Patrick Clifford is one of this year’s recipients of the Dr. David Hill Memorial Award.
Health
January 29, 2008 03:28 PM
beingwell magazine Winter 2008
By: Leslie Plant
Call it poetic justice or proof positive that what goes around comes around.
Early in Patrick Clifford’s career at Southlake Regional Health Centre, he paused during many a late evening spent working in his office on the second floor of the north building to chat with the only other occupant, Dr. David Hill, passing by on his way to the anesthesiologists’ sleep room down the hall.
Patrick says what struck him then about those conversations was the anesthesiologist’s gentle manner, his warmth, caring and laid-back approach. Fast forward 20 years and it’s many of those same qualities for which Mr. Clifford has been recognized as one of this year’s recipients of the Dr. David Hill Memorial Award.
“I didn’t know him clinically, didn’t work with him in that kind of way, but I knew him
socially. The conversations were rarely about work, they were about life, they were about
people, they were about the arts and they were interesting, they were often humorous and they were always uplifting,” he says.
The award was established by Dr. Stanley Woo and his wife, Helen, in 2004 to honour Dr. Hill’s memory and 31-year legacy of health care excellence. The award is presented annually to Southlake health-care professionals such as Mr. Clifford who demonstrate the same qualities.
Mr. Clifford says back in 1986, when he was first hired as a social worker right out of Wilfrid Laurier University, he had no intention of making a career at what was then York County Hospital. Interviewed for the job — ironically in the same north building where he would eventually make his office — what he remembers most clearly is the “outrageous plaid furniture right out of the ‘70s, green and orange check” and a sense that two years was as much time as he was willing to invest there.
“And this story is typical of Southlake,” he continues. “It wasn’t Dr. Hill who kept me here over 20 years, but it’s people like him. It’s that kind of quality — of Southlake, of the people that we have here. It really is an amazing organization to work in, in terms of the dedication, the loyalty and the work ethic of the folks that are here.”
Self-effacing words from Patrick Clifford, who has been recognized by his peers for leadership and excellence in his job and also for his commitment to Southlake’s vision and values.
“Pat is a dedicated member of the Southlake team who seeks solutions not problems.” says Ieva Fraser, Southlake’ manager, chronic diseases program and medicine clinics and another
colleague, Sandra Mierdel, a physical therapist in the arthritis program.
“He is able to address difficult issues, identify challenges and work forward toward a solution. Pat works in this manner because he really does care and ‘give a damn’ and wants to make Southlake a hospital that always achieves shockingly excellent care.”
That commitment permeates Mr. Clifford’s dual responsibilities of ensuring clinical health-care staff at Southlake operate within the highest quality standards and practice guidelines and also monitoring patient research to ensure adherence to Ontario and Canadian guidelines in his role as manager of professional practice and research ethics. “Part of my role is to make sure we practise safely within the rules, but that we push the limits, and we do as much as we possibly can for our patients and for our families.”
He obviously does that well.
He always puts patient care first and lives the values of patient-centred care on a daily basis, his colleagues say. He is able to look at issues from a patient perspective, often acting as an advocate for the patient and a champion to improve care.
What drives him to strike a delicate balance between staying within those clearly defined parameters while striving to deliver the best and most advanced patient care possible is a unique personal perspective.
“I’ve lived with some health difficulties a good part of my life — rheumatoid arthritis — so I have that patient perspective I carry around with me a good part of the time. I very much believe in our value of putting patients first and I think Southlake works very, very hard to do that.”
Peers would say Mr. Clifford works very, very hard to do likewise and has helped create a culture at Southlake where individual staff members feel comfortable incorporating the latest treatment protocols and doing research on new medications or devices — an often scary prospect as it is so highly regulated and monitored.
“I love the challenge of supporting our staff to practise in the most advanced way they can, finding ways to marry that with the rules and regulations. And I like the diversity of supporting new practice initiatives and ways of doing things in this organization,” he says.
“It’s a tremendously exciting place to work and it’s going to become more exciting as we continue to identify the needs of the population we serve and as we continue to push ourselves and each other to meet those needs.”