Heather Dunlop-Witt RN
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton

Since the start of the pandemic, Heather Dunlop-Witt has risen to the occasion of supporting the health and well-being of patients, her colleagues, and the community by taking on a number of diverse roles, including helping to shape COVID-19 recovery at a local vaccine clinic.

Heather is a well-respected nurse educator in St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton’s Mental Health and Addiction Services program who is consistently relied upon for her expertise and commitment to high-quality patient care.

Over the course of the pandemic, Heather has demonstrated dynamic leadership along with the ability to adapt to the evolving needs, and challenges, the pandemic has posed for the healthcare system.

In response to the pandemic, Heather has worked diligently to educate her co-workers in new and changing policies and procedures introduced to keep them, and their patients, safe during COVID-19.

Early in the pandemic, she also helped with mask fit testing to ensure her colleagues were equipped with the right personal protective equipment to support their safety.

Heather’s positive outlook makes her a regular sounding board for co-workers. With her eyes always smiling behind her mask, her colleagues feel at ease to talk to her about the pressures of the pandemic, how they are coping, and strategies to bolster their resiliency.

During the second wave of the pandemic, Heather raised her hand to support congregate settings in crisis and in need of staff to care for residents. She was among a number of St. Joe’s staff who worked at a care home during a COVID-19 outbreak, where she helped assess residents, administered their medications, and provided frontline care.

Recently, Heather played a valuable role contributing to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and its delivery into the arms of people in our community. A departure from her regular nursing duties, she worked alongside pharmacy colleagues at a Hamilton, Ont., vaccine clinic to rapidly assemble and prepare vaccine injections to deliver to the community.

All the while, through her affiliation with McMaster University’s nursing program, Heather continues to play an instrumental role in supporting the future of the nursing profession through tutoring nursing students as they begin their careers in health care.

With her experience as an acute mental health nurse, Heather has the skills, strength and courage to respond to crises with empathy, compassion, active listening, and meaningful action. During the pandemic, she demonstrated these attributes a number of times by stepping up to take on the roles asked of her, while delivering upon St. Joe’s mission, vision and values.

Thank you Heather for your unwavering commitment and contributions to St. Joe’s, and the broader community, as we continue to work together to fight COVID-19.