Horizon employees step up to help co-worker be with family when she needed it most

Thanks to some generous coworkers, a Horizon registered nurse (RN) was able to spend time with her family when she needed it most.

Tosin Abioye has been working at Horizon’s Saint John Regional Hospital for six months. In December, her family had a medical emergency.

Thanks to a generous donation from her coworkers in the Palliative Care Unit, Tosin was able to take some time off and spend it with her family during this critical time. The team collectively donated 150 hours of vacation time so Tosin could be with her family.

Catherine Driscoll, an internationally educated nurse (IEN) mentor at Horizon, works closely with IENs as they begin settling into their new roles. Hearing about Tosin’s story brought her to tears.

“One of our nurse mentor coordinators in the Saint John area checked in with Tosin after hearing about her son’s accident,” said Catherine.

The accumulation of vacation and sick leave for new employees is based on their collective agreement. Vacation leave is earned in the current year to be used in the next year.

“It brought tears to my eyes. I was in awe of how many hours were donated because they are such a small unit. The generosity and compassion this group of nurses has shown to a co-worker who has only been working alongside them for a few months is incredible. I can only imagine the impact this kindness has had on Tosin as a newcomer to New Brunswick. Being away from home and the support of family and friends only adds to an already stressful ordeal. Seeing her co-workers rally around her and offer this kind of support is truly heart-warming.”

Tosin can’t thank her coworkers enough for all they’ve done to help her.

“I want to say a very big thank you to the nurses. They are amazing. They are genuinely kind and sweet,” said Tosin.

“When they heard about what happened, they told me they would support me any way they could. But I wasn’t expecting this.”