WELLINGTON COUNTY – Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team nurse practitioner Chantelle Koeslag will be this year’s recipient of the Neil Dunsmore Power of One Award, which recognizes suicide prevention work.
“I was kind of shocked, and then I felt humbled and grateful,” said Koeslag of her reaction to learning she had been chosen to receive the annual award.
The Power of One Award was created as part of the county’s Here4Hope initiative, which aims to engage as many individuals and organizations as possible in the work of preventing suicide.
Koeslag said she didn’t know anything about the award before she was nominated.
The honour is only a few years old. It is named for Neil Dunsmore, who in the fall of 2020 walked 500 kilometres from Elora to Ottawa to support the Cody Sheppard Project and to spread the message that people must not stay silent about mental illness and suicide.
The announcement of the winner coincides with World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10.
Past recipients include Lynn Brandwood, who organized multiple charity events to support the Grove Youth Wellness Hub in Fergus; the Centre Wellington Minor Lacrosse Association, which took steps to keep members connected during pandemic lockdowns; and Myrna Hutchinson, known for starting #GetInTouchForHutch, a project aimed at encouraging young people to seek help for mental health challenges.
But when the call for 2024 nominations went out earlier this year, Here4Hope project lead Cecilia Marie Roberts made a point of saying she was hoping to hear about individuals who may have done something seemingly small but that made a big difference to someone.
“Everybody can make a difference for somebody,” Roberts said.
Koeslag must have made a significant difference for at least one of her patients, as that’s who nominated her for the award.
The anonymous individual had ongoing struggles with mental health and suicidal ideation, and Koeslag provided this client with not only excellent physical care but also went above and beyond to support the individual’s mental health, a news release stated.
“Chantelle has clearly demonstrated the ‘power of one’ to make an incredible difference,” the release said.
Her patient and nominator is quoted in the release, saying “she didn’t try to fix it, distract me or steamroll me with the bright side.
“She didn’t rush me out or send me away. She simply sat on the floor with me and listened.
“She was the first person to truly make me feel safe in the world and that I was a valuable and worthy person.
“Chantelle saw the light in me that I was not able to see for myself and she never gave up on me until she was able to show me the light.”
“Chantelle clearly demonstrates how as a health care professional she was able to not just provide medical care but also to provide emotional care,” Roberts stated in the release.
“Chantelle took the time to listen without judgment, to support with compassion and, most important, hold the hope for her patient until she could hold it for herself.”
For Koeslag, knowing a patient nominated her for the award is truly meaningful, particularly because it seems to show something about that patient’s improved state of mind.
“The fact that the patient is in a place where they could nominate me definitely means something,” Koeslag said.
“That means more to me than any award ever could.”
Koeslag, who works out of an office in Clifford, said she has a roster of 750 patients for whom she acts as primary care provider.
In her role, it is not uncommon for her to see people who are dealing with mental health challenges.
“Probably 20 to 30 per cent of my appointments that I would see in a given month would be related to mental health,” Koeslag said.
There are many people who struggle with mental health challenges and suicidal ideation, she said.
In addition, she noted there is frequent overlap between physical illness and mental health challenges, with one sometimes seeming to lead to the other and vice versa.
The job “can be really difficult because you don’t always know if you’re making a difference,” she said.
If nothing else, the Power of One award may provide some sense of affirmation.
“It’s a nice feeling to know that I’ve helped somebody,” Koeslag said.
She will receive the award at the Wellington County council meeting on Sept. 26.
