Kudos to Kelly Kovach

Each year, only one recognition called the Elizabeth MacLeod Award is given to a speech-language pathologist who has demonstrated excellence in speech-language pathology.

This year, the award was given to Kelly Kovach, a speech language therapist on the 3B Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) team  at VCH’s Three Bridges Community Health Centre in downtown Vancouver.`

“Kelly is one of the most outstanding clinicians that I have ever worked with,” says Lizzy Ambler, who works with Kelly at the centre. “She really brings positivity, passion and a quest for excellence in everything she does.”

Lizzy says that a lot of that positivity is directed towards students, the up-and-coming speech language pathologists.

“The 3B SLP team, Kelly and Natasha Ogryzlo, have always seen the value in promoting student opportunities within their practice,” she says. “It takes a very special clinician to understand the importance of making the time for preceptorship students. And the time spent today to develop an aspiring student will pay off ten-fold in the future.”

What others have said about Kelly

• “She is always willing to support her team. She brings honesty and positivity to the workplace. She has definitely gone above and beyond with the coordination and implementation of team acknowledgement. She is also always willing to be flexible and creative with off-site teaching/education/ facilitation with community partners after hours.”

• “I think Kelly often goes above the call of duty, supporting families with concerns that go beyond Speech issues. She is often advocating on their behalf for other services that would be beneficial for them or encouraging them to access these resources themselves.”

• “Kelly always volunteers to do extra things, I have enjoyed working with her on the ECE evening presentations and I always learn new things from her talks.”

• “She’s contacted the ministry in situations where she felt the child or mother was at risk. Never hesitates to contact a family for support.”

• “Kelly is always very thorough and seeks out information from all sources to get a better picture of her clients in all settings.”