Judy Henry
May 2021
Judy
Henry
,
RN
Medical Short Stay Unit
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto
,
Ontario
Canada

 

 

 

Judy is constantly striving to ensure that patients receive the best care possible and that we as an organization are putting our best foot forward.
Judy Henry is the epitome of nursing leadership in this organization. With more than 30 years’ experience at Sick Kids, Judy has worked tirelessly to create an environment of compassion, respect, and expert patient care on 4C, while seamlessly encouraging fellow staff's professional development. She leads by example, while firmly and diplomatically redirecting any behavior that doesn't model these ideals.

As CSN on 4C, Judy not only performs her "basic" charge duties, but goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that staff feel supported, and patients are comfortable. Judy is an invaluable member of the 4C leadership team by supporting our very busy admin staff, providing appointment booking guidance by reviewing each and every bed request for appropriateness of the patient's care needs, evaluating each day's nursing resources, patient ratios, ensuring PPE is available, etc., while always being available to help a fellow nurse out (she's an expert with IV insertions!).

Judy promotes and enhances the image of nursing within the organization by being a key factor in our pharmacy process (with whom we work very closely), maintaining relationships with our multiple referring teams, and supporting the implementation of new programs on the unit (ie. endocrine testing, Brineura administration, sclerotherapy post-op care, lidocaine infusions, our sedation program, etc). If you've been around long enough at Sick Kids, you've likely sat in a meeting with Judy! She is constantly striving to ensure that patients receive the best care possible and that we as an organization are putting our best foot forward. She sees room for improvement and then acts in order to close the gap.

Judy stays informed and up to date with her practice, and somehow always knows what the "new policy" on ____ is. She supports skill acquisition through training of new nurses, and students, and always provides expert nursing knowledge for the types of care we provide on 4C. Judy models excellent family-centered care through her thorough knowledge of each patient's wants and needs in regards to their favorite bed placement, dates of preference while befriending patients and parents alike. Judy is one of the first smiling faces the families see when they enter the unit and are always greeted with a warm greeting, making them feel like one of the family.

Judy is motherly, warm, and professional, which makes her a family favorite around here! Judy is the kind of leader that will come to help a nurse out, but instead of taking over and doing it her way, she'll support that nurse in becoming an even better practitioner and doing it themselves. She is always cheering us on, always making us laugh with her dry sense of humor or puns, and is fiercely protective of our staff (often at her own personal expense--she'll skip her break in a heartbeat to help someone else get theirs). You'll often find Judy at her desk well beyond her hours of duty while she works at making the next day as seamless as possible. She takes new staff in under her wing and makes them feel like one of the team while staying relatable and friendly with the rest of us. Her calm presence, kind heart, joyful laugh, and excellent public relations skills are the cornerstone of the success of our unit. All in all, Judy is the picture of nursing leadership within Sick Kids.