Local healthcare workers recognized for their passion and dedication

Melchora Gillis was recently named a ‘Home Care Hero,’ an accolade she says she doesn’t deserve.

“I’m just doing my job,” said the 60-year-old personal support worker (PSW) who works for Stay at Home Nursing.

Gillis, a Fort Erie resident, was one of six people from Niagara to be given this recognition recently by Home Care Ontario, an association representing home care providers in the province.

Nominated for the award by co-workers, Gillis told Fort Erie Radio in an interview that she loves what she does and the people she cares for, sometimes working 12-hour days to find time to visit her eight clients in Fort Erie multiple times a day.

For the people she supports, being able to stay at home and not have to move to a long-term care facility is important to them.

“They get to be with their family, and home is where they want to be,” she said.

Gillis said she was destined to be a PSW, starting out as a volunteer in the Greater Toronto Area, before moving to Fort Erie about five years ago.

“I love what I’m doing,” she said, adding that she loves meeting new people and assisting those who are unable to help themselves.

“I just want to be there to help them,” she said.

With a shortage of people in her line of work being felt across the province, Gillis said the government needs to step up in a couple of ways; playing a role in wages being increased, but also mentorship and training opportunities for new PSWs.

She said one way the shortage affects her is that she often has quick visits with her clients.

“Just saying goodbye and hello to them is just not fair,” she said.

Gillis said all PSWs deserve praise.

“My hat goes off to every one of them,” she said.

Gillis isn’t the only healthcare worker to be recognized recently.

Niagara Health recently featured Kristaline Corpuz, an internationally-trained nurse (IEN) who works at the Douglas Memorial urgent care centre.

As part of diversity month, Niagara Health told Corpuz’s story about her career in nursing that has taken her from the Philippines to Saudi Arabia, and eventually Fort Erie.

“As an IEN, Corpuz found support and acceptance at Niagara Health, an organization that values diversity, equity and inclusion, and actively works to foster belonging,” reads the news release about her on Niagara Health’s website.

She took part in Building Bridges, an orientation program at Niagara Health designed to help internationally educated nurses navigate the Canadian healthcare system.

“Through mentorship, peer support and tailored training, the initiative equipped her with the tools and confidence she needed to thrive,” said Niagara Health.

“It helped me so much,” said Corpuz.

The Building Bridges program focuses on helping IENs transition to acute care and integrate into the Niagara Health workforce.

So far, 200 IENs have participated in the initiative.

Corpuz passed her Registered Practical Nurse exam and began working at Niagara Health in 2023. After years of persistence and hard work, she achieved her goal of becoming a Registered Nurse in 2024.

Despite her many achievements, she’s faced moments of discrimination. She recalled one experience when a patient expressed discomfort with her diverse background. But rather than becoming discouraged, she chooses to respond with grace, according to Niagara Health’s feature about her.

“I smile and say I’m here to help, and I continue to provide the best care I can,” she shared.

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