Florence Dittmar might not have known, but her boss sure did.

“I knew in my heart she was going to win,” says Catherine Hayhoe, owner of the local homecare establishment A Friend in Need.

Hayhoe nominated Dittmar for Personal Support Worker of the Year, an award offered for the first time ever by the Personal Support Network of Ontario (PSNO). “After I had been given the notice, I nominated Flo because I felt she met the criteria they were looking for.”

Hayhoe indicated that Dittmar has worked for A Friend in Need health care services since July 21, 2004. During this time, she has demonstrated superior leadership skills and advance knowledge gained from her 38-year career in long term and home care.

“Florence is a champion when it comes to advocating for the rights of her clients as well as her colleagues,” said Hayhoe. “She approaches all situations in a professional manner to ensure best outcomes for all parties involved. Florence displays a solid clinical judgment, coupled with an inherent emotional intelligence, which enables her to understand the diverse and continuously changing needs of our clients.”

She went on to say that Dittmar also possesses an immense ability to develop trusting, therapeutic relationships with all the individuals with whom she works. One of the fundamental reasons Hayhoe nominated Dittmar was her desire to mentor younger staff. She said over the course of her career, Dittmar has gained invaluable knowledge and her willingness to transfer that knowledge to those who will have long careers after she retires is priceless.

“Mentoring and knowledge transfer is one of the most influential aspects of developing and refining the fundamental skill and judgment required to become an excellent care provider regardless of your designation,” said Hayhoe. “Being a nurse, I personally know how valuable senior team members are in the process of transferring knowledge. I have been privileged to work with such individuals and I am grateful for all I have learned and the positive influence it has had in my practice. I am pleased that this concept is accepted and practised by all members of our team whether they are personal support workers or registered nurses.”

Hayhoe tried to keep the nomination hush-hush so Dittmar would be surprised upon finding out that she had been nominated.

“Before we went down to the Personal Support Network of Ontario’s conference, we know Flo was one of the three finalists. Initially, I kind of tricked her, but she found out about the nomination when they called her and told her she was a finalist. (When she was announced the award recipient) we (staff) were all together and it was lovely. I wasn’t surprised, but she certainly was.”

Dittmar said “it was a very emotional moment” when she as announced the award recipient.

“It’s an honour to be chosen,” she said. “On the day of the conference, when they were going to announce the winners, they said the first two names called would be the runners-up. So, when I find out I won I was almost in tears. I’ve worked long and hard and I haven’t done it for the recognition. I love my job.”

Prior to Dittmar working at A Friend in Need, she worked at Muskoka Seniors, Stevenson Support in Port Sydney and at Fairvern Nursing Home for 10 years.

When asked what has been driving her to continue on in the field of health care, Dittmar said it’s because she’s always felt inclined to help people.

“It’s about wanting to be there when they need me,” she said. “ I am what I am. I’ve always enjoyed doing what I do, otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it.”

According to Lori Payne, director of the Personal Support Network of Ontario, Dittmar is the first personal support worker to receive the award, as it was only introduced this year. Payne indicated that the PSNO strives to assist workers to do the best that they can while on the job by providing training, education and networking opportunities.

“There is nowhere to get support, which is a challenge for personal support workers,” she said. “We wanted to create awareness of what they do because their role is so important, and they receive very little recognition. One way we thought we would be effective is to create a Personal Support Worker of the Year award.”

With close to 100 submissions for nominations, Payne said it was difficult to make the final selection; however, Hayhoe’s application “was so amazing” and the detail of her passion “so outstanding” it helped make the final decision a little easier.