SUNDRE – The Myron Thompson Health Centre’s site manager, who was recently named a recipient of the RhPAP 2025 Rhapsody Awards for excellence in rural health care, goes above and beyond her regular job description, a local physician said.
The Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) announced earlier in May this year’s recipients of the Rhapsody Awards, which honour individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to rural health-care delivery in the province.
One of them was Chantal Crawford, who was presented the Rhapsody Healthcare Hero Award.
Crawford, who brought to her administrative position at the Sundre hospital a background as a registered nurse and nurse educator, goes “above and beyond” in everything that she endeavours to do, said Dr. Jonathan Somerville, who is on the team of doctors with Greenwood Family Physicians and also works at the hospital.
“We’re not surprised,” Somerville told the Albertan when reached for comment about the announcement.
“Everyone in Sundre, I think, is pretty impressed overall with the dedication that Chantal has to making the hospital run and volunteering time far beyond what’s required of a facility site manager.”
Her position as the facility’s site manager alone is a demanding role that she serves well in no short part due to her experience as a nurse and educator, he said.
“That’s really played into her ability to assess what the staff need at the hospital and lead by example,” he said.
“I think that is inspirational for people that work at the hospital and keeps the morale high.”
But Crawford goes much farther than settling for the baseline expectations of her job description, he said.
“Beyond that, she does a lot of work with the Sundre hospital’s retention committee – the SHPARC,” he said, referring to the Sundre Health Professional Attraction and Retention Committee.
“That that involves a lot of volunteer time and after-hours work,” he said.
Citing a few examples, Somerville mentioned the recent University of Calgary Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship orientation that was hosted in Sundre, bringing out nearly 30 students and their preceptors.
“That’s far above and beyond the role of a facility manager,” he said
“It speaks really to her dedication to keeping the community alive from a health-care perspective.”
Crawford also embodies a can-do attitude, he said.
“That I think exemplifies her work ethic,” he said.
“It’s easy in some cases to hide behind administrative barriers,” he added.
“But if something needs to be done and it’s important for patient care, then Chantal will make it happen.”
Somerville said he could attest to that from a personal perspective courtesy of Crawford’s hand in helping him to establish a local ketamine clinic that has been “hugely beneficial to the community.
“There’s no way that that could have gone forward without the support of Chantal from an administrator’s perspective, and kind of advocating to get the nursing support, the nursing hours that we needed to make the clinic successful.”
Crawford has also “been instrumental” in delivering a number of educational and training opportunities in town such as the recent ultrasound guided IV course.
“All these things show that her dedication to health-care is really for the sustainability of health-care in the community, keeping the morale high amongst health-care workers, and leading by example.”
Also named a recipient of the 2025 Rhapsody Awards was Dr. Cecile Lavoie, a doctor who serves the community of Bonnyville.
Lavoie was presented with the Rhapsody Physician Award for her advocacy in supporting patient-centred care and playing a pivotal role in mentoring medical students and residents.
Although Lavoie retired from her hospital responsibilities last fall, she continues to practise at the local Well Women’s clinic.
Celebrations recognizing their achievements included a $1,250 donation made on their behalf to a local organization of their choice.
RhPAP is an organization committed to enhancing health care in rural Alberta. Through various programs and initiatives, RhPAP supports the attraction and retention of health-care professionals in rural communities.
