12/12/2025
DECH Employees of the Year Announced
Paul Canny, RN, and Brandis Townsend were chosen as Down East Community Hospital’s 2025 Employees of the Year! Brandis is our non-clinical Employee of the Year and Paul is our clinical Employee of the Year. Paul works in our Lifespan Department on Med/Surg and OB5 and Brandis works in Patient Financial Services.
DECH staff nominated their peers for these awards by completing a form and providing information and specific details on why they should be employee of the year. Factors considered are dependability, initiative, attitude, and teamwork. Here are excerpts from Brandis and Paul’s nomination forms:
“Paul Canny, RN consistently provides excellent care to his patients. The time he devotes to them and his attention to their needs are truly admirable. He shows a strong eagerness to learn and has become one of our most skilled OB-trained nurses. Paul has supported his coworkers countless times, willingly comes in for any shift—day or night—often with little notice. We could not ask for more in a colleague.
Over a year ago, my mother was hospitalized, and Paul was absolutely wonderful. He was caring, compassionate, and incredibly kind to her.
He also looked after my father, who stayed at her bedside, making sure he was doing okay as well. I was so impressed and grateful that he was caring for my parents. He exemplifies everything a great nurse should be—fully dedicated to patient care.”
“Brandis Townsend is an exceptional employee whose dedication, professionalism, and proactive approach make a profound impact on her department and the hospital as a whole. She continuously looks for ways to improve workflows. Her ability to recognize opportunities for improvement—and quickly develop practical solutions—has saved time, reduced errors, and strengthened our processes. Her reliability is unmatched.
Brandis is also the first to offer help when other departments are short-staffed. She willingly takes on additional responsibilities in Registration, the Café, and Patient Access without complaint, treating the organization as one cohesive team. She supports coworkers with kindness and fairness, holding people accountable while creating an environment where mistakes become opportunities for growth.
Brandis is a hardworking team player, a proactive problem-solver, and a compassionate supervisor. She has also organized many community benefit events such as donations for the giving tree, school supplies drive and the campus clean up.
The full list of nominees included Paige Preston, Chelsea Stanley, Bonnie Pineo, Crystal Richard, Monique Prescott, Robin Mollica, Susan Tinker, Sherry Murphy, Donna Barrett, Alissa Abner, Ashley Marzoll, Jody Cline, Gwenith Hatt, Dawn Woodward, Shelly Roberts, and Ber Terry.
Congratulations to both of our winners and all our nominees. Thank you for the great jobs you do every day and the special way you care for our patients and your co-workers!
