McKin Health Trailblazer Award
McKin Health is a proud sponsor of the McKin Health Trailblazer Award.
About the Award
The McKin Health Trailblazer Award was incepted in honour of the career contributions made by trailblazer, Gail Hawke, who made a profoundly positive impact on NSWOCs and helped shape the specialized care of wound, ostomy and continence patients. Gail's legacy exemplifies the values of compassion, innovation, and excellence; all of which defines the essence of the NSWOC profession.
Selection Process
The recipient of this financial award is selected based upon specific criteria including:
- Recipient must be a recent graduate of the Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC) Wound Ostomy Continence Education Program (WOC-EP)
- Recipient must demonstrates leadership in wound, ostomy and continence nursing.
(This award is administered by the NSWOCC in cooperation with an awards advisory committee).
Our 2026 Trailblazer Award Winner!
Our heartfelt congratulations go to Nathalie Godin, recipient of the 2026 McKin Health Trailblazer Award! Thank you, Nathalie, for your deep commitment, contributions and impact you have made in the lives of ostomy patients.
Nathalie is an active member of the Canadian Ostomy Association, specifically working closely with the Moncton chapter. Despite being located in Canada's only officially bilingual province of New Brunswick, Nathalie noticed that the participants and communications were exclusively English. Over the past year, Nathalie has worked to help to facilitate a bilingual transformation in the Moncton chapter's communications and events hosting. This included the monthly newsletters which were only available in English prior to Nathalie's efforts.
As a result of Nathalie's contributions, the chapter has seen an increase in French-speaking and bilingual participants.
In addition to this, Nathalie is an active advocate of improving ostomy care and awareness. This includes:
- Working alongside local advocacy groups to lobby the provincial government for more financial coverage for ostomy supplies
- Participating in community events like "Step Up For Ostomy"
- Participating in radio interviews on CBC/Radio-Canada to raise awareness on the challenges of living with an ostomy.
Nathalie's passion for building connections with patients and their loved ones through genuine compassion and care does not go unnoticed by those who have had the pleasure to work with her.
As we applaud Nathalie’s exceptional achievements, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all NSWOCs for all your work to drive positive change and innovation within the Canadian healthcare space.
McKin Health will continue to advocate for innovation, compassion, and collaboration in the pursuit of optimal patient care. McKin Health looks forward to celebrating future trailblazers for years to come.