KITE recognized Yeung for embodying the Institute's values of safety, compassion, and integrity
Research Associate Lydia Yeung has won the 2024 Unsung Hero Staff Recognition Award. The annual award recognizes individuals or groups at KITE who have assisted in nurturing a positive corporate culture and whose work helps the Institute’s research teams operate more effectively. "It is such a privilege to be recognized with this award. It serves as a validation of what I do, and hearing the excerpts from the nomination letters made it even more meaningful,” said Yeung, who is a part of the Enhancing the Care of the Older Adult team and Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems Lab. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (TRI) staff were stretched beyond their limit, Yeung volunteered to assist clinical teams. While working with these teams, she noticed that many inpatients at the hospital did not speak English and struggled to communicate with staff. This experience inspired her to develop an initiative to provide tablets with speech translation apps to non-English speaking inpatients at TRI to assist them in communicating with staff. This project ultimately won the inaugural KITE-TRI Clinical Research Partnership Competition. This competition supported clinical research projects that sought to improve patient outcomes, with the winning teams receiving up to $7,500 in funding. If the outcomes of these projects are proven to have a positive impact, they may be incorporated into TRI's approach to patient care. “I am deeply grateful for my colleagues, whose kind words meant so much to me. I am truly humbled by their support and honoured to be part of such inspiring and collaborative teams," said Yeung. | Nominees for the 2024 Unsung Hero Staff Recognition Award: Thomas Walden
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