Home Care Ontario Honours 122 Home Care Heroes

Awards recognize those providing outstanding home care to Ontarians.

HAMILTON, ON, April 2, 2025 /CNW/ - Home care staff go above and beyond to deliver outstanding care in every part of Ontario. They are there for us when we need them most. To honour them, Home Care Ontario has awarded 122 heroes in total – 122 nurses, personal support workers (PSWs), therapists, and many other dedicated home care professionals, with 'Home Care Hero' awards to recognize their exceptional contributions to our seniors and patients across Ontario.

"Home care professionals are the heart and hands of our healthcare system. They provide the care, compassion, and support that support our loved ones to live with dignity, in their own homes," said Sue VanderBent, CEO of Home Care Ontario. "We want to acknowledge all these deserving heroes and highlight the incredible care they provide to their patients in every corner of our province."

This year 200 nominations were received and a total of 122 certificates were awarded to home care professionals who are the unsung heroes of our health care system. Our recipients are among the tens of thousands of home care workers who provide compassionate care to patients across Ontario every day.

All award recipients were nominated by someone who witnessed their acts of everyday heroism, including patients, the family members of patients, coworkers, siblings, children, and employers.

Home Care Heroes included PSW Breanne Lacroix-Brough from Port McNicoll, who was nominated by her daughter, who shared, "My mom puts her whole heart into her job and shows me what caring for others really means."

Sherry McLinton, a Registered Nurse from Peterborough, was nominated by her co-worker, who said, "She does not simply treat patients; she uplifts them, ensuring they receive the best possible care with dignity and respect. She knows that healthcare is more than a job—it's a calling. Sherry stands as a shining example of what it means to be a Home Care Hero."

In Toronto, PSW Ziena Duca was nominated by several of her patients and their families, who remarked, "Ziena has a very special way with her clients." They gave terrific examples of how she was the only caregiver who has been able to make a client comfortable enough to brush their teeth. In another instance, Ziena bought her client an extra soft light blue towel, their favourite colour, to encourage them to have a bath with assistance, and the client now refers to Ziena as her "best friend".

The Home Care Hero winners were nominated online during March 2025 as part of Home Care Ontario's "Home Not Hallways" campaign. It calls on the Ontario government to invest $2.1 billion in a 'home first' health care approach that would deliver 16.5 million more hours of home care for patients. It would also support home care workers through increased wages and new mentorship and training opportunities to ensure Ontario has the home care professionals it needs to provide outstanding care to seniors as they age. 

"Ontarians want and deserve more home care, and our sector is ready to deliver," concluded VanderBent. "We need to seize this opportunity and fund a 'home first' approach that greatly expands the home care system to meet the increased demographic demand that we know is coming. That means supporting remarkable professionals to deliver more care where patients want it today and tomorrow- at home."

About Home Care Ontario:

Home Care Ontario is a member-based organization representing the full spectrum of home care providers in the province, including publicly-funded, not-for-profit and family-funded organizations. Our members are united by a singular mission to provide outstanding nursing care, home support services, personal care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, infusion pharmacy, social work, dietetics, speech language therapy and medical equipment and supplies to people in the comfort of their homes.

SOURCE Home Care Ontario

For interviews, please contact: Ruta O'Grady, 905-546-7899, [email protected]