Exceptional dedication to patient care earns the Manning Nursing Team a Rhapsody Award
Channel: RhPAP
Date: 2021-01-30

Congratulations to the Manning Community Health Centre Nursing Team - a recipient of the 2020 RhPAP Rhapsody Health-care Heroes Award.

“They are very deserving of this award,” said Oneikah Richards, care manager at Manning Community Health Centre. Richards was ecstatic when she learned her nursing team had been selected. “They’ve always gone the extra mile. They are very reliable and dependable.

“And here, we are like a family, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”
The dedicated and close-knit nursing team in Manning is a roughly 50-50 mix of nurses who grew up in the local area and those who came from afar.

Oneikah Richards, a registered nurse, grew up in the Caribbean, and practised nursing there and in the United States for 15 years before coming north. She originally planned to nurse in Manning for just six months.

Two years later, she is still there with no plans to leave.

“I even bought a house,” said Richards, care manager at the Manning Community Health Centre. “I stayed because when I came to Manning initially, it was very refreshing how the people were. It was the sense of community that appealed to me most.”

Aarni Kumon, a licensed practical nurse, came to Manning from Vancouver. Like Richards, she originally planned to stay for only a short time.

“I only came here for a year, and I thought I would [get] some experience and go away,” said Kumon. “Now, I’ve been here for seven years.”

Originally from Saskatchewan, Shannon Rowein has been practising in Manning for four years.

“It’s awesome. I actually really like it,” said Rowein, a licensed practical nurse. “We’re quite lucky, because we do team nursing here, so you get a feel for everything. You get a little bit of long-term care, a little bit of acute care, and then emergency as well.”

Chris Graw, a registered nurse, grew up in the Manning area. She left to work in emergency in Grande Prairie for six years, but the lifestyle and work experience in Manning drew her back.

 “I feel more satisfaction working here in a smaller community. You feel more part of a closer-knit team. You know your patients personally.”

 Bodil Schoendorfer, registered nurse and clinic coordinator, also grew up in the Manning area. She was no stranger to the Manning Community Health Centre growing up.

“I guess I was always a hospital brat,” said Schoendorfer. “My mom is a nurse here, so I would come and visit her on her meal [breaks] when I was a kid anyways.”

Schoendorfer left Manning to pursue a nursing degree and returned right after graduation to work alongside her mom.

“Patients would definitely tell you that’s she’s number one, and she’s their favourite nurse, Nurse Nancy.”

Nurse Nancy has practised in Manning since 2000.

“You do see people [through] the years, and they are very happy to be looked after by a nurse who has been there for them before,” said Nancy Andersen, a registered nurse, who recently retired, but still works on a casual basis.

Cliff Atkinson sure appreciates her care over the years.

Heart issues have led this retired boilermaker and pipefitter to be a regular visitor to the Manning Community Health Centre

“They’ve done a good job since 2005 until now to keep me vertical and with a heartbeat,” said Atkinson with a grin.

“All of us [on the nursing team] treat every patient like they are our family members,” said Rowein. “We want to see the best for them. We give them the best care we can.”

According to Richards, the dedication and passion of the nurses in Manning surpasses any other nursing team with which she has ever worked.

“Sometimes, they go so much beyond what is expected of them,” said Richards. “I’ve had nurses who [are] on vacation and, because they know we are short staffed, call me up and say ‘Oneikah, I know we are on short staff. I’m on vacation, but I’m in town, so, if you need me, I’m willing to come in.’ Not many nurses would do that.”