A big congratulations to Upali Mallawarchchy and Nicole Barna who took out two separate awards at the Institute of Hospitality in Healthcare (IHHC) Victorian Branch awards this month. Both are now in the running for an Australia-wide award with IHHC at their National Conference in November.
Upali Mallawarchchy was awarded the ‘Values in action – Customer Service Award’ for leading by example to create a positive workplace culture that enables and supports people to lead and deliver excellent patient-centred care and high-quality services.
Upali is a Menu Monitor who works at the Jessie McPherson Private Hospital.
“Upali Mallawarchychy is a valuable member of our menu monitoring team,” says Sharon McNulty, Director of Support Services. “Upali goes above and beyond to create a positive experience for his patients each and every day. He has an amazing ability to build rapport with his patients and understands the importance that good nutrition and hydration plays in recovery.”
Nicole Barna was nominated for the ‘IHHC Brightest Star Award’ but her nomination was upgraded by IHHC to the ‘Overall Project of the Year Award’. The award is given for driving ideas into action through innovative approaches and service improvement.
“Nicole is a dedicated dietitian,” says Sharon McNulty. “She’s committed to having a positive impact on the lives of her patients each and every day.”
In late 2020, Nicole became the Dietetics lead in the implementation of our electronic menu management project (Delegate). Nicole, who had never led a project before, exceeded all expectations in the role. She was always available to support the team while implementing the project across nine additional sites.
Nicole worked very closely with clinicians, Food Services, Digital Health, the Electronic Medical Record team, our Central Production Kitchen and the vendor to ensure the project was delivered on time and on budget. Nicole was inspirational in her role and without her we could not have delivered a successful project.
Congratulations Upali and Nicole for your outstanding work, and good luck at the National Conference in November!
Approved by Sharony McNulty, Director, Support Services