'Chris is a true role model'
Mar. 2—NORWALK — Fisher-Titus has nominated Dr. Christina Canfield for the Ohio Hospital Association's Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year award.
The Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award is presented by OHA each year to one Ohio caregiver who personifies a leader, gives back to the community, reflects the missions and values of his or her organization and routinely goes beyond the call of duty.
Dr. Canfield is a family medicine physician with Fisher-Titus and has been practicing in Wakeman for nearly 30 years. Because of this experience in a small-town community, Dr. Canfield understands that the relationships she has with her patients are as valuable as the care they receive. She spends as much time as possible and shows the utmost compassion to each patient. This aligns with Fisher-Titus' mission: "Deliver compassionate and convenient care to the highest level of excellence that promotes lifelong health and wellness for our community."
Throughout her tenure at Fisher-Titus, Dr. Canfield has held many leadership positions. These include the chief of staff, chief of family practice and the chief medical officer for outpatient areas, where she currently serves. In this position, she oversees ambulatory physicians and advanced practice providers. She embodies the "Mother" role by bringing a sense of alignment and direction to those that work with her through spending time with new clinicians and being a diplomat and calming figure when tempers flare.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought along a nursing shortage that Fisher-Titus and many other healthcare organizations faced. When faced with this issue, a nurse recruitment strategy was used to bring in international nurses from the Philippines. Fisher-Titus' core welcoming team was deployed to help onboard each new nurse and their family settle into the Norwalk community, with Dr. Canfield at the center of this approach.
She has become the "adopted mom" for all the nurses and their families by helping them transition into the community around Norwalk and personally seeing to that they are taken care of with transportation, living arrangements and making them feel welcome. Dr. Canfield recently invited the families to join her family on Christmas Day for a holiday meal and a gift exchange.
In addition to being active in the community, Dr. Canfield is also active in her faith life. She serves in many leadership roles in her local church, including being an "Elder" on her church leadership board, attends weekly Bible study meetings, and serves on the outreach and mission committees, where she takes on her role as a physician on medical mission trips by providing spiritual and physical care.
"Chris (Christina) is a true role model," states a fellow parishioner of Dr. Canfield. "I have personally grown because of knowing and being her friend."
Dr. Canfield will attend OHA's annual conference in June where it will name a winner.
