Registered Nurse Tiffanie Desjardins Recognized
Inaugural Brittney Peters Excellence in Advocacy Award
In honour and celebration of the life of Registered Nurse (RN) Brittney Peters, the North Bay Regional Health Centre (NBRHC) along with Peters’ family, friends and colleagues, have created a new nursing award known as the Brittney Peters Excellence in Advocacy Award.
Peters was a well-respected nurse in the Critical Care Unit at NBRHC for many years. Known for her strong advocacy for both patients and colleagues, Peters built a reputation founded on tenacity and profound passion. To her colleagues she was more than a staff member; she was the first call for patients, families, and the wider community when a situation demanded the fierce, skilled, and compassionate intervention she was known for.
Devastatingly, in May of 2025 Peters passed away after fighting a courageous two-year battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. As a testament to the lasting impact she had on everyone fortunate enough to have crossed her path, those that love her have established a new award to recognize the unwavering advocacy that defined her entire career at NBRHC. The Brittney Peters Excellence in Advocacy Award will recognize an individual who most closely mirrors Peters’ daily impact.
Peters’ colleague Ben Carriere says this award is one way to keep her spirit present in the work she cared so much about. “Advocacy was an important part of who she was, and recognizing others who carry that forward ensures her voice continues to be felt by patients and families across our community.”
The first ever recipient of the award is Tiffanie Desjardins, an RN in CCU. Described as the ‘embodiment of what the Brittney Peters Excellence in Advocacy Award represents’, Desjardins is highly respected by her peers for her clinical expertise, critical thinking, depth of knowledge, and is widely regarded as one of the most skilled nurses within the organization. Her impact extends beyond individual patient care; she elevates the standard of practice for those around her.
Her nominators describe her as a natural leader, who leads by example every day. “She approaches her patients with genuine empathy, ensuring they feel heard, respected, and supported. Tiffanie is not afraid to engage in difficult conversations, whether advocating on behalf of her patients or communicating directly with them and their families to ensure care decisions align with what is truly best for them. Her advocacy is thoughtful, persistent, and always patient-centered.”
Along with this special recognition, recipients receive a bursary for professional development and a buffalo pin to wear with pride. The buffalo, a majestic, powerful and resilient animal, was chosen for its strategic instincts when encountering a storm. Instead of fleeing or trying to evade the storm, it charges directly into it. Heading directly into the storm reduces the amount of time they spend within it, facing the challenge head-on, navigating with determination and efficiency. This powerful metaphor shows how a proactive approach to difficulties, confronting issues directly can help us move through them more quickly and with greater ease.
In early 2027, Peters’ family, friends and colleagues will be hosting a fundraiser to fund this award and to seed an endowment fund. Tammy Morison, NBRHC Foundation President and CEO explains an endowment fund is established through significant donations that are invested to earn annual interest or income. “A portion of the income is reinvested to grow the fund and a portion granted to the Health Centre to provide ongoing resources, in perpetuity, to a care area important to you,” Morison says.
