Partner in Practice - May 2018

The Partner in Practice Award is given to a non-nursing employee who supports and positively impacts nursing care.

This year’s honorees are:

• Jakita Brown, Environmental Technician
• Andrea Callison, Certified Medical Assistant
• Lori Dieli, Site Leader
• Julie Fischmer, Office Associate
• Anna Frantz, MSW, LISW, Social Worker
• Connie Ickes, LISW, Social Worker
• Lynn Jordan, Patient Care Technician/Health Unit Coordinator
• Frances Reyes, Patient Care Technician
• Amanda Ricci, BSEd, MBA, System Director-North for Patient Access Services
• Stephanie Searcey, MS, RRT-NPS, RPSGT, Health Unit Coordinator/Emergency Department Technician
• Stephen Wilson, CHCA, Home Health Aide

Jakita Brown

Environmental Technician, Environmental Services, Miami Valley Hospital

Jakita has established herself as an amazing part of our team and is someone we count on day in and day out. She always has a smile on her face when interacting with patients, even though she’s not providing direct care. Patients often recognize her by name during nurse leader rounding for her positive spirit and great job. Jakita takes incredible pride in both her job and the unit. While she shows great strength in caring for patients, her true strength lies in the way she has become a part of our team. She calls out staff in the hallway if they aren’t smiling and will make them do a little dance until they’re cracking up and enjoying the day. Jakita challenges others daily to be positive, and she truly cares about all members of the care team. She participates in unit activities and is dedicated to working collaboratively with our team to ensure we’re functioning at our best. The team thinks of her as one of our own. She is truly a partner in practice, not only because she rocks at her job, but because she is an advocate, cheerleader, and team player when she doesn’t have to be. I am so incredibly lucky to know and work beside her!

Andrea Callison

Certified Medical Assistant, Samaritan Family Care Float Center, Premier Physician Network

Andrea is a very dedicated, hard-working individual who doesn’t have to be asked to do anything; she just knows when something needs to be done, and gets it done. She also makes sure that everything is completed before she leaves for the day. Since we are considered Andrea’s home office, she will come in when she is not assigned to an office and go to work as if she is there every day. She helps keep my physicians caught up and on task with messages and results in EPIC, and she answers phones and checks in patients for the day when she notices that we are short staffed in the front office. Andrea always goes above and beyond in all of her duties. She also is a wealth of knowledge, and I generally call her for help when I have an issue. She has intentions of going back to school to further her career, and I know she will because she is a very driven individual. Andrea is a single parent raising great kids, and she makes sure she is at work every day. She even works extra hours at an afterhours facility, not only to support her family, but to cover that office as well. I am very proud to nominate her for going above and beyond the standard of care every day.

Lori Dieli

Site Leader, Environmental Services, Upper Valley Medical Center

Lori’s favorite saying is “Teamwork makes the dream work.” She has a positive commitment to her department and excellence in her practice. She collaborates effectively with all disciplines and ensures that all patient and staff needs are met. She is dedicated to her environmental staff and is the epitome of “if you talk the talk, you should walk the walk.” She is often seen working side-by-side with her staff to turn over a room during crunch time, and has a positive energy. Lori consistently builds up her staff morale, and demonstrates that they are a vital part of the UVMC family through fabulous employee engagement activities and inspirational quotes outside her office. She cares about her team, and she is dedicated to the mission, vision, and values of Premier Health. She makes all of us better people just because she is on our team.

Julie Fischmer

Office Associate, Nursing Administration, Atrium Medical Center

This administrative assistant is the heart and soul of Atrium Medical Center. Julie’s unwavering calmness, patience, and servant heart are why everybody seeks her out. I have seen her nurturing manner immediately put nurses at ease when they are in tears or in a panic. She is the epitome of a team player, and a great role model. Julie never hesitates to drop what she is doing to help or troubleshoot, not only with nurses from all levels, but with physicians and other inter-professional partners, too. She always has a smile on her face, a kind word for all, and a tranquil voice that is very reassuring during a crisis. I have partnered with her on many projects, such as the DAISY Award, NDNQI, and nurse recognition, and she does it with finesse. When the Family Birth Center department was getting ready to open their New Beginnings unit, Julie played a vital role in making sure that the open house came together by helping get everything set up, and it turned out to be a great success. Being a partner is innate to Julie’s nature, and she deserves this recognition.

Anna Frantz, MSW, LISW

Social Worker, Social Services, Atrium Medical Center

Anna goes above and beyond what is required of her as a social worker. She always offers help and appears out of nowhere when you need her. She is a wonderful patient advocate, always trying to do what is best for the patient even if it is not the popular choice. She often talks with patients and their family members about discharge planning and what resources they have at home or still need. In our unit, we see Anna go above and beyond in many different situations. She is there for the patient’s family if they need a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to, and she will stay late to make sure a patient’s family member is not left alone during a difficult time. Anna offers to run and get things and call doctors or other disciplines in the hospital to help the nursing staff. Teamwork is not something she tries to do; it is something she just does without thinking about it. Anna works with patients, families, nurses, doctors, and even the court system daily. She constantly assists others and always remembers to focus on patients. She is amazing.

Connie Ickes, LISW

Social Worker, Oncology Administration, Good Samaritan North Health Center (Miami Valley Hospital North as of July 23, 2018)

Connie exemplifies the term patient advocate in her role as a social worker. She is so good with her patients and knowledgeable about the resources available to help them out. We recently had a patient whose husband had been diagnosed with cancer, and they were advised to get separate insurances to help with the cost. The patient had her own insurance for about a year when they told her they were no longer doing individual plans and dropped her. Her sister told her about insurance, so she began paying for a new insurance. A year later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her insurance told her they would pay $25 towards her initial expense of $3,000, and that they could not afford for her to have breast surgery. Connie began meeting with people and calling everyone she could possibly think of who might be of assistance or know who could help them. I am not sure of the eventual outcome, but I can’t begin to describe the patient’s gratefulness when I contacted her to keep her apprised of each avenue the social worker was exploring. Connie also kept frequent contact with the patient. Just knowing that someone was genuinely caring and trying to help meant so much to this patient.

Lynn Jordan

Patient Care Technician/Health Unit Coordinator, MVHS Patient Care Unit 5, Miami Valley Hospital South

Lynn supports the entire team when she comes to work. She can manage multiple duties, learn quickly, and exceed expectations. She is exceptional at whatever she does. Last summer, we hired three brand new, full-time PCTs with no experience. We didn’t have enough experienced staff to train them, so we had to get creative. Lynn agreed to train all three, much like nursing instructors do during clinicals. Allowing her to teach and train them was a great learning assignment. At the end of each day, we debriefed and planned the next day’s orientation. Lynn had to give constructive feedback on their opportunities. I sat in on the session, and Lynn needed very little coaching to prepare to have those conversations. I was so impressed with how she delivered some tough feedback with HEART. She comes in for any of the three units in the South tower and does whatever we ask, whether it be a HUC, sitter, orientation, EOC rounds, etc. She is reliable and dependable, and does what is needed.

Frances Reyes

Patient Care Technician, Second Floor Observation Unit, Upper Valley Medical Center

Frances comes to work every day with the goal of providing the best care possible for her patients and families, and the best support possible to her team. She frequently walks around the unit with anxious or confused patients to keep them from getting more confused, or comforts and reassures patients from their bedside. Staff members who work with Frances say: “She works nonstop and never needs coaching;” “She is always on top of all patients’ needs, no matter how silly or small;” and “Why can’t she work every day?” Frances’ kindness also is constantly recognized by her patients and their families. When asked how she does it, she answers that she doesn’t understand the question. Because for her, taking the best care of her patients and giving the best support to her team is just the right thing to do, and she says she would want to be treated that way if she were in the hospital. As for helping her team, Frances says that “We are a team; they would do anything for me, and I would do anything for them.” She is a delight to work with and deserves to be recognized for the excellence she demonstrates with every interaction.

Amanda Ricci, BSEd, MBA

System Director-North, Revenue Cycle; Patient Access, Premier Health Support Services

This amazing director, though not primarily clinical, has successfully represented our clinical area beyond our expectations! We have agreed that Amanda is an honorary nurse. Our team has never before worked with a director who is not a nurse, who understands the clinical aspect of what our department does the way Amanda does. She puts the pieces together as well as any nurse clinician/leader I’ve ever worked with. She cares about patients while approaching problem-solving from many different aspects, and she inspires the leaders around her. She is non-judgmental, and does all she can to uplift our department. Her leadership is evident in how her GSH (closed in 2018) patient access leaders and staff have adjusted to changes in Premier Health, which has been essential to the survival of our organization. Amanda is proof that thinking outside of the box can lead to outstanding results. Blending a clinical department with the technology and efficiencies of Revenue Cycle was new territory, however, Amanda reached out to our clinical staff in so many ways to positively influence our success, facilitate changes for our department, and align work with the appropriate individuals. Amanda has been an awesome resource for the nurses and leadership of our unique unit located at PHC. She brings a welcomed perspective to the processes of our unique centralized system department, and is a genuine Leader who listens to all of her managers, supervisors, and staff, regardless of their roles or backgrounds. She is an invaluable partner in practice!

Stephanie Searcey

Health Unit Coordinator/Emergency Department Technician, Emergency Trauma Center, Good Samaritan North Health Center

Stephanie’s work ethic can be summed up in three simple words: consistent hard work. While most employees do what is asked and/or expected, she invariably goes above and beyond, and she treats patients, visitors, and her coworkers with the upmost respect. Recently, with flu season in full swing, the department was experiencing high volumes and acuity. I overheard a physician asking one of the nurses if she could obtain a urine sample on a new patient just brought back from triage. Before the nurse could even answer, Stephanie came around the corner with the urine specimen in her hand. She reported to the physician and nurse, “I figured you all would want a urine specimen, so I took the patient to the bathroom on the way to the room; now she’s undressed into a gown, has vital signs checked, and is tucked in with warm blankets and the call light. I’ll send this to the lab.” Stephanie singlehandedly ensured that the patient was adequately settled in and had a good first impression of the department. She proactively anticipated potential orders by collecting the specimen, which greatly assisted her nurse and expedited the patient’s care and overall length of stay.

Stephen Wilson, CHCA

Home Health Aide, Fidelity Health Care

A patient’s spouse once told me that the reason she picked Fidelity was because “a man in scrubs just like yours stopped and helped me with my husband.” She told a story of how they were in Walmart when her spouse, who was incontinent, had to go to the bathroom, and she started crying because she did not know how she was going to get the patient cleaned up. She said a man wearing black scrubs came up to her and asked if she needed help. She said the man stayed with her for about an hour and a half to help clean up the patient and to calm her down, calling him her gift from Heaven. I asked her if his name was Steve, and she said, “Oh my goodness, that’s it! He was so wonderful!” Steve assisted a stranger and his wife in Walmart, and that’s why they cancelled their other home care agency and switched to be with Fidelity. He just happened to be walking by in his scrubs running errands after work, and helped out this couple tremendously. He always goes out of his way to help people. 

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