Celebrating our COVID All-Stars: Dr. Paul Colella, Dr. Gavin Jones, and the ER Team

Each member of our medical community has pulled together at this challenging time.  We’re delighted to share some inspiring stories of leadership, professionalism, and collegiality, as we introduce you to our peer-nominated COVID All-Stars.

When teamwork is at the core of a group working together, magic happens.

The Emergency Departments at Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals have seen real changes since the beginning of the pandemic, with significant physical and process re-engineering to keep physicians, staff, and patients safe, and to provide thoughtful and appropriate care.  Leading this work have been Drs. Paul Colella and Gavin Jones, Medical Leads for the VGH and RJH EDs respectively.

As shared by Dr. Fred Voon and Dr. Chris Morrow, “These two physicians spearheaded process from a very early stage when there was a void of direction and knowledge, adapting daily to changes globally. Using best-information from other Emergency Departments around the world, they innovated and organized actionable plans for staff safety and patient care, developed dirty/clean zones, and created new capacity for managing sick patients requiring isolation. Their strong leadership involved significant physical changes to the ED and patient flow, constant communication with nursing, doctors, facility staff, and administration. Both went above and beyond in terms of time and effort, essentially being in-hospital all day in addition to their regular clinical work evenings and weekends. They did this from the outset without much guidance, without being asked or told to, and without expectation or consideration of compensation. They are both dedicated and extremely hard-working and we are all fortunate to have had them guiding the local response.”

While incredibly honoured to be nominated, Paul and Gavin were quick to point out the amazing support they have had from each colleague, ED staff member, and administrative champion, noting “both Alison Koropatniski (ER Manager) and Rebecca Kirkwood (CNE) were nothing short of incredible in this process.”  They noted that trust, support, and teamwork were at the heart of the success of the Emergency Department changes.

So to Dr. Colella, Dr. Jones, and everyone who is part of the ED Teams at RJH and VGH:  Thank you, so much, for making magic happen every day.