HCA (NYSE:HCA) today presented the 2015 HCA Awards of Distinction to
recipients at a ceremony in Nashville. The HCA Awards of Distinction
include the Frist Humanitarian Award, the HCA Innovators Award and the
HCA Excellence in Nursing Award, and are the highest honors that HCA
bestows on employees, physicians and volunteers. This is the first time
the company has recognized all three HCA Awards of Distinction
categories in one celebration.
Each of the HCA Awards of Distinction underscores a different aspect of
the company’s culture and mission. The Frist Humanitarian Award
recognizes the highest achievements in serving others; the HCA
Innovators Award recognizes creative new ideas for enhancing quality of
care and efficiency; and the HCA Excellence in Nursing Award recognizes
accomplishments in the field of nursing.
“The HCA Awards of Distinction honor exceptional individuals whose work
and lives reflect the patient-centered, entrepreneurial and humanitarian
values upon which HCA was founded, and when viewed together, they
reflect a complete representation of what HCA stands for and whom we
aspire to be,” said Milton Johnson, chairman and CEO of HCA. “The people
being recognized today, through their exemplary service and
selflessness, challenge and inspire us to live and preserve HCA’s
mission of caring for and improving human life.”
Frist Humanitarian Award Recipients
Established in 1971, the Frist Humanitarian Award honors outstanding
individuals for their humanitarian and volunteer activities. The awards
are given annually in recognition of the caring spirit and philanthropic
work of the late Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr., a founder of HCA. Employees,
volunteers and medical staff members who demonstrate commitment and
dedication to providing outstanding care and humanitarianism are
selected from around the country, and honorees are recognized at the
local level.
The Frist Humanitarian Award includes a $5,000 donation to the charity
of the recipient’s choice and $5,000 in cash for the employee and
volunteer. The physician honoree receives a $10,000 donation to the
charity of his or her choice.
Recipients of the 44th annual Frist Humanitarian Award are: Kimberly
Bass, RN, an obstetric care nurse at Palms West Hospital in
Loxahatchee, Fla.; John McClenahan, a volunteer at Sunrise
Children’s Hospital and Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las
Vegas, Nev.; and, for the first time a married couple, Dr. Peter
Sarantos, a general surgeon at The Surgical Group of Gainesville and
chairman of the board of trustees for North Florida Regional Medical
Center, and Dr. Kathy Sarantos, a pediatrician at Alliance
Pediatrics, both in Gainesville, Fla.
“The Frist Humanitarian Award recognizes members of the HCA family whose
work and lives embody the humanitarian principles upon which our company
was founded,” said Johnson. “The year’s winners are making an impact in
their communities and around the world, and inspiring all of us to
continue the philanthropic work of our company’s founders.”
Kimberly Bass, RN, the employee recipient of the 2015 Frist
Humanitarian Award, has worked as a nurse at Palms West Hospital for 25
years and regularly mentors new nurses and nursing students on clinical
OB rotations. She also was instrumental in the implementation of an
obstetric documentation system which has expanded to other units in the
hospital. Within the community, she serves children in need as a foster
parent, often caring for extremely traumatized children in their
greatest time of need. Bass is well known for her compassion, generosity
and contagious positive attitude both within the hospital and her
community.
John McClenahan, the volunteer recipient of the 2015 Frist
Humanitarian Award, is a pediatric playroom volunteer at Sunrise
Hospital and Medical Center and Sunrise Children’s Hospital in Las
Vegas, where he is better known as “Dr. Magic” by the children who enjoy
his magic shows. His consistent encouragement and laughter have made a
difference in the lives of sick and injured children in the pediatric
ICU for 17 years. An avid volunteer, he also uses his magic skills
within the community to teach children about fire safety, bullying,
self-esteem and stranger danger, and volunteers with Candlelighters
Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada, the Safety Magic in Law
Enforcement (SMILE) program and the Spanish Citizens’ Police Academy.
Drs. Peter and Kathy Sarantos, the physician recipients of the
2015 Frist Humanitarian Award, are a husband-wife team with more than 40
years of combined service at North Florida Regional Medical Center. They
have supported the World Help organization for approximately 10 years,
and in 2011, they funded a village transformation project in El
Astillero, Guatemala, with World Help, providing the community with a
water well, food assistance, a new elementary school and a church. After
completion of this project, they led a team to build a medical clinic in
the community. This year, they organized a 5k/10k race called “The Good
Race” to raise funds to help restore and rebuild the lives of refugees
in the Middle East.
HCA Innovators Award Recipients
HCA was created through the vision of founders, Dr. Thomas F. Frist,
Sr., Jack Massey and Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Frist, Jr., and more than 45
years later, the company continues to invent and develop systems to
advance health and patient care, in large part due to ideas from
employees. The HCA Innovators Award, established in 2010, continues the
tradition of recognizing innovative thinkers with ideas that improve
patient quality, service or the financial impact of operations. The HCA
Innovators Award winners receive $10,000 cash.
Recipients of the 2015 HCA Innovators Award are: Tricia Casler,
RN, the director of nursing for the telemetry department at St. David’s
South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas; Megan Gallegos, RN,
the administrative director of emergency services for Plaza Medical
Center of Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas; Shawn Lewis, RN, the
clinical coordinator of emergency services for Plaza Medical Center of
Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas; and Joanne Orlando, RN, the
director of research for MountainView Hospital in Las Vegas, Nev.
“Innovation at HCA takes many forms, yet the common denominator is a
creative approach that challenges the status quo,” said Sam Hazen, chief
operating officer of HCA. “This year’s winners of the HCA Innovators
Award demonstrate our founders’ entrepreneurial spirit which is key to
our culture of continual improvement.”
Tricia Casler, RN, a nurse at St. David’s South Austin Medical
Center for 15 years, received the HCA Innovators Award in the quality
and patient safety category. She developed and tested a system called
“Mug Shots,” that improves patient education on medication side effects.
The innovative “mug shots” are stickers placed on patients’ water mugs
that list common side effects and other medication information. The
visibility of the stickers increases patients’ awareness of medication
information and serves as a visual reminder for nurses to regularly
review medication information with patients. Because of Casler’s
creativity, nurses at St. David’s are empowered to educate their
patients more effectively on new medications, leading to improved
quality of care and patient safety.
Megan Gallegos, RN, and Shawn Lewis, RN, received the HCA
Innovators Award in the service excellence category. They used their
experiences within emergency services to create an ER Concierge position
with the goal to improve patient service in the ER. The ER concierge is
a member of the staff who welcomes patients and family members at the
bedside, and continues to check in with them regularly to provide
beverages, blankets or other items necessary for their comfort and care.
The use of the ER Concierge has improved patient experiences in the
emergency room.
Joanne Orlando, RN, received the HCA Innovators Award in the
financial impact category. She improved clinical outcomes and generated
significant cost savings for MountainView Hospital by helping physicians
become more efficient at administrative tasks. Using physician-specific
data, she created dashboards to help physicians monitor their efficiency
and coached them on organization skills so they could spend more time
caring for patients and less time navigating the hospital’s systems.
HCA Excellence in Nursing Award Recipients
HCA’s knowledgeable and compassionate nurses are on the front line of
patient care, every day. The HCA Excellence in Nursing Award, created in
2014, recognizes the intrinsic value of the nursing practice in
accomplishing the company mission of providing the highest quality of
care to patients and communities. With categories for mentoring and
compassionate care, the HCA Excellence in Nursing Award includes a
$5,000 donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice and $5,000 in
cash.
Recipients of the 2015 HCA Excellence in Nursing Award are: Jim Kruger,
RN, the assistant vice president of nursing and emergency services at
St. Lucie Medical Center in Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and Alison Jane
Marsh, RN, an emergency/trauma nurse at Centerpoint Medical Center
in Independence, Mo.
“The passion HCA’s 79,000 nurses bring to their practice each day is the
cornerstone of our mission to provide exceptional care to our patients,”
said HCA senior vice president and chief nursing officer Dr. Jane
Englebright. “This year’s HCA Excellence in Nursing Award recipients are
compassionate, caring and professional. We appreciate the way they serve
our patients and their colleagues, and we are proud to honor them today.”
Jim Kruger, RN, received the HCA Excellence in Nursing Award in
the professional mentoring category. Kruger uses his experience to
mentor nurses to help develop their skills and leadership within the
hospital. Kruger also mentors newly hired HCA emergency department
directors, leading to improved patient experience and safety, and
decreased ER wait times. In part due to his contributions, St. Lucie
Medical Center was named one of five Destination Nursing Hospitals in
the United States by the Healthcare Advisory Board.
Alison Jane Marsh, RN, received the HCA Excellence in Nursing
Award in the compassionate care category. Marsh is known for going above
and beyond to provide exceptional compassionate care to patients in the
emergency room, often taking extra steps to provide reassurance,
education and comfort to patients who are scared and vulnerable. For
example, Marsh comforted a scared 7-year-old girl who had been in a
traumatic car accident and whose parents were being operated on at a
different hospital. She downloaded the popular children’s movie Frozen
to her phone so the girl could watch and sang along to make her laugh.
Because her calm, sincere and compassionate demeanor helps put people at
ease, Marsh is often called upon to help comfort patients and families.
For more information about the 2015 Awards of Distinction, please visit www.HCATodayBlog.com.
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