Special to 1831Galion

Three employees at Avita Health System are being honored with the Monarch Award. This award is presented to employees who make a difference in the patient experience across the continuum by providing excellent and compassionate care.

The Monarch Award recipients are Jennifer Barnett of Bucyrus Hospital, Barbara Neal of Galion Hospital, and Teresa Hallock of Ontario Hospital. These employees embody what the Monarch Award represents: 

Motivating, Optimistic, Nurturing, Adaptable, Respectful, Caring, and Helpful.

Pictured left to right: Ann Dickman, DON; Jennifer Barnett, STNA; Brenda McMichael, RN – Manager MedSurg/ICU; Kathy Durflinger, RN, CNO

Jennifer is an STNA at Bucyrus Hospital. She was nominated for her exceptional care and commitment to her patients. Jennifer was nominated by a patient’s daughter for the care that was shown during an extended stay at Bucyrus Hospital. The nominator said, “Jenn gave my mother exceptional care during her 17 day stay. She treated her with respect and kindness. Went above all the others that took care of her.” The nominator was also impressed with how much care and attention was given to her mother while still getting her job done. “I loved the way she took the extra time to talk to her while she worked very efficiently, and she convinced her to eat when my mom was afraid to. She was amazing!” Please join us in recognizing Jennifer for her outstanding work!

Pictured left to right: Joel Delavern, Plant Ops Director; Barbara Neal, EVS Aide; Brian Thompson, EVS Manager

At Galion Hospital, Barbara works as part of our environmental services team. Her nominator was impressed by a random act of kindness Barbara showed her while waiting for her husband to be discharged from the hospital. According to the nominator, “I was having a most unfortunate day, and I must have appeared as such. This very kind, smiling hospital employee asked if I knew where the salad dressings were or needed any help. I was about in tears with my son when we got up to the cashier, where the kind employee was ahead of us. The cashier told us our meal was taken care of…we owed nothing! I was shocked! She smiled and said it’s been taken care of as she gestured in the direction of the employee. I went up to her to give her a hug. Now, I did tear up!” Even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big impact on someone’s life. We’re proud to have Barbara on our team!

Pictured left to right: Jerry Morasko, CEO; Teresa Hallock, Registration Representative; Eric Draime, CFO

In Ontario, Teresa works as part of our registration team. Another member of our staff nominated Teresa for her exceptional attention to detail and dedication to patients. Teresa’s nominator wrote, “Teresa was assisting a patient that had presented to the hospital for lab work. While registering the patient, she recognized concerning symptoms the patient was displaying. She talked to the patient about these symptoms and discovered a few more that were also concerning. After this conversation, she reached out to the nursing staff in the emergency department (with permission from the patient) to have them take a look at the patient and to make sure they were okay. The emergency department staff ended up moving the patient into an ER room, and the patient was eventually admitted. Due to Teresa’s attention to detail and dedication to our patients, she was able to get the patient the help they needed even though they hadn’t originally presented to be seen. This kept the patient from a medical crisis and from going into this crisis when there wasn’t help readily available.” Thank you Teresa for being a valuable asset to our team!

Employees may be nominated for the Monarch Award by patients, families, and colleagues by filling out a form online or at one of the three Avita hospital locations. The award recipients are anonymously chosen by a committee of Avita employees and awarded at celebrations attended by the honoree’s colleagues.

Source, Images: Avita Health System