Celebrating long-time NH employee Adella Eliuk and her retirement

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Adella Eliuk, a cook at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital, is readying for retirement after a lifetime of working in our hospital and long-term care kitchens in Northern BC!

Adella started working for the Prince Rupert Hospital in 1967, when she was 16 years old. She worked after school every day and learned how to cook from the ladies who worked in the kitchen at that time.  Adella has said that those ladies taught her a lot and made her work hard. When the new hospital opened, she helped with the transitioning of the patients to the new hospital, and she was there when Queen Elizabeth II opened it. She worked at the new hospital until 1973, when her second child was born, pausing for a time, as there was no maternity leave in those days. 

She returned to working for the Prince Rupert Hospital when Acropolis Manor opened. Adella loved cooking for the seniors who lived in the Manor, and treated each one like they were her family.  Adella helped plan the menu for the seniors’ events and always had special treats for them. She and her children remember how the Manor staff were an extended family for them as they helped the seniors in the dining area. Adella worked in the Manor until the kitchen was closed and then transitioned to the main hospital kitchen. 

In 2009, the kitchen turned to disposables and the kitchen began to overflow with paper plates, plastic cutlery and Styrofoam cups, which all landed in the landfill. Adella helped steer the kitchen towards recycling, guiding the staff to order bins to start sorting and recycling everything that they could. Seeing that the kitchen needed to reduce waste, Adella worked with the services manager to change some of their process: the kitchen began to pour juice into glasses, put coffee in non-Styrofoam cups and use stainless steel silverware. As a result, the kitchen was able to reduce its recycling volume by half in one year.

Adella is famous for her Halloween menu at the hospital. She plans it months in advance and truly enjoys conjuring up the menu and display. She decorates and makes the kitchen a festive area for the staff and visitors to enjoy.

Adella has also been heavily involved in the Health Employees Union (HEU). She has held almost every position in the Union and has been a great resource for new and old members.

Please join us in wishing Adella Eliuk a very happy and much deserved retirement! Congratulations Adella!