CTU nurse wins 2026 Lois Fairley Nursing Award

Spenser Dionne is the 2026 recipient of the Lois Fairley Nursing Award, May 11, 2026. (Rob Hindi/AM800)

The 2026 recipient of the Lois Fairley Nursing Award has been announced.

Spenser Dionne, a nurse in the clinical teaching unit (CTU) at the Ouellette Campus of Windsor Regional Hospital, is this year’s recipient.

She has been a nurse for four years and was nominated by Ryan Peebles.

Dionne cared for Peebles’ mother, who was admitted to the hospital following a severe stroke.

In the nomination, Peebles wrote, “Spenser provided more than just medical monitoring; she provided a sense of home and went far beyond the boundaries of a standard shift, bringing in flowers and pictures.”

Peebles went out to say, “Dionne’s dedication was so profound that she frequently used her personal days off to come into the hospital to ensure his mother’s care remained consistent, and even after his mother’s transition to a nursing home, Dionne continued to check in on her, demonstrating a level of community-minded advocacy that is rare and deeply moving.”

Dionne says it’s an incredible honour to win the award.

“I am so honoured and so grateful; it’s such a privilege and it’s a true honour to provide care, to be with somebody during their lowest points, as well as to help build them up so they can get to the best parts of their life,” says Dionne. “So I’m very honoured.”

She says she’s ‘kind of new to the nursing career’ and is excited for the future.

“I go to work and I do a good job because that’s how my parents raised me,” she says. “I’m not trying to do anything crazy; it’s just something that I would want done for my loved ones and I hope that it comes back around.”

Dionne says she tries to do little things to help patients and their families.

“Those little things that I do, that I don’t even realize that I’m doing, are really big things for other people and so, I’m just going to continue to do me and nurse how I nurse because obviously it’s making big impacts,” says Dionne.

It’s the 19th time the award has been handed out.

The award recognizes a local nurse who has demonstrated a commitment to serving the community through excellence in delivering nursing care.

It’s handed out annually during nurses week in May by the Fairley family and the Windsor-Essex chapter of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO).