PeaceHealth Mission and Values Award recipient – Khanh Trinh

Khanh Trinh, lead cook in the Food and Nutrition department at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, is described by colleagues as the heart and soul of the department. Khanh always comes to work with a positive attitude and is known for caring deeply for his coworkers as well as the hospital’s patients and customers.

Often, Khanh can be found in the North Tower Café talking to customers, explaining and sharing with them about the food he makes. The passion and excitement in his voice as he talks with them reflects the pride he takes in every dish he prepares.

Khanh is perhaps best known for his Vietnamese Pho featured every Friday in the St. Joseph Café. The Pho favorite is a Trinh family recipe Khanh has made with love for many years, warming the bellies and boosting the immunity of those who enjoy this delicious dish filled with healthy ingredients.

It isn’t just his cooking that reflects Khanh’s care for this community. When the COVID-19 vaccine became available to the public, Khanh volunteered to help register and welcome community members to the hospital’s vaccine clinic. On his own time, Khanh spread the word about the vaccine to the Vietnamese community and helped anxious families with vaccine registration. Khanh came to one Saturday vaccine clinic just to greet a Vietnamese-speaking family and make them feel at ease as he walked with them through the clinic. Khanh stayed with them through the entire process, including the 15-minute observation time after vaccination. Months later when vaccines became available for youth, Khanh once again helped get the word out about these vaccines to the local Vietnamese community.

“We are deeply grateful for caregivers like Khanh who have been at the heart of this vaccine outreach - sharing their own experience with the vaccine and instilling trust with communities that are underserved,” says Rachel Lucy, director, Community Health.

Khanh is PeaceHealth’s 2022 systemwide Mission and Values Award recipient for the Value of Social Justice. These awards recognize inspiring caregivers who are living PeaceHealth’s Mission and Values of Social Justice, Stewardship, Respect and Collaboration, every day.

Learn more about PeaceHealth’s other 2022 systemwide Mission and Values Awards honorees:

• Overall: Linda Coordes, LICSW, PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center
• Respect: Mary Ann Pahang, PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center
• Collaboration: Debbie Ulbricht, PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center, University District
• Stewardship: Tricia Wooden, MD, PeaceHealth Medical Group, Vancouver