225 people, we were thrilled to present the 2016 University of Regina Centre on Aging & Health (CAH) Award for Innovation in Health Care Delivery to Gretta Lynn Ell of the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR).

The award recognizes Regina-based individuals, groups, or organizations offering health care to older adults. The winner has introduced an innovative approach to service provision or has conducted field research to evaluate services or programs for older persons.

We received many outstanding nominations but our adjudication committee, which consisted exclusively of seniors from Regina, selected Gretta Lynn Ell, Executive Director Continuing Care, Programming & Utilization for RQHR, for developing many programs related to long-term care and other areas that benefit seniors over her more than forty-five years working in health care.

According to her nominators, Gretta Lynn is a leader and innovator in long-term care with an impressive ability to provide “the right service, at the right time, in the right format, and in the right place” and has done plenty to allow clients to remain at home (or in the least intrusive alternate living arrangement). “She believes that extended lengths of stay in hospital awaiting placement are to be avoided whenever possible. This philosophy has led to the development of several innovative programs that have had a significant positive impact on the lives of thousands of people.”

Some of the programs she has helped develop include, but are not limited to, the Convalescent Care and Orthopedic Convalescent Care, the Quick Response Unit, the Alternate Level of Care Unit, the Hammond Assessment and Stabilization Unit and Mental Health Long-Term Care Program, Specialized Dementia Care, and the Acquired Brain Injury Unit. These are in addition to traditional programs such as respite care, dementia care, adult day support, and palliative care.

While accepting the award, Gretta Lynn said “I’m not usually a person of few words, but when I heard about the award I was absolutely speechless.” She then took time to mention her colleagues at RQHR and that it is because she works with such a stellar group that she able to “stand here with this great honour and be completely humbled.” She also said that she and her team in Regina “look forward to continuing to make improvements” to the lives of older adults.

The CAH congratulates Gretta Lynn for her dedication to health care delivery. We would also like to acknowledge our magnificent adjudication committee— Ms. Linda Anderson, Dr. Joan Roy, and Ms. Marj Thiessen—for helping select our worthy winner.

For more information, or to nominate an individual or organization for next year’s award, please visit http://www2.uregina.ca/cah/ or contact Scott J. Wilson, CAH Administrator, at scott.j.wilson@uregina.ca or (306) 337-8477.