“I’m convinced that there is no health center director who is more deserving of this honor than Barb Fluty,” said Jeff Landry, associate vice president for student affairs. “Under Barb’s leadership, she opened a new state-of-the-art facility, added the services that the center provides our students, expanded the staff to meet the demand of our students, and, perhaps most importantly, led the campus through the COVID-19 pandemic with expertise, care and concern for our community.”
Fluty joined the College in 2011 as a provider in the health center before taking over as department director in 2016. “I continue to be humbled by my co-workers. They are amazing," said Fluty. And I will work hard to live up to the legacy set by Dr Vincent Lamparella.”
“Barb’s commitment to the Hamilton community is demonstrated daily through her unwavering focus on students’ health and wellness and in her steady leadership of the team of professionals who work alongside her in the Health Center,” added Dean of Students Chris Card. “Barb cares deeply about our students and our community, and understands fully that for our students to be good scholars, they have to be healthy scholars.”
Nurse practitioner Jeffrey Bailey, who nominated Fluty for the award, provided excerpts of statements from health center staff to support the nomination, including:
“She weighs the impact and outcomes of her decisions based on things she has learned from the past and how she can improve those outcomes for the future. … Her leadership is steadfast.”
“At the height of the pandemic, she was on call far beyond office hours and hadn’t had a weekend uninterrupted in more than six months. She was also in the process of filling numerous open positions in the clinic and helping to train and orient new staff as needed when these spots were filled.”
“Throughout it all, Barb had four children at home. While she never showed the strain outwardly, we knew that she was missing countless appointments, games, and other activities due to work life, working tirelessly to keep the members of our community safe.”
Bailey cited the wisdom of Mr. Rogers, who taught us to “look for the helpers,” adding, “Barb Fluty was our helper in the bleakest hours of the pandemic. She was a helper not just to our students, but for our campus and her entire community. That is why this award is so significant and so well deserved. Barb is a hero.”
