It is with mixed feelings that we share the news of Catherine Morrison’s retirement. We celebrate with her this new chapter of her life but know that she will be dearly missed at the Alberta Children's Hospital (ACH) and in the Patient and Family Centred
Care (PFCC) world.
Catherine has been a long time champion of PFCC. Her roots lie in her first social work role in healthcare at the Stollery NICU where she learned to pay attention to the lived experience of patients and became an advocate for PFCC. She carried this experience
to Calgary where she worked as a front line worker at Foothills Hospital and a regional manager before moving to the ACH where she has been the manager of the Family and Community Resource Centre and most recently a Patient Care Manager with wide responsibilities
including the FCRC, the Child Development Centre, Outreach, Therapeutic Arts, and Patient and Family Centre Care.
It would be difficult to list all of Catherine’s accomplishments as a PFCC leader and champion not alone the many other ways she has impacted healthcare. Catherine says that “the greatest sense of pride I have is the eye I brought to clients and the people
I worked with”. Her PFCC contributions at ACH include the creation of the Child and Youth Advisory Council (CAYAC), the engagement of patients and families in the building of ACH, PFCC evaluation, and an engagement framework for the site. To everything she
has been a part of, Catherine has brought enthusiasm, wisdom, vision, and collaboration.
In more recent years, Catherine’s journey has evolved to a broader focus on patient experience as a driver for all work in healthcare – whether it be in PFCC, quality and safety, leadership, or staff engagement. She leaves with us the reminder that across
the site we will provide the best healthcare be paying attention at all times to patient experience.
Catherine tell us that she feels privileged to have had a career for which she has been passionate and leaves with some reluctance. It is with reluctance too that we say good-bye to Catherine and wish her much joy on her next journey!
