Employee Recognition

2011 Employee of the Year

 Viet Lam, Clinical Pharmacist, Pharmacy

Viet was a September 2011 Employee of the Month. A valued Valley employee for nearly four years, Viet was recognized for his dedication to Valley Values and his ability to be a pro-active team player who goes the extra mile to help in any capacity for the Emergency Department patients.

He does his homework and is always prepared with clear, concise drug information. Additionally, he’s noted as caring, effective teacher who is popular with students and residents. His enthusiasm for what he does makes him a great role model for new practitioners.

Viet was recognized as a September 2011 Employee of the Month. His nomination came upon his daily demonstration of the Valley Values:

• QUALITY: He is extremely proactive, always one step ahead and has an incredible knowledge base. He’s like a walking, talking drug guide. He’s very efficient and always has a great attitude. We lovingly call him a ‘Ninja Pharmacist’—you turn around and he’s right there with meds that were just ordered!
• COMPASSION: He displays compassion to even the most difficult patients. He spent over 30 minutes teaching about Lovenox to a very difficult patient. He shows nothing but enthusiasm for his job and compassion for his co-workers.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: He acts as a liaison—he calls patients to inquire how they’re doing and change medications based on lab results from the previous day.
• RESPECT: He shows nothing but respect to co-workers and in turn is highly respected. He’s one of a kind—hardworking, dedicated—I wish we could replicate him!
• TEAMWORK: He is always there! The doctor puts an order in and he’s at your side with the medication. We don’t know how he does that!!
• PATIENT SAFETY/INNOVATION: He assisted in developing a pediatric dosing chart.

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Employee of the Month

There are many ways we show our employees how much we value them. One is through our Employee of the Month program, established to recognize those employees who not only excel in their jobs but also demonstrate Valley Values in action.   Because the Employee of the Month program is employee-driven, employees are encouraged to nominate fellow employees who demonstrate stellar performance. Once an employee is nominated, the information is reviewed anonymously by a committee of former employees of the month. Two employees of the month are chosen each month, and employees of the month in a year are then eligible to become employee of the year.

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February Employees of the Month

Tami Wachtler, Medical Assistant, Midwives at Valley, and valued Valley employee for 3 ½ years. Here’s what Tami’s co-workers said about her: 

• Tami ensures that the hospital standard of care is not only met, but exceeded when administering patient care. She leaves no stone unturned. 
• Tami is striving to improve herself as evidenced by her studying to become an RN. 
• She is empathetic to others and relates to her patients as their needs are at the forefront of her professional efforts. She is non-judgmental.
• Tami participates in the ‘Miles for Midwives’ event.
• She always treats her patients and coworkers with the utmost respect. She will help out her fellow employees without hesitation or without having to be asked.
• Tami offers suggestions to problems when needed as how to deal with difficult individuals while still respecting the individual's integrity. 
• She makes sure her area has no safety hazards and that patient privacy is ensured.

• Shari makes her last round on all patients a quality time to make sure all are well for the next shift. 
• She works very hard and all of her patients are well scrubbed, fed, turned, cleaned, walked and all their needs are met, even through a busy shift with a heavy patient load. 
• She is attentive to hygiene problems of patients, frequently changing the gown and linens.
• Shari works cheerfully and maintains the patient's dignity each time.
• She is tireless in her endeavors to assure top quality patient care.
• Shari is who you would want caring for yourself or your loved one.

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January Employees of the Month

Tatyana Partyka, RN, General Surgery - 2 West, and valued Valley employee for nearly 3 ½ years. Here’s what Tatyana’s nominators said about her: 

• Tatyana’s practice is “razor-sharp”.
• She is attentive to even very subtle changes in the patient’s condition and reacts accordingly.
• Tatyana is very empathetic to patients; all patients are treated very respectfully as well as staff.
• She is ready to receive the handoff at report and she is a good team player—especially when it comes to documentation.
• She participates in safe patient care. She is an especially good nurse!

• Christy pays attention to details, accuracy is one of her many assets
• She facilitates patients to receive care
• Christy is devoted to the Breast Center Community outreach program such as the Pink Scarf Project, Bras for Belize and the Glow Event
• She respects each of her coworkers and is always willing to help out other team members
• Christy always comes up with creative ideas to promote the excellent care we give at VBC
• Patient safety is very important to her and she always verifies patient information each and every time
• She is passionate about customer service, always making sure we are ready to take care of our patients as we open the door, from arranging magazines at the lobby, preparing coffee for the patients, to monitoring patient wait times

Felecia Perez, Surg Tech, Birth Center, and valued Valley employee for 5 ½ years. Here’s what Felecia’s nominators said about her:

• QUALITY: Everything she does is quality. Because she takes pride in her work, the quality shows. She has such a strong work ethic. She goes above and beyond on a daily basis—I truly believe she’s in love with her job.
• COMPASSION: Her heart is full of compassion. She organizes cards being sent to co-workers, provides scrub techs with treats during CST week, and gives little treats to our ante-partum patients. She truly has a wonderful and giving heart. I tell her I wish I could be so thoughtful.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: I love the way she talks with our patients—the way old friends would talk. Here in the Birth Center, they love those bonds. She truly makes people feel at home here. Her positive and energetic attitude is very contagious.
• RESPECT: She gives respect and is respectful to all. Her co-workers respect her. She communicates in a respectful manner with patients, staff and physicians.
• TEAMWORK: She is the definition of teamwork, and is always willing to help wherever needed. She is the first to check in during a long procedure to be sure the proper equipment has been obtained by the nurses, or if anything further is needed.
• PATIENT SAFETY: She holds staff to a high standard in the OR. She will ensure proper sterile technique and keeps the OR running well.
• INNOVATION: She created a “bladder repair kit” that has been so helpful during the rare, stressful situation. She also created nail polish kits that new moms love.

• QUALITY: Eric always strives for top-notch customer service, and he holds his peers to the same standard. He’s diligent about reducing the number of patients who leave without treatment, and he puts his ‘all’ into his job.
• COMPASSION: He’s always polite, respectful and caring with patients, families and co-workers. He’s a go-to person if help is needed.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: He’s respectful to EMS personnel, and is always facilitating their quick turn-around so they can get back on the road and into service.
• RESPECT: He’s a dependable and outstanding team player. He’s highly respected by his co-workers and leadership. Eric shows nothing but respect and compassion to others.
• TEAMWORK: His nursing skills are above reproach; one of the finest in our department. He’s calm, caring, and efficient in extremely hectic situations. His attitude sets the tone. He’s what we expect of all our staff and co-workers to be.
• PATIENT SAFETY: Patient safety is always a priority for Eric. He seeks assistance when needed to assure all patients are cared for appropriately. He encourages co-workers to do the same. He utilizes additional resources as appropriate to maintain the safety of all patients.
• INNOVATION: He’s always working on improving the department, always sharing ideas and giving feedback. He has great ideas, and is consistently reliable for follow-through.

Mike Tack, ARRT, Rad Tech, North Benson Urgent Care and valued Valley employee for one year. Here’s what Mike’s dozen nominators said about him:

• QUALITY: Mike comes to work each day energetic and upbeat. His work is always quality-driven. He goes beyond his primary job duties and assists daily in quality patient care by rooming patients and assisting the Medical Assistants.
• COMPASSION: Mike is one of the most compassionate and grounded people in the professional world. He makes each patient feel special, as though they’re the one ones that matter at the time. I swear you would think he’s an all-around “Do-It” man—his compassion for his patients and co-workers is amazing.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: He’s a strong advocate of the community and is able to bond quickly with patients and assure them they are welcome and cared about during their office visit.
• RESPECT: He has been exemplary since the day he began working here. His attitude toward his work and performance on the job is impressive, and his interpersonal and communication skills have allowed him to develop productive working relationships with clinicians and staff. He consistently puts other people first and it always willing to do whatever task is required to get the job done.
• PATIENT SAFETY: He is always aware of patient safety goals and continues to reinforce them on a daily basis. He’s very patient and explains everything to patients and makes sure they understand before leaving them.
• INNOVATION: He is always an active participant in staff meetings and has so many helpful and supportive ideas to help VMC be in the Top 10 nationally.
• TEAMWORK: I wish every clinic had a co-worker just like Mike—I can’t say enough of how fantastic we all think he is and that we’d be lost without his help, support, respect, teamwork, customer service and most of all compassion for his job at VMC.

• QUALITY: Michelle strives for excellence in patient care. She demonstrates good critical thinking skills and recognizes well changes in patients’ conditions.
• COMPASSION: She treats patients as individuals and addresses special needs of the patient and family members.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: Michelle utilizes outside resources to facilitate discharges.
• RESPECT: Michelle accepts assignments with a smile, which she does frequently, even if having a demanding shift. She does her best to respect patients and co-workers.
• TEAMWORK: She’s always willing to help others as needed both as a staff and charge nurse; while striving to provide optimal care, she is always willing to lend a helping hand to her co-workers.
• INNOVATION: Michelle accepts the role of relief charge as needed and is a preceptor to new hires—she brings wonderful qualities to her role.
• PATIENT SAFETY: Patient Safety is on the forefront of her mind; she notifies managers if situations arise that are not optimal for patient care.

September Employees of the Month 

• QUALITY: She is extremely proactive and always jumping in to assist. She takes on extra projects, is extremely efficient, trustworthy, accurate and a fabulous resource. She’s one of a kind.
• COMPASSION: While she can be quiet, she’s caring and always there to assist nursing staff and patients. She’s acted in code situations and helped get TPA to the bedside of a stroke patient at nearly the same time.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She acts as a liaison to our patients. Her culture follow-up calls and prescription changes as needed.
• RESPECT: She shows nothing but respect to co-workers and patients; as a result, she is highly respected. She’s hardworking, dedicated and shows enthusiasm for her job and compassion for co-workers. We wish we could replicate her!
• TEAMWORK: She’s our right hand! She’s always there to help, and is always one step ahead. She is always helping throughout the department—we think she is in two zones at once!
• PATIENT SAFETY/INNOVATION: She helped develop the pediatric dosing chart, and is always taking on new tasks and projects.

• QUALITY: He is extremely proactive, always one step ahead and has an incredible knowledge base. He’s like a walking, talking drug guide. He’s very efficient and always has a great attitude. We lovingly call him a ‘Ninja Pharmacist’—you turn around and he’s right there with meds that were just ordered!
• COMPASSION: He displays compassion to even the most difficult patients. He spent more than 30 minutes teaching about Lovenox to a very difficult patient. He shows nothing but enthusiasm for his job and compassion for his co-workers.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: He acts as a liaison—he calls patients to inquire how they’re doing and change medications based on lab results from the previous day.
• RESPECT: He shows nothing but respect to co-workers and in turn is highly respected. He’s one of a kind—hardworking, dedicated—I wish we could replicate him!
• TEAMWORK: He is always there! The doctor puts an order in and he’s at your side with the medication. We don’t know how he does that!!
• PATIENT SAFETY/INNOVATION: He assisted in developing a pediatric dosing chart.

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August Employees of the Month  

• QUALITY: She is the Best in Show! She always produces quality work, she listens well to others, so her ability to relay information to computer systems or people is the best in quality.
• COMPASSION: She cares about everyone, and it shows in her follow-up to our clients’ patients and staff – she is also loved by everyone.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She volunteers for so many things. She’s always willing to help and will be the one you can depend on when you need help-be it for a meeting or a staff celebration.
• RESPECT: She has the ability to know how to deal with situations in a respectful way that makes you feel like your job is worthy and worth her time.
• TEAMWORK: She jumps in to help when she sees the need—it may be as simple as greeting a patient or retrieving an item for someone. She’s always a great help and a pleasure to work with.
• INNOVATION: She organized a donation effort at VMC to help raise money for the Children’s Organ Transplant Association
• PATIENT SAFETY: She has been involved in the development of several new clinic procedures that ensure patient safety, such as implementing a patient questionnaire and information sheet prior to immunizations and TB tests

• QUALITY: She often goes above and beyond the cause and performs her work duties with the highest quality. She ensures every aspect and duty of her job is performed to the highest of possible standards
• COMPASSION: She consistently exhibits compassion toward her fellow employees through her support of them by what she actively says and does. She’s a tireless advocate on behalf of our patients
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She continually shows her community-centered activism by here attendance supporting VMC and its mission within the community at community-centered events
• RESPECT: She constantly treats patients and staff with respect and compassion even when faced with adversity in the workplace. She shows a calm, cool, rational behavior and recently was instrumental in calming an upset patient
• TEAMWORK: She always, always is willing to assist, help and support fellow employees in a timely fashion. She is mission-critical to the functioning of this clinic and its mission within the community.
• INNOVATION: She provides innovative ideas and help to make the workplace more efficient
• PATIENT SAFETY: She continually supports and reinforces patient safety with respect to national patient safety goals

• QUALITY: She is a very caring nurse who demonstrates clinical excellence, prudence and expertise in her daily RN work. She created an education poster board using current literature to educate/update her nurse colleagues on Moderate Sedation standards of care and presented it at the IRCU staff meeting. In addition to identifying and promoting continuing education on the unit, she is a willing preceptor and resources for all staff.
• COMPASSION: In the IRCU, staff care for a diverse population of patients and she works diligently to ensure her patients and their families come full circle in regards to understanding their procedure from beginning to end. Her patients feel informed and safe in her care and she is extremely attentive of their needs. 
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: As evening shift nurse, she conducts Pre-procedural phone calls to educate the patient prior to procedure and to find out if there are additional or special needs (such as interpreter, increased need for transport assistance, etc.)
• RESPECT: She is cheerful, yet direct in her communications and keeps the unit running smoothly when assigned to the charge nurse role. She manages throughput in this very busy unit and does this well by multitasking and still communicating effectively and respectfully. 
• TEAMWORK: She is someone her colleagues can rely on to be willing and flexible. She picks up extra shifts when needed and makes herself available during off hours to help CCU care for IRCU patients. If IRCU census is low, she calls the IV team to see if she can help.
• INNOVATION: She will now be the Subject Matter Expert for the Cath Lab and IRCU on the EPIC project. She is great for the role because she is a visionary and keeps abreast of current technological advances in this field and she can articulate the nursing process well.
• PATIENT SAFETY: She is an avid advocate for improving quality patient care and safety. She conducts thorough assessments, meets her patients needs and can think critically to ensure the safest care. When she is a Charge Nurse, she manages throughput by forecasting the day and ensuring safe nursing care. She is a driver of standardization of care and education on the unit. 

• QUALITY: She always gives the highest quality care that she can. We never hear a negative word or complaint about her. All of the patients say that she gives great care and she teaches the patients as she goes about her care.
• COMPASSION: She loves taking care of her patients and she always has a smile on her face. We have seen her sit with her patient and hold their hand while the patient was having a difficult day and talk with the patient until the patient calms down. The patient was grateful and commented that she continued to heal from the heart outwards!
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She stepped up and started teaching the Joint Seminar when the regular instructor could not do it.
• RESPECT: She always puts her patients first. She closes the door to protect her patient’s privacy when she enters the room and calls them by the name they prefer. She treats the patients like they were her own parents. 
• TEAMWORK: She is always ready to give a hand. When a call light goes off, she is the first in the room to help the patients, even when they are not assigned to her. She is always ready to help everyone, any way she can.
• INNOVATION: Whenever a new device becomes available to use, she is right there, ready for training!!
• PATIENT SAFETY: She was one of the first nurses to embrace the bar code scanners for patient safety. She teaches others how to use the system and she always scores as one of the best on the unit. 

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May Employees of the Month

• QUALITY: Stephanie’s patient documentation is excellent. She has the ability to treat patients on all hospital units. Stephanie has helped many staff transition from their role as a student to their new role as a licensed Occupational Therapist.
• COMPASSION: She willingly adds patients to her schedule to ensure patients receive quality and timely care. Stephanie is viewed as a well-like mentor who takes time to listen to new team members.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She participates in community events: backpack fittings, OT month, etc.
• RESPECT: She treats all teammates with respect and is a strong role model for staff. Stephanie is able to present difficult issues in a professional and open manner. She openly listens to treatment ideas and provides constructive and helpful feedback
• TEAMWORK: She’s a leader within our department. Stephanie participates in day-to-day projects and has shown success in facilitating difficult conversation recovery between staff members.
• INNOVATION: Stephanie revised the Occupational Therapy student program that she today oversees. She has also streamlined day-to-day prioritization of patients.
• PATIENT SAFETY: Stephanie accurately assesses patients for safe discharge home.

• QUALITY: Tawny takes quality a step further. She anticipates problems and works to prevent them. Her standards for quality cannot be compared to the standard. She strives for the highest quality possible in each aspect of her job. Tawny’s work only needs to be done once. She is careful to asses any possible outcome of any major change that could affect the organization. Tawny is the “Goddess of the Network”.
• COMPASSION: She keeps out users in mind for any work she performs. She is very understanding of the impact of her job on the ability to perform theirs. Although she doesn’t work with patients directly, she knows the patient is at the end of her work. Tawny is patient and kind in all her interactions. You can tell she loves what she’s doing.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She’s very civic-minded and takes an interest in outside environmental and community topics.
• RESPECT: Tawny works well with all members of the team and demonstrates respect for teamwork. Tawny treats others respectfully and considers differing opinions as possible solution alternatives.
• TEAMWORK: Under pressure, Tawny remains calm and treats people respectfully. She strives to help her team succeed and also works hard as a mentor. She never hesitates to be part of a team. Tawny’s always been integral to our team—without her, we would not be able to do what we do each day!
• INNOVATION: She’s a problem-solver; Tawny is willing to try something new in order to achieve desired outcomes. She uses innovation to accomplish tasks and welcomes challenges with vigor and a smile.
• PATIENT SAFETY: She’s well aware of a well-functioning network in the organization’s work, and what she does she focuses on lessening the impact to patient care teams. Tawny never loses sight of how everything done in the organization is focused on patients and their safety.

• QUALITY: The quality of her work is outstanding. Patients always have good things to say about her. She maintains a patient’s dignity if a patient is ever in a vulnerable state.
• COMPASSION: Her attention to detail does not stop with the patient but extends out to the family when attending to needs; she diligently helps patient family members get settled for the night.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: Her caring and compassionate nature does not end with work – she’s very active with local charities.
• RESPECT: With our multi-diverse population, she honors and respects other cultures. There’s not a night that goes by when I work with her where I don’t hear a compliment about her from fellow staff, patients and families.
• TEAMWORK: She not only takes assignments eagerly but helps others without being asked. Each and every night that I work, I know we are going to have a good night when she is on. It doesn’t matter if it’s crazy-busy or chaotic, she will have the whole staff working together and making the night more pleasant or rewarding.
• INNOVATION: She is always enthusiastic with changes and assists with smooth transition.
• PATIENT SAFETY: She actively anticipates patient needs to help decrease patient events. She quickly responds to patient bed alarms and ensures safe patients. Working with Natasha is a joy!

• QUALITY: Brenden is dedicated to get the job done right and will do what it takes to ensure the problem is fixed or setup done correctly. He always strives for quality.
• COMPASSION: He is very understanding of how the patient comes first at VMC and works hard to get the job done to best suit the needs of the customer and patient for a better overall experience for VMC staff and a better patient experience too.
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: Brenden supports the clinic network and supports any other service area that needs help, the work he does directly contributes to the community.
• RESPECT: I’ve always seen him treat others with respect, with emotions in check, and he takes responsibility for tasks. Interaction with customers is exemplary.
• TEAMWORK: Brenden always steps in when able and is cool and collected - really amazing that way. Teamwork is a great strength for Brenden. He keeps morale high and has taken initiative on multiple efforts to help lead others to success.
• INNOVATION: Brenden has shown ways to deal with issues that no one else thinks of. He consistently makes difficult challenges seem easy, and excels at creativity in securing equipment and streamlining processes on a budget.
• PATIENT SAFETY: He knows what the requirements are for patient safety and works hard to ensure guidelines are followed in his work. On multiple occasions, Brenden ensures equipment is functional and working for staff, which contributes to high levels of patient safety.

March Employees of the Month

Denise Campbell, Surg Tech, Perioperative Services, and valued Valley employee for eight years. Here’s what her nominators said about her: 

• QUALITY: She’s always awesome at putting 100% into everything she does. A true one-of-a-kind who is precise and puts extra effort into her job to get it right. Dependable, knowledgeable, detail-oriented, responsible.
  
• COMPASSION: Denise is conscientious, respectful and always thinks of others first. She always has time to say hi to her patients before surgery and attends to the needs of patients and co-workers.
  
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: She is a team player who is aware of her community. She participates in neighborhood clean-ups and takes care of people around her who need help.
  
• RESPECT: Denise is polite, thoughtful and takes other people’s feelings into consideration at all times. Whoever you are, she treats you with the utmost respect.
  
• PATIENT SAFETY: Denise always shows that patient safety is her #1 priority without compromise. She’s attentive to expired items and is meticulous in ensuring instruments are always sterile to prevent any infection.
  
• INNOVATION: She’s always thinking of and sharing ideas on how to improve the efficiency of the OR—and improve patient care and safety at the same time.
  
• TEAMWORK: I can always count on Denise to be there to help; she is flexible and always asks what she can do to make my work easy. She’s the epitome of teamwork and brings that certain ‘sparkle’ to a team. Working with her is a true joy.

Tracey Drake, Pharmacy Tech II, Pharmacy, and valued Valley employee for nine years. Here’s what Tracey’s nominators said about her: 

• QUALITY: Tracey audits and assesses all pertinent Pyxis Medstation transactions to assure compliance with medical center policies and procedures are followed.
  
• COMPASSION: Tracey genuinely cares about our patients; it’s important to her that all patients receive the best care possible.
  
• COMMUNITY-CENTERED: Tracey loves working for and at VMC. The effort and time she spends working to make VMC a better place in our community is a great contribution.
  
• RESPECT: Tracey is respectful of her peers and co-workers. She understands her role in patient care and respects patient needs and expectations for their care.
  
• TEAMWORK: Tracey is a consummate team player and is always willing to go to the units to help teammates. She works as a teacher and educator to the staff on Pyxis and other systems.
  
• INNOVATION: Tracey is/was instrumental in the re-implementation of the Pyxis drug distribution system; her innovative mindset facilitated implementation and helped us overcome any obstacles in the process
  
• PATIENT SAFETY: Tracey is a leader in patient safety within the department. She is consistently monitoring systems and processes to recommend and make improvements to make systems safer for our patients.

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December Employees of the Month