2008

Gloria Yanko – Facilities
Andy Gelles – Facilities
Chris Smith – GS4
Patty Ammerman – HH Philipsburg (not present for photo)
Lindy Stossel – Women’s Services

Gloria Yanko – Facilities
Andy Gelles – Facilities
A coworker nominated Gloria & Andy as a result of feedback from a patient’s family.

Facilities received a call asking if a mirror could be installed in a patient room. The patient was severely hurt following an accident and was immobilized on her back. This immobilization was expected to last an extended period of time. The family and physician hoped that by installing some mirrors, it might be possible for the patient to see the television and hopefully that would lift her spirits.

Lead mechanic Andy Gelles responded to the call. He looked over the situation and did not feel there was a safe way to mount a mirror or a television over the patient’s bed. Andy spoke to the family and expressed his safety concerns but assured them he would go back to the Facilities department and brainstorm a solution.

Andy discussed the situation with Gloria Yanko from the Resource Center. She told Andy when she previously worked in CSR, she heard about a special set of glasses called “prism glasses”. They allow a person to lie flat on their back and read or watch television. Gloria called CSR only to find out the item was no longer a stock item.

Gloria then did an extensive Internet search and she found the glasses. She ordered them overnight delivery. In the mean time, Andy worked with our local television vendor. He was able to come up with a way to securely mount a portable television on an overnight stand. They also installed a separate cable connection. Andy wheeled the mounted television into the patient’s room and showed her and her family a printout of the glasses and explained how they would work. Prior to noon the next day, the glasses arrived. They delivered them to the patient. A day after the family placed the call, the patient was able to watch television!

We want to recognize Andy and Gloria for living our CARING values. They devoted time to innovatively solving this problem and of course, they “put the patient first”! The patient and her family were extremely grateful to the time Andy and Gloria put in to making her difficult stay more comfortable.

Chris Smith – GS4
A coworker nominated Chris.

The staff on GS4 is extremely grateful to Chris Smith. Chris was aware that we are often looking for walkers to walk our patients. With her own money, Chris purchased and donated four new, wheeled walkers to the Palliative Care Unit. Chris’ husband assembled the walkers and even etched “GS-4” on them. Chris definitely put the patient first by her generous donation to our unit. We think it was wonderful of her and her husband!

Patty Ammerman – HH Philipsburg
A patient’s wife nominated Patty and a co-worker nominated Patty.

The patient’s wife wrote: Patty Ammerman goes beyond the call of duty. She comes to my house on her own time to help me take care of my husband. My husband is paralyzed from the waist down. He needs around the clock care and attention. I only take a break one time a month when I go visit my daughter. During that time, Patty has volunteered to stop by the house on her own time and attend to my husband’s personal care needs. Patty is such a kind person. I know of an elderly neighbor that she occasionally checks on – again, on her own time. She does not just care about people, she has a soft spot for animals too. She has taken in many abandoned and ill animals that nobody else wanted to care for or provide a safe environment. I could go on and on about Patty. She is a “star” in my eyes.

A coworker also nominated Patty: Patty has a long history of going above and beyond for her patients. She had an extremely obese patient who needed to get to a facility to have weight loss surgery. When all other measures failed, Patty contacted the Pentagon and arranged for a Shanook helicopter to pick him up and airlift him to the facility. Most recently she took a Type I diabetic under her wings. He is in his 20’s and was having family difficulties. She arranged for him to live in a men’s shelter, obtain his medications and she even got her husband to run some errands for the patient. She battled MA to get an Insulin pump approved for him. Even after discharge she will stop in to check on patients who have no one else to turn to for support, advice or just to have a visit from someone who cares. I have seen Patty exhausted to tears but she continues to spend as much time with patients as possible. She will lend emotional support into the afternoon even if it means doing her paperwork at night. Writing this I become tearful just thinking about how much Patty cares for her patients. They always come first. Patty’s CARING behaviors inspire me to be a better nurse and a better person.

Lindy Stossel – Women’s Services
Peggy Tiffany’s family nominated Lindy. Peggy’s name is being used with permission from Peggy’s family.

Our wife and mother Peggy Tiffany was a patient on Women’s Services. While she was there Lindy Stossel was a shining star. Lindy went above and beyond the call of duty while caring for Peggy. During a few difficult nights when Peggy was in Lindy’s care, Peggy commented in the morning that Lindy was a true angel and went out of her way to help. Peggy made many comments on how she did not know what she would have done without Lindy. Knowing Peggy’s commitment to excellence, her comments about Lindy truly showed our family how very special Lindy’s behaviors were. The night before Peggy passed away, Lindy cared for her. Knowing that Peggy was scared and not completely aware of her surroundings at that point, Lindy sat with her and comforted her throughout the night. Lindy explained the situation to us early the next morning. Our family was so touched by this gesture and act of kindness. It was comforting to know that when we weren’t able to be there, Lindy was there to help Peggy. We know Lindy was very special to Peggy and was her nursing angel. When Lindy would walk into the room, Peggy would perk up just knowing she was there. She truly is an advocate for the CARING values of the hospital. She is committed to excellence, every patient, every time. We ask that Lindy be recognized with a Gold Star for her commitment to patient care and her ability to touch a patient’s life.

Noah Ribaric - Food & Nutrition
Ryan Smith - Food & Nutrition
Nancy Williams - ECD
Mary Claire Miller - Lab
Darlene Howrylak -Lab
Jeanne Fleck - Wound Healing Center
Rose Szczur - ASU/PACU
Sheri Mehalco - ASU/PACU
Diana Price - Infusion Lab
Judy Fyock - GS5
Dale Makin - DART
Kathleen Storer - Case Management

Noah Ribaric – Food & Nutrition
A co-worker nominated Noah.

Noah is very deserving of a Gold Star. He exemplifies the hospital Standards of Performance, Vision and Values. On four separate times, patients have commented about Noah on the Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. In respect of his co-workers, Noah happily volunteers to come in on his days or weekends off to help with call-offs. He has even rescheduled vacation time to accommodate his co-workers schedules. He always has a smile on his face.

On 8/13 the census was very high and we were also serving the residents from Golden Living. Employee morale was down. Noah wanted to do something to boost his co-workers’ spirits, so when he finished his shift, he went and bought scratch off lottery tickets for each employee that worked in the room service program that day. Noah’s co-workers were thrilled. They were all commenting about how special it was of Noah to use his time/money to make their day. They were all eager to scratch off their tickets. One employee even won some money.

Ryan Smith – Food & Nutrition
A co-worker nominated Ryan.

Ryan Smith is wonderful employee and manager. Ryan often receives WOWs from peers and co-workers for living the CARING values of Memorial Medical Center. Recently Ryan redeemed a large number of WOWs for Sheetz MTO tickets. Ryan has been working with his staff to redesign Room Service. Their concentrated efforts have resulted in drastically improved patient satisfaction scores. Ryan wanted to personally thank his staff for their hard work and dedication. Ryan wrote personal thank you notes to his staff and put his MTO tickets in each thank you note. Ryan’s staff felt very appreciated by this gesture.

Nancy Williams – ECD
A co-worker nominated Nancy.

Environmental at Lee Campus has a wonderful, caring individual - Nancy Williams. Nancy was hospitalized for two days. On the day she was discharged, she went home and planned a welcome for the staff of Select Specialty who had just moved to the Lee Campus. On her own time and with her own money, she prepared a spaghetti luncheon for the entire staff of Select Specialty. The staff was overwhelmed with her kindness and enjoyed the spaghetti along with the warm welcome. Nancy is very proud of her campus and was happy to welcome the Select staff. This really represents our CARING values. She respects others, has a great attitude and displayed innovation with this wonderful idea. Thanks Nancy!

Mary Claire Miller – Laboratory
Darlene Howrylak – Laboratory
Claire & Darlene’s coworkers nominated them.

On behalf of the Laboratory, we would like to nominate Mary Claire Miller and Darlene Howrylak for Gold Stars. Darlene & Claire heard about the plight of a coworker through an article in the Tribune Democrat. Their coworker’s daughter has a life threatening condition that requires treatment and care at Children’s Hospital in Tennessee. Everybody in Lab wanted to help in some way, but they were not sure what to do. Darlene and Claire came to the rescue and organized a fund drive. Through Darlene and Claire’s CARING efforts and commitment to a coworker, a total of $1,590 was collected for the family. The family would use the money to help with travel, hotel, food, babysitting, etc. Although many of us contributed money, it was Darlene & Claire’s contribution of not only money, but also valuable time that made this donation possible.

Jeanne Fleck – Wound Healing Center
A co-worker nominated Jeanne.

Jeanne often does many nice things and is a definite asset to our department. We have a homebound patient that has a passion for all things Pittsburgh Steeler. She is especially enamored by their quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. As a special surprise for this patient, Jeanne purchased a picture of Ben Roethlisberger. She sent the picture to the Steeler organization, along with a long letter explaining the situation. She asked for Ben’s autograph on the picture. Her request was granted and the autographed picture came back. Jeanne bought a frame for the picture and was going to give it to the patient as a “discharge gift”. Shortly before being discharged, the patient was stricken with another illness (not related to her wound) and was hospitalized and had to undergo surgery. She was then sent to a long-term care facility for recuperation. When the patient did return to the Wound Healing Center for treatment, she was depressed from her ordeal. Little did she know the surprise Jeanne had waiting for her. Jeanne gave her the autographed picture of Ben. The patient was initially shocked, trying to decide how Jeanne accomplished this. She was thrilled. She told me that the picture is her “most prized possession” and she keeps it by her beside. She told me that Jeanne is her “angel”. Thank you to Jeanne for living our Conemaugh CARING values. This is typical for Jeanne who always puts our patients first.

Rose Szczur, Diana Price, Chris Christensen, Sheri Mehalco – ASU/PACU
A co-worker nominated these employees.

On November 26, 2007 I received news that I had a form of leukemia. The next day with family and friends at my side, I was at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. I was able to return home the same day and start some treatments while the process started for a stem cell transplant. Three months later in February, they found a donor. Within a month I was back at West Penn starting the process. The protocol was for me to be in the hospital for 7 days and on the 7^th day I would receive the transplant. I was discharged on the same day to an apartment across the street from the hospital, where I would have to stay for a minimum of 30 days. Obviously, I couldn’t come home because Johnstown was too far. I could not be more than 30 minutes from West Penn. I had to report to the hospital daily for blood work and medication. I also had to have someone with me at all times, 24/7. This is where the real story begins. My family had to take care of things for me at home so my co-workers came to my rescue. Rose Szczur coordinated everything. She compiled a list of my “buddies” who volunteered to come to Pittsburgh and stay with me. She was also “on call” in case someone could not come down. These ladies used their own PTO time to be with me. In addition to the employees mentioned here, three other employees who are now retired stayed with me. They are Dorothy Belz, Emma Saula and Judy Schmulz. These co-workers went above and beyond for me. This is what a true Conemaugh employee is all about – exemplifying CARING values and showing compassion to co-workers. I would like to see these ladies recognized so everybody knows what kind of employees we have working at Memorial Medical Center. Thank you!

Judy Fyock – GS5
A co-worker nominated Judy.

Recently we had a discharged patient. Her husband was supposed to pick her up but circumstances made that impossible. The patient did not know what she was going to do. Judy learned of her plight and true to Judy’s compassionate behavior said she would be more than happy to take the patient safely home. After Judy’s shift she carefully transported the patient. This is so typical of Judy’s CARING demeanor. She always has a great attitude and is never afraid to help her co-workers, patients and families – wherever and however she can.

Dale Makin – DART
Ron Springer, Director of Cambria County Emergency Management and a coworker nominated Dale.

On behalf of Cambria County Emergency Management, I want to express by sincere thanks to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center for the assistance provided during the evacuation of the Golden Living Center in Richland Township. Although many people had a role in this operation, no one individual had a larger role or performed better in meeting expectations of the situation than Dale Makin. Dale should be commended for his on-the-scene assistance. Dale was tasked the role of EMS Transportation Coordinator at the temporary resident-holding site. Not only did Dale perform that role, but he also assisted County EMA and Beverly Healthcare staff in coordinating resident placement.

Because of Dale’s past experience as fire chief, the job as incident commander became second nature. Dale spent several hours past his end of shift to complete his task and he made sure that all 93 patients were properly cared for and placed in a safe environment. Dale returned to the hospital for a post-critique session and finally left the hospital at 3:30 p.m., only to return for night shift at 11 p.m. Dale’s dedication to the pre-hospital department and the hospital shined through with his efforts. Dale always puts the patient first. He is very deserving of a Gold Star.

Kathleen Storer – Case Management
A family nominated Kathleen.

My wife and I recently were blessed with being able to adopt a beautiful baby boy through Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown. We are from Pittsburgh. I want you to know that without your special employee, Kathleen Storer, this successful adoption would not have taken place. Kathleen’s professionalism and social worker skills, combined with an extremely caring heart, took a very difficult situation and made it a life-changing event.

Here are the things Kathleen did for us. I’m sure many of the things are part of her job, but many were not.

• She initially met with the 17 year old birthmother and assisted her in getting prenatal care.
• She arranged and facilitated a meeting between the birthmother, our adoption agency and my wife and I.
• During the delivery weekend, Kathleen skillfully kept the birthmother’s family and us separated. There were some difficult family members but Kathleen’s social work training took control of the situation and she was able to diffuse a possibly volatile situation and keep things under control in OB.
• Here is where Kathleen did something that you just don’t see anymore in society. She came to the hospital at 3 p.m. on her day off – Sunday. She stayed with us until our son was born after 10 p.m. When we first got to see our son, she cried with us. She did this out of the goodness of her own heart. She allowed us to bond with our son by arranging for us to use an unoccupied room in OB.

My wife and I believe that this adoption was God’s gift to us and we also believe that Kathleen was God’s handmaiden through all of this. We sincerely hope that you realize just how special of a person you have representing your hospital and how well she does her work, which is obviously a labor of love. We live in a pretty impersonal society but Kathleen makes it just a bit nicer.

QUARTERLY GOLD STAR:

Rose Szczur, Diana Price, Chris Christensen, Sheri Mehalco – ASU/PACU
A co-worker nominated these employees.