Alton Memorial Hospital put its best employees on a pedestal May 11 – or at least high on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. More than 200 employees and guests braved the flood waters and came to Aerie’s Terrace in Grafton, Ill., for the annual AMH Employee Awards Banquet.
Alton Memorial employees celebrating milestone anniversaries during 2019 were recognized, including six employees marking their 40th anniversaries.
The Employee of the Year award went to Jamie Goss of Respiratory Therapy. Jamie was one of the 12 Employees of the Month from 2018 honored at the banquet.
“Jamie was instrumental in Respiratory Therapy being successful with the Go-Live of EPIC (in late 2017 and early 2018),” said Brad Goacher, AMH vice president of Operations, in announcing Jamie as the winner. “She spent countless hours educating RT staff and ER physicians. Jamie is always adjusting her schedule to meet the needs of the department and our patients. She also coordinates our ‘Making Every Breath Count’ monthly community support group, and the members praise her knowledge. Jamie is one of those employees that you can count on doing what is right every time.”
Mickalon Alexander, manager of Patient Access, was presented with the Leadership Award.
AMH supervisors, managers and directors are eligible for the award, which is given to a member of management who exemplifies the hospital’s values and serves as a role model to his or her peers. Nominees must meet strict criteria, including accomplishing significant results for the organization, promoting continuous improvement and energizing others.
“Mick portrays all of these qualities and puts an exclamation point on a number of them,” said AMH President Dave Braasch. “I learned much more about her as I read through the many pages of remarks in the nomination forms. She empowers people through her positivity and high energy. Mick likes to get to know people by asking a ‘fun fact’ about them. She values teamwork and inclusiveness and walks that talk every day in her hiring practices, delegation of duties, scheduling work hours and supporting professional development. As one staff member said, ‘She will roll up her sleeves and lead by example.’ Her can-do attitude is contagious.”
The Clinical Documentation Team earned the Virginia Ilch Excellence in Service Award. Leadership looks at teams that have made significant improvements in patient quality and safety.
“This team spent tireless hours and care to provide one-on-one education to our physician providers to ensure their care and documentation supported the positive outcomes that we strive to obtain,” said Debbie Turpin, AMH chief nurse executive. “All the members of the team are knowledgeable, engaged and committed in improving the quality outcomes of our patients. They have been involved with the goal deployment process and continue to provide recommendations and education.”
The 40-year employees honored were Randy Staton of Housekeeping; Jeff Vinson of Plant Operations; Bobbi Abbott of the Outpatient Cancer and Infusion Center; Sherry Starks of the Nursing Float; Cathy Grant of ICU; and Rex Maxeiner of Security.
Every day we work hard to meet and exceed the expectations of the people we serve,” Braasch said. “This past year was full of challenges, and 2019 has been and will be no different. We are proud to have all of these employees on our team. Their dedication is deeply appreciated.”
Top photo: Alton Memorial Hospital 2018 Employee of the Year Jamie Goss is surrounded by co-workers Andrea Sargent and Penny Krause at the 2018 AMH Employee Awards Banquet held May 11 in Grafton.
Middle photo: Mick Alexander, supervisor of Patient Access and the winner of the Leadership Award, with AMH President Dave Braasch.
Bottom photo: The Clinical Documentation Team won the Virginia Ilch Excellence in Quality Award. Team members, left to right, are Leanne Ridolfi, Heather Baumberger, Karen Elmore, manager Angie Liley, Elisa Fessler and Dawn Butler.