awards

Ann Choo – Healthcare Humanity Awards

25 April 2017

Ann Choo, Brahm Centre’s Head of Community Care Programmes, was awarded the prestigious “Healthcare Humanity Award with Honourable Mention” at an award ceremony presided by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Minister of Health Mr Gan Kim Yong later also handed her the award medal personally at The Westin Singapore.

Ann has had a long and illustrious career in healthcare starting as a physiotherapist, then in human resource and finally running a hospice before retiring. As a retiree, she volunteered as a befriender when Brahm Centre first started reaching out to the elderly in the community. Before long, Ann was roped in to head community care where she plays a supervisory and advisory role to the care coordinators, volunteers and physiotherapists in the department.

Aside from training, Ann is also very much a hands-on doer who actively goes out to the field to visit and befriend her elderly clients. On her tiny frame, Ann can be seen carrying around a heavy backpack, travelling island-wide and making visits to 2-3 clients in their homes daily.

Her extraordinary dedication and tireless attitude make her an inspiration and role model not only to the younger staff members, healthcare partners and volunteer befrienders she works with, but also clients and their families. Already in her 70s, Ann never sees herself “too old” to service.

Ann adds: “Everyone can make a difference. They must be willing to help, reach out and get the clients to do things to improve their well-being, instilling the ‘you-can-do-it’ attitude and giving them hope.”