Good Food, Hula Hoops, and Karaoke

On Tuesday, we had the 2018 Employee and Volunteer Appreciation Luau. This event was a great opportunity for the GBMC family to come together and celebrate what we’ve accomplished as a healthcare system while also having some fun! We cannot reach our vision without a fully engaged workforce, and can’t have a fully engaged workforce unless people feel appreciated. Our fourth Aim  ̶  More Joy — requires that we take time to have some fun. There’s no doubt that the work of healthcare is hard and requires self-sacrifice and dedication.

The luau came in the middle of GBMC Spirit Week, a time for us all to show the pride we have in our organization and our caring for each other. This year, to accommodate all members of our workforce, we started the festivities earlier than usual and we made sure that we offered similar activities to our hospital night shift employees, Gilchrist, and our off-site locations.

The barbecue began at 11 a.m. and hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, BBQ chicken, watermelon salads, desserts, and beverages were served by Rouge Catering. The Kona Ice truck was also on site providing shaved ice for a cool treat.

Everyone enjoyed the music, good food, luau-themed games, a surprise visit from the Oriole Bird, and having a relaxing time with friends and colleagues. Many enjoyed participating in or watching the hula hoop contest, relay race, egg toss, and the flamingo ring toss. We assembled again from 10 p.m. until midnight to BBQ and play games with the night shift staff.

We also hosted a Legacy Chase Hat Contest in which teams decorated wide-brimmed floppy hats to show support for Legacy Chase and the Oncology department. A huge thank you to all the departments, units, and practices who participated! There were 27 hats submitted, and attendees voted on their favorites in three categories: Best Legacy Chase (Equestrian) Theme, Best Cancer Awareness Theme, and Best Department/Unit Theme. I hope many of you voted for your favorite!

Here are the winners in each category, pictured below from left to right:

From left to right: Best Legacy Chase (Equestrian) Theme submitted by Nursing Education; Best Cancer Awareness Theme submitted by The Milton J. Dance, Jr. Head & Neck Center; Best Department/Unit Theme submitted by The Emergency Department

We also had raffles and games sponsored by departments raising money to win a tent at Legacy Chase!

Our Philanthropy Team, led by Jenny Coldiron, our Human Resources Team, led by Anna-Maria Palmer, and our Marketing and Communications Team, led by Greg Shaffer, put on a fabulous event! Special thanks to Kim Davenport from Marketing, Shannon Baumler from Philanthropy, and Tina Hughes from Human Resources for their hard work on this event, beginning early in the morning and stretching all the way through the night shift.

It was a great opportunity to celebrate together and leave our work behind, even if only for an hour or so. I am honored to be a part of the GBMC HealthCare family and I am very grateful for all that our people do. I am delighted to show my spirit. 

All in all, we had a great day celebrating our employees! Check out the photos.



What did you think about the luau?

Congratulations to Dr. Celano!

As we celebrated at the GBMC employee and volunteer recognition luau, I am pleased to share some wonderful news from a donor who also recognizes the hard work that you do. In July, the Samuelson Foundation made a generous pledge to name in perpetuity the Herman and Walter Samuelson Medical Director of The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute held by Dr. Paul Celano. The trustees of the Samuelson Foundation made this gift to show their appreciation for the remarkable job that physicians, nurses, and the entire staff of GBMC does to provide cancer patients with evidence-based and compassionate care.