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Congratulations to Alberto Gomez, a Medical Assistant at our Covington Urgent Care Clinic and one of our January 2025 Employees of the Month! See what his colleagues had to say: “Alberto always comes in with a smile on his face, greets his patients with a good morning and makes them feel welcomed. If any patient comes in distress, Alberto quickly takes initiative and gets the patient back to be seen and does everything he can in his power to get the patient care going, SBARs with the providers and in case anything else is needed he will do it. if there is a will there is a way and Alberto fills that meaning fully. If there is anything missing in our patient rooms or things need to handle quickly, he is our go to guy! His commitment to provide great patient care and follow our Valley motto makes his effort not go unnoticed. Every patient that interacts with him comes in not feeling the best and leave with a smile and majority of the time thank him for all of his help and care.”
It's our honor to recognize Jatinder Kaur, MN RN, Nurse Manager of 3E Medicine (Med-Surg), for her continuous and contagious improvement spirit! Jatinder earned her Bronze Star in October 2023 for submitting an idea of having a wheelchair, with its own parking area, accessible on the unit vs. having to hunt for one when needed. The estimated annual step savings was a whopping 248,200! Since then, she has submitted another eight improvement ideas (all bronze worthy, with her favorite being the 3E Star of the Month). She earned Silver Stars in FY23 and FY24 for her involvement in the 3E Flow – 2 Before Noon effort, the door alarm for patient safety on 3E initiative and Unit Based Rounds. Jatinder is quick to give praise to her team for their collaboration and strong work, and considers the support and collaboration of her team one of her biggest successes and strengths. Jatinder exemplifies the characteristics of a Gold Star champion!
Congratulations to Donelle Chandler, RN, Manager of Valley's Critical Care Unit and our newest DAISY Leader awardee. Her nomination reads: "I would like to nominate Donelle Chandler for a Daisy Leader award. I think she is a perfect example of how a leader should be. She has always amazed me with her leadership qualities. Donelle is a perfect example of a best leader. She is very knowledgeable, efficient in her work, work ethics, passionate about nursing, and her compassion and caring nature toward her staff and her 30 patients is beyond excellent. Donelle would come in at 4 AM on nurse's week to set up treats (which she made) for her night shift staff and her day shift nurses. When I saw this, I was amazed at such a kind gesture. Another thing – whenever we are short RNs on the floor, Donelle came in on her day off to work the floor. I have never seen a manager do this. Others may have not, except for Donelle. She makes sure all patients are getting the most efficient and best care, in a safe environment, and her staff are never drowning. Whenever there is a code or escalating situation, Donelle always shows up to help whether it means talking to families who are upset or helping staff address the concern. Whatever type of code we are in, she is always lending a helpful hand. She always rounds on the floor and helps to address barriers in workflow. She does not forget to give kudos for daily care performed by staff.
We are thrilled to congratulate Teresita Oliveros, RN, who has been honored with the Community Service Award in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Teresita was recognized last Thursday at a special event hosted by the UW Health Sciences and UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity. This year's theme, Across the Generations: Walking Together Toward Freedom, Justice, and Democracy, reflects the values Dr. King championed. The Community Service Award recognizes individuals who: Create environments that empower individuals and communities, Demonstrate a commitment to addressing community needs, particularly among communities of color and low-income populations, Develop and implement significant programs to improve the human condition, and Show outstanding efforts to protect and empower all people. Teresita's Journey The vocation Teresita chose started at a younger age to fight for equality, independence and fairness regardless of your status, color, race in life. At a very young age she was a recipient of injustice and nepotism that left a traumatic experience when she was told that she wouldn't amount to anything in life. This experience helped her to aspire to work harder, treat everyone equally, and to achieve her goals and dreams. Teresita always does her best to help the care team with her vast knowledge and experience in healthcare. She's a team player, professional RN, patient centered, and always available to support her colleagues.
Congratulations to Kelechi "KC" Odoh, an Ergonomic Educator in our Work Conditioning department and one of our November 2024 Employees of the Month! See what his colleagues had to say: "KC was the only mobility coach and ergonomics educator for some time recently. Despite the extra workload, KC maintained a positive attitude and consistently offered support to our team whenever possible. He even picked up some extra shifts to help the hospital during this time. KC keeps our hospital safe through education and consultation of challenging mobility cases in the IP part of the hospital. His can-do, positive attitude inspires patients and helps support a collaborative environment for patient care. His day can be challenging as he is pulled in many directions, but he always maintains his calm. He is a great example of someone who puts teamwork first! Thanks for all you do, KC!" "He is supportive of his team, flexible in working with the multitude of departments and areas that look to him for help and can always be counted on for a smile and a warm hello. He is an invaluable asset to the Nursing Resources department and VMC as a whole."
Congratulations to Laura Cole, a Supportive and Palliative Care Specialist on our Palliative Care team and one of our December 2024 Employees of the Month! See what her colleagues had to say: "Ms. Cole is exceptional at connecting and supporting our families. Recently, she was contacted over a weekend during her days off about Birth Center family requiring significant support after an emergent situation. Laura arrived on her day off, without hesitation, to support this family. Laura consistently goes above and beyond to support our families during stressful situations. Laura's work continues to uphold levels of excellence. Mostly, her work and actions demonstrate the highest level of compassion with all her interactions." "Laura is a thoughtful and hardworking member of the Palliative Care team, and an asset to Valley. Laura has many strengths, but perhaps one of her strongest is making every area and team she touches feel supported—whether that's the Palliative Care team, the NICU, the Ethics Committee, or many other areas to which she lends her expertise. She cares for patients and families with respect and compassion and always puts patients first, and regularly goes the extra mile to make sure patients and families are supported."
Congratulations to Janitsa Dolan, a Health Coach Social Worker in our Value Based Initiatives department and one of our October 2024 Employees of the Month! See what her colleagues had to say: We have found that patients who enroll in our Community Connections program due to loneliness or social isolation often have barriers related to social drivers of health that have prevented them from engaging with their community, and sometimes cause challenges for independent living. Janitsa has been a fierce advocate for these patients - researching and outreaching to agencies that may be beneficial to the patients. Janitsa tirelessly coordinates with the patient, the primary care team, and outside agencies to discover services that may best equip and empower the patient to overcome their socioeconomic barriers and difficulties with activities of daily living. She is an excellent advocate and whole-person caregiver. Thankful she is on the Valley team! Janitsa is a passionate social-worker and kind soul dedicated to helping others thrive. Her mentoring and guidance have improved the lives and well-being of countless patients and community members. She is humble, curious, thoughtful and always cheerful! She is more than deserving of this recognition!
Congratulations to Lisa Lopata, a Registered Nurse in our NICU and one of our November 2024 Employees of the Month! See what her colleagues had to say: "Lisa cares for our patients like she would want her own cared for. The following nomination is just one example of how she cares for not only our tiniest patients with the highest quality of care, but also how she supports and cares for their families. Lisa is well deserving of this award!" Lisa's nomination goes on to describe a time when a baby was being discharged from the NICU, but the mother was in a panic because their baby blanket was missing; it had been crocheted by a friend and was irreplaceable, and unfortunately, it had accidentally been placed in the soiled linen and taken down to the loading dock. After checking with the lead on shift for EVS, Lisa went outside to the loading dock, in the cold, to rummage through the soiled laundry to find this blanket for this family. Her nominator says, "Lisa was sensitive and empathetic to the first-time mother and went above and beyond to get it back and make it right for her. I felt she was the ambassador for UW/Valley Medical Center. I also think the mother will have fond memories of her experience in the NICU with her first-born baby, because of Lisa."
Congratulations to Treasure Call, an Imaging Quality Assurance Educator in our Imaging Support Department and one of our October 2024 Employees of the Month! See what her colleagues had to say: "Treasure has taking on the difficult tasks of updating as well as creating policies and procedures for our imaging staff. She recently completed a new policy/procedure document for port access by outpatient imaging staff. It was a very challenging project, and she did an incredible job. She is also an incredible resource for all our questions and keeps us up to date with all our staff education requirements. We are so fortunate to have her! Treasure has increased patient safety by updating and organizing policies. She respects our input and takes a lot of time to listen to us when creating the OP port access policy. She kept open dialogue, continuing the process until all goals were met. She did so in a kind, patient, compassionate manner, even though she had so much input to sort out. Creating new policies is a daunting and difficult task. Treasure has taken on several of these tasks and each document is well organized, thoughtful, and easy to use. She has been a joy to work with in every situation." "Treasure is a true asset to our Imaging Departments. Her commitment to excellence in education and quality work have made a significant impact to our imaging staff, colleagues, and provider partners in both the hospital and outpatient departments.
National Radiologic Technology Week is November 3-9 National Radiologic Technology Week is celebrated during the first full week of November each year to commemorate Wilhelm Roentgen's discovery of X-rays in 1895. Rad Tech Week (November 3-9) celebrates the essential work of medical imaging professionals across the country. Here at Valley, we'd like to give a special shout out to Diagnostic Radiology Technologists (XR), Magnetic Resonance Technologists (MR), Computed Tomography Technologists (CT), Positron Emission Tomography Technologists (PET), Mammographers, and Special Procedures Lab (SPL) Technologists! Your hard work and dedication to our patients does not go unnoticed! Happy Rad Tech Week!