Compassionate Caregivers, Town Hall Meetings and the Father’s Day 5K

Each year at the annual Compassionate Caregiver award ceremony, GBMC honors staff members throughout the organization who exemplify what it means to be a true advocate for patients, a role model for their peers and someone who shows true empathy and caring through their interactions. True compassion is the ability to relate, empathize, listen and care for a person in need.

Amanda Hindle is presented with the
 2014 Compassionate Caregiver award

We have so many caring individuals at GBMC, as demonstrated at last week’s Compassionate Caregiver award ceremony. I congratulate this year’s winner of the 2014 Nancy J. Petrarca Compassionate Caregiver Award, Amanda Hindle, a nurse in the NICU.

Amanda was described in a nomination as the cheerleader for the NICU, a leader for all functions and events that raise awareness of the NICU and support patients and families. Working with some very sick patients who are in the NICU for weeks and sometimes months, Amanda comes in on her days off to help when needed. And, demonstrating the true spirit of compassion, Amanda has rallied the staff around one of the unit’s nurses who is bravely battling a deadly illness herself to help boost her morale in this difficult time. Amanda even gathered the NICU staff to sing the popular song, Happy, which they recorded and posted to YouTube to help bring a smile to their ailing colleague’s face. Thank you, Amanda for all that you do for our tiniest patients, their families, and your peers in the NICU.

Congratulations to all of the Compassionate Caregiver nominees

And, congratulations to all of our 2014 Compassionate Caregiver nominees:

• Susan Crouch, Gilchrist Hospice Care (honorable mention)
• Lynn Ellen Anderson, Gilchrist Hospice Care (honorable mention)
• Lauren Saval, Care Management (honorable mention)
• Amanda Hindle, NICU
• Francine Johnson, Physical Therapy
• Roberta (Jean) Hurtt, GYN/Oncology
• Shera Montero, TIPU
 

Don’t Miss the Town Hall Meetings

One of the single biggest problems for large organizations in any field is the ability to communicate to everyone. The bigger you get, the more layers of management you have- making it harder to get communication from top to bottom. This is why a couple of times a year we run a series of town hall meetings. These meetings help narrow the gap between the front office and the front line. Think of the town hall meetings as a sort of “State of the Union” address where I have the opportunity to update our team on how we’re doing and also hear directly from our people through open discussion and dialogue.
We welcome everyone to come to a meeting with questions and ideas. Town hall meetings will be held in both large forums and through individual unit and department sessions. Here is the schedule for the upcoming and remaining Town Hall sessions – please mark your calendars!

Running for a Cause and GBMC’s Tiniest Patients

And finally, June 15, is the GBMC Foundation’s annual Father’s Day 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Walk to benefit GBMC’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). This is a wonderful event where former NICU babies, families, staff members, community supporters and friends come out to have some fun and support the vital services provided to premature and sick newborns by our NICU. There’s still time to register and support this wonderful event.