News Around the State

Garden Park Medical Center names award winners

Shannon Spears, Med Tele Director, was named the Leader of the Year for Garden Park Medical Center. She has made remarkable achievements in her short time as Med Tele Director (promoted 2011). Turnover in this large department is virtually zero. Shannon directs her unit with passion and compassion. Under her leadership, Med Tele had the most employees to receive the Spirit of Excellence Award in 2012. She is known for obsessive compulsive organization and compliance. Her unit fall rate is 0%. When an alleged HAC was identified, Shannon took the lead in investigating saving the hospital thousands of dollars. Shannon is a true role model for leadership!

Garden Park's Patient Care Committee was named the Team of the Year.  The PCC started in 2011 under Cheryl Thompson, now CNO, with representatives from around the hospital reviewing and updating policies. They wrote the infamous “policy on policies.” The committee is now led by Wanda McClain, Family Birth Center Director, and has since reformatted to include clinical staff, education, quality, risk and support departments. Their work is ongoing and reflective of the changes in care delivery and technology. A recent visitor to one of the meetings stated, “Everyone needs to know the hard work that goes on in this committee; they would have a greater appreciation for the work they do.”  Their vision is to move to a clinical patient practice committee and become more involved in how practice impacts clinical outcomes. They are dedicated and focused and respected by leaders and staff through Garden Park.

Donna Denton, Med Tele RN, received the Frist Humanitarian Award. Donna is truly a symbol of human compassion and kindness.  Her concern for her patients goes far beyond just treating their illness and her compassion for people does not only extend to her patients but also her coworkers and even strangers. Her SOE All-Star nomination was just the tip of the iceberg for the kindness she demonstrates on a daily basis. Examples include: she has paid for a patient’s home prescription because she knew the patient could not afford the medication and would have to go without; and she once bought a patient a bus pass so they could fill a prescription upon discharge. Donna’s greatest trait may be that she does these random acts of kindness with no expectation of gratitude or repayment for her kindness. As a single mother she is in no way wealthy, but she shares what she does have freely and with no strings attached. She is one woman making small changes for the better one person at a time. She is a true humanitarian.

Gem Gibbons, ER RN, is the Spirit of Excellence Hall of Fame Inductee. Gem was originally honored with the Spirit of Excellence for “Special act for coworkers.” On a particularly busy day in the ICU, Gem constantly checked on the staff offering her help. At one point, pizzas showed up
only to be found that they came from Gem herself. The ICU was extremely appreciative of not only the teamwork and support but generosity and caring of a fellow coworker from another department. Now that’s taking care of one another! Gem has already been honored with the SOE in 2013 showing that her kindness and compassion are simply a part of who she is. She is an excellent representative of the Spirit of Excellence program and an awesome addition to our Hall of Fame wall to serve as a role model for others. (And she’s an excellent disco dancer, too!)

 

Garden Park Medical Center recognizes employees for years of service

Garden Park Medical Center recently recognized the following employees for their years of service: 

Ortho Surg

Mary Seales (Director)

Diane Reyer, 30 years

Pam Kelley, 5 years

Kimberly Miller, 5 years

Judy Folk, 15 years

 

Perioperative Services

Bobby Stringer (Director)

Anita Sanzin, 25 years

Robert Miller, 5 years

Brenda Kinworthy, 10 years

 

Emergency Department

Betty Davis, 20 years

Carrie Ladner (Charge

Nurse)

 

Imaging

Sharon Walls, 15 years

Christina Mulhern, 5 years

Garrett Kirk, Imaging Director

Shantel Young, 5 years

 

Med Tele

Rochelle Nix, 10 years

Shannon Spears (Director)

Susan Parker, 15 years

Andrea Parker, 5 years

Dori Rothwell, 5 years

 

Patient Account Services

Julie McGee, 5 years

Mikki Moran (Director)

Victoria Emerson, 5 years

Robin Necaise, 5 years

 

Plant Operations

Tina Beesley, 10 years

 

PBX & Scheduling

Tina Simmons, 10 years

Tim West (Director)

Deanna Trevino, 5 years

 

Family Birth Center

Erika Moore, 5 years

Wanda McClain (Director)

BJ Tate, 5 years

 

Wound Healing Center

Marcia Cockrell, 10 years

Paula Fairbanks (Director)

 

Seasons

Chonne Tyndall (Director)

Dave Thomas, 5 years

Garden Park Medical Center participates in 4th annual United Way CEO Talent Show

Garden Park Medical Center competed in the 4^th annual United Way CEO Talent Show at the Hard Rock Casino in Biloxi on Thursday, September 20.  The staff performed a disco act called “Stayin’ Alive.” 

The act included Brenda Waltz, CEO, playing piano, Dr. Luis Camero (ED Medical Director) and Jaclyn Ducote (Ortho Surg RN) singing, lead dancers Cheryl Thompson (CNO) & John Thompson (Cheryl Thompson’s husband), and the best back-up disco dancers around:  Regina Ramazani (CFO), Daphne David (COO), Angie Juzang (Marketing & Business Development Director), Krystyna Varnado (HR Director), Arlene Skerrit (Executive Assistant), Gretchen Bridley (Physician Relations), Ginger Terrell (Ultrasound Tech), Tim West (Director of Support Services), Mark Aultman (Materials Management Director), Gem Gibbons (ER RN) and Maria Murillo (Float Pool RN).   

Garden Park Medical Center holds Volunteer Auxiliary luncheon

Garden Park Medical Center honored volunteers for their service at the annual Volunteer Auxiliary luncheon. The 40 volunteers have performed 68,000 hours of service. Jean Lott, auxiliary secretary, was honored as Volunteer of the Year.

Read more here.

Garden Park honors employees

Garden Park Medical Center recently honored the following employees:

Leader of the Year: Adam Upchurch, Security Supervisor

Adam is employed by Securitas, but is extremely loyal to Garden Park. He works all hours of the day and on weekends to ensure appropriate investigations. He is on the ball and doesn’t stop until issues are resolved. His skills run the gamut from taking preventative measures for our security to winning a chili cook-off to sweeping the parking lot to helping move and lift patients. When others say, “That’s not my job,” Adam says instead, “I’ll take care of it.” Adam has built a strong team both in muscles and service. He and his team have won numerous Spirit of Excellence awards for going above and beyond to serve us and our cus¬tomers. He has been commended on his compassion and desire to see Garden Park succeed. He is a vital part of the organization.

Team of the Year: Pharmacy

The Pharmacy could have won this nomination based on stats alone: 100% overall employee satisfaction, 95% employee engagement, and exceeding their clinical savings goal by $75,000. But the Pharmacy is more than stats - they are a team. Creative, cohesive, unified, consistent, solid, energetic, vibrant and spirited. When asked why they should win Team of the Year, someone stated, “We are like family. We have each other’s back. We participate in hospital-wide functions - and we have fun.” Having fun at work seems to be a huge part of their success. Stop by and you might hear them breaking into song, hear Margaret’s character of the day, or see John breakdancing. The Pharmacy knows how to get a job done, but doing it while having fun, singing, and dancing is just the icing on the cake!

Frist Humanitarian: Deanna Trevino, Scheduling Coordinator

Deanna, or “Mama D” as many call her, is just that - an amicable, compassionate “mother” to those around her. She is the type of employee who will go the extra mile for all of her coworkers. She is always willing to take on new tasks and assist in offering solutions to problems faced by the hospital. Deanna is also very involved her community. She participates yearly in the Buddy Walk, is a youth minister for St. Joseph Catholic Church, and participates in food drives to help the needy in her community. During the Christmas season 2011, her youth group made 100 Christmas cards that were delivered to an area children’s hospital. For Lent, she and the youth make soup for Friday’s fast days. They also participate in Rosary Rallies in the community to pray for those in need and special intentions. There are not enough adjectives to describe Deanna. She is a rare jewel in the crown of Garden Park and the community she lives. She is caring, compassionate, an incredible mother and employee, and a great friend to all she meets.

Spirit of Excellence Hall of Fame: Bobby Stringer, OR RN

Bobby was nominated for “Special act for patient.” A patient had a procedure that required a thorough bath once home to wash off all the solution. The patient expressed concern that she had no one to help her. Without a blink of an eye, Bobby retrieved water, soap and towels and gave the patient a bath in the recovery room. Even though Bobby was extremely busy and needed to get to his next case, he took the time to make sure the patient received what she needed. Bobby’s director stated, “Bobby is known to be a very conscientious nurse and steadfast patient advocate with close attention to detail. He is respected by his peers and a favored preceptor for his calm demeanor and depth of knowledge. He embodies the spirit of 'Always' and is truly an asset to the department and to Garden Park Medical Center.”

Garden Park holds annual volunteer luncheon

Garden Park Medical Center held its annual volunteer luncheon on Friday, May 18, to honor their auxiliary for their time and service to our facility. Currently there are 48 volunteers at Garden Park performing such jobs as patient escort, gift shop, surgery waiting, and pet therapy. 

All together, their volunteers have served over 68,000 hours of volunteer service. Ruth Hetherington is the reigning champ with over 15,000 hours of volunteer service herself! (Billie Ford has over 6,000 hours.) 

Also at the luncheon, Garden Park's Volunteer of the Year was announced. All members of the auxiliary vote on the honor, making the award extra special as it comes from peers. This year’s recipient is Jean Lott. Jean has served as Auxiliary Secretary and is a very respected member of the team. 

Krystyna Varnado, Auxiliary sponsor and human resources director, stated, “The members of our Auxiliary are extraordinary people. They are incredible role models for us all. It is a pleasure and honor to work with them.”

Memorial Names Second Quarter 2011 STAR Recipients

 

Memorial has named the recipients of the Second Quarter 2011 Star awards—Memorial’s highest honor. STAR, Service, Teamwork, Attitude and Respect, recognizes outstanding customer service.
 
STAR recipients attended a special award ceremony where they received gift certificates donated by the Memorial Auxiliary and gold pins to wear on their employee badges. The recipients are as follows (back row L- R) Hope Beaver, Education, Memorial Behavioral Health; Mary Ann Cullinan, Clinical Support Services; Faye Ward, Security, Hospitality Services; (middle row L- R) Valerie Langford, Nuclear Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging Services; Kathy Leflore, Chest Pain, Emergency Services; Beth Pennington, Cancer Registrar, Oncology Services; Greg Quigley, Construction, Engineering (seated L- R) April Stapleton, 2 A/B Obstetrics, Women and Children Services; Anthony Whitfield, Acute Adolescent, Memorial Behavioral Health; Stephanie Schmidt, Perioperative Services, Endoscopy/Urology.

Fairen Murrell named Spirit of Excellence winner at Garden Park

 

Every quarter, members of management and the Spirit of Excellence Committee at Garden Park Medical Center cast a vote for the one monthly Spirit of Excellence honoree they believe best exemplifies the Spirit of Excellence. That person is then named a Quarterly Spirit of Excellence All-Star.

The 2nd Quarter All-Star for 2011 is Fairen Murrell, Physical Therapy.  Fairen was honored for always going above and beyond to care for our patients, assisting any way she can from heating up food, to stripping beds, to getting supplies.  The words, “That’s not my job” are not in Fairen’s vocabulary.

Additionally, Fairen becomes the second Spirit of Excellence Hall of Fame nominee for 2011.  The Hall of Fame winner will be announced at an annual awards banquet next spring.  Congratulations, Fairen!

SRHS Cuts Ribbon on Gulfport Location

From Left: SRHS Director of Behavioral Health Services David Burkart, Gulfport Chamber of Commerce President Daphne David, Gulfport Ward 7 City Councilwoman Cara L. Pucheu, Gulfport Mayor George Schloegel, SRHS CEO Chris Anderson, SRHS COO of Programs Lynn Truelove and SRHS Vice-President of Communications Richard Lucas cut the ribbon on the Gulfport BHS office July 14.

Singing River Health System cut the ribbon recently on its new location in Gulfport for providing Behavioral Health Services.

“We’re fortunate with Singing River Health System to have seven physicians and nine therapists that work with our program,” said Lynn Truelove, chief operating officer for programs, SRHS. “We’re now in a position where we can provide services beyond just the hospital base. This is our newest effort here. We’d like to thank the local community for helping us and encouraging us to be a part of this.”

The Gulfport office is home to the BHS Structured Outpatient Program, which is a medically supervised program tailored to meet the individual needs of adult patients requiring intense behavioral health support, but who do not need the acute treatment of an inpatient psychiatric facility. It is a less costly, less restrictive and more flexible alternative to full hospitalization, but offers a more structured and intense treatment program than periodic outpatient therapy.

Services provided within the SOP include individual and family therapy, group psychotherapy, relationship therapy, psychological testing, medication management and more. The current medical director of the program is Dr. William Smith.

SRHS is also pleased to offer child and adolescent psychiatry at this location. Dr. Paul Trombley is a board certified pediatrician and fellowship trained in adult and child and adolescent psychiatry. He provides comprehensive medical-psychiatric services for children and adolescents at the Gulfport office.

Trombley can tailor treatment to a child’s specific needs, and work with families in a number of roles including: primary provider of child’s psychiatric treatment, consultant to primary care provider, medical psychiatric provider of child’s treatment in unison with therapist or counselor, second opinion consultation. Specific services provided include parent management training and family-based therapy and comprehensive medical - psychiatric assessments.

Memorial Hospital Vascular Laboratory Awarded Accreditation

Memorial Hospital Vascular Laboratory and the Memorial Vascular Laboratory at Acadian Plaza have attained recognition for their commitment to providing a high level of patient care and quality testing for the diagnosis of vascular disease. Memorial achieved accreditation by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL).

Memorial Vascular Laboratory is the only fully accredited vascular laboratory in the State of Mississippi in Extracranial Cerebrovascular Testing, Intracranial Cerebrovascular Testing, Peripheral Venous Testing, Peripheral Arterial Testing and Visceral Vascular Testing.

By participating in the accreditation process, Memorial Vascular Laboratory demonstrated a commitment to the performance of quality vascular testing and strives to meet nationally recognized standards. During the accreditation process, Memorial submitted documentation on every aspect of daily operations, ie., images, reports, protocols and quality assurance programs. This three year accreditation is granted only to those facilities that are found to be providing the highest quality patient care in compliance with the ICAVL Standards.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. One American dies every 32 seconds of cardiovascular disease and disorders of the heart and blood vessels. Identification of vascular diseases, such as carotid artery disease and deep vein thrombosis is possible through the use of non-invasive vascular testing techniques performed within our vascular laboratories.  Early detection of these conditions can significantly reduce the chance of a stroke.

The ICAVL is a non-profit organization established with the support of eleven medical societies including physicians, technologists and sonographers that represent medical specialties including: cardiology, neurology, radiology, vascular medicine, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, internal medicine and biology.