RNAO Lois Fairley Nursing Award honours retired nurses who stepped up during pandemic

The 15th Annual R.N.A.O. Lois Fairley Nursing Award is being given to retired nurses in Windsor-Essex who came back to the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Source: John Fairley)

The 15th Annual R.N.A.O. Lois Fairley Nursing Award is being given to retired nurses in Windsor-Essex who came back to the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Each year, the community is asked to nominate a nurse in 500 words or less why someone should be chosen to be honoured with this award.

This year’s award is “highlighting those nurses throughout Windsor and Essex County who left their retired lifestyles and came back to serve in various capacities in our community during the past year of COVID. (Hospitals, vaccination clinics, volunteer services),” said a news release.

In the past two years, the recipients of this award were "All Nurses in Windsor and Essex County" for their outstanding care and extra effort demonstrated during COVID.

The annual award recipient is selected by members of the Fairley family and the Windsor-Essex chapter of the RNAO from nominations received from the public.

The award is named for Lois Fairley, a graduate of Windsor's Grace Hospital nursing program in 1955, who spent her career caring for patients at Grace Hospital as a nurse and head nurse. After Lois passed away in 2007, and the RNAO instituted this award for Windsor-Essex in 2008.