Integrity was the core value of choice when selecting
Betty, our January Employee of the Month. Betty is one of our most
educated nurses and is currently working on her PHD. She brings "best
practice" knowledge to CNS while assisting our management team with
updates on charting, pain management and more to ensure we maintain our
reputation as one of the best at what we do. Like many of our nurses,
Betty has developed a close relationship with her client and family but
what sets her apart, and displays integrity, is her ability to walk that
very fine line and maintain her objectivity as a professional nurse. So
thank you Betty for your professional contribution and congratulations
on this mark of distinction.
We used the core value “Respect” when making our
selection for this months employee of the month and our absolute first
choice was Jan McWayne, nurse extraordinaire. Jan has most definitely
earned the respect from all the clients and families she serves and in
return, has shown them the upmost respect as well. For the families that
are fortunate enough to have Jan caring for their children, they will
all say that Jan is simply...the best of the best. We have been asked by
many of them to please find a way to clone her and while we haven’t yet
figured that one out, we have tried to spread the wealth and send her to
as many clients as her schedule allows. Currently, she is oriented in 8
homes. Jan has worked for CNS from the get-go while also holding down a
full time position in the PICU at OHSU. Honestly...there is not one
thing that we can say about Jan that is not absolutely glowing. We thank
our lucky stars that Jan has chosen to work for CNS!! So thank you Jan
for being simply “perfect” and...for all you do.
The core value used to select the March Employee of
the Month was communication. Communication is so important when working
in a home care setting and Laura Piedmont has done E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G
to insure that her lines of communication with the families of the
clients she cares for are wide open. She has attended every care
conference scheduled for her clients and has offered feedback whenever
asked. She communicates her concerns, although not to often, and is
always sending written words of appreciation to the office staff for a
“job well done”. Previous to CNS, Laura worked in Hospice and brings to
our organization a wealth of knowledge and compassion. So
congratulations Laura and thanks a bunch for all you do!
April Commitment to Keeping Families
Together Deb
Deluca
“Commitment to Keeping Family’s Together”; keeping
children at home and strengthening families was the core value we used
to select Deb Deluca, our April Employee of the Month. Deb has always
poured her heart and soul into caring for her clients and has taken a
leadership role in coordinating not only the child’s needs but also the
needs of the family. She has assisted the parents in finding education
opportunities for their children and when they’re unable to attend
school, Deb brings school to them. She is so creative in her thinking
and when it comes to her clients...the sky’s the limit. She encourages
families to take their kids on outings even though it means more work
for her. And usually it does. But Deb wants her clients to have every
opportunity to live a normal life and engage in activities, just like
other children their age. She has been known to adapt a board game so
that her client can move the playing piece themselves. Just one example
of many. So congratulations Deb and thanks for going above and beyond to
make life a bit more enjoyable for the clients and families you serve.
Providing a positive work experience was this months core
value used to select the May Employee of the Month. Some of the
descriptive words used to describe this core value are recruit, train,
develop, strive for excellence, utilize growth opportunities and service
enhancement. And that is precisely why we selected Erica Hill. She is
always and forever looking for ways to better serve her clients and
their families. She educates herself on what if takes to provide the
specialized care including learning sign language so that she can better
communicate with her clients. Erica has been a preceptor since the
programs inception and when we have a CNS nurse that has difficulty
learning a particular task...we have them spend time with Erica and most
often that’s all it takes. Erica has taken on the primary nurse role
more than once and takes this leadership role very seriously. So
congratulations Erica on an honor well deserved!
High value client
care defines our June Employee of the Month, Elaine Willbanks. She is
one of our most considerate and compassionate nurses and is always
looking for ways to ease the families everyday burdens. She goes above
and beyond whenever asked and has recently agreed to accompany a CNS
family on a three week vacation to the east coast. She currently cares
for four of our children which means that often she is asked to
rearrange her schedule to appease others. Which she always accepts
without incident. She first came to CNS as a per diem employee, moved to
part time and now works full time-plus which is a testament to her
commitment to the organization. She is extremely complimentary of CNS
and spreads the word to others about the good work we do. A little side
note about Elaine. When we phoned to let her know about this award, she
was extremely flattered and shared with us that she had never before
been selected as an employee of the month. And...couldn't wait to share
the good news with her family. An honor not only well deserved but well
received. Thanks bunches Elaine for all you do to make us better at what
we do!
Teamwork was this
month’s core value used to select Karen Burkholder, our July
Employee of the Month. She works in a home where one nurse
provides care for two clients...which in of itself requires
teamwork...and she appreciates the challenge of managing and
caring for two clients at one time. Karen takes two CNS clients
to school and works closely with two separate school districts
with teaching and delegating client care. We respect and
appreciate that Karen has an opinion about matters that occur in
the homes and are grateful that she helps us problem-solve. So
for all that you do for CNS and our clients...thank you Karen
and...congratulations on an honor well deserved.
LeAnn
Teixeira, our August Employee of the Month is no stranger to
this award. In fact she has received it twice before, this being
her third, within the past three years. But when we were looking
through our list of potential recipients who exemplified the
principles of partnership and all it encompasses, we kept
referring back to LeAnn. Regardless of what’s asked of her,
LeAnn handles all situations with a positive approach. She
recognizes that her colleagues have qualities, strengths and
resources that benefit the well being of our clients and is
always willing to listen to their suggestions and advice. She
will collaborate with others, families and nurses, to find a
win-win solution to ongoing issues and/or concerns. LeAnn
spreads herself thin...she cares for a client at school, takes
after hours call for CNS, sits on our Professional Policy Making
committee and fills in for our clinical team during their time
away. LeAnn is a true CNS supporter and we are truly blessed by
her contribution to the organization. Thank you LeAnn for all
that you are and all that you do!
For the month of
September, we stepped away from our core values in selecting the
Employee of the Month. The core value for this month made
reference to Financial Stewardship. and saving the organization
money does not fall under the nurses job description. So
instead, we selected a nurse that represents individuality,
creativity and great interpersonal skills. Annie Elkins is all
that plus a whole lot more. Annie works with one of our older
clients and is always looking for creative ways to involve him.
Friday and Saturday nights with Annie at the helm might include
poker with the family or making sushi from scratch. She is
always willing to come in early per the families request to be
with her client and will pick up extra shifts with little
persuasion. A while back her client spilled a cup of H2O on the
ventilator power pack and Annie turned the mishap into an
opportunity for a family fire drill. They all appreciated her
efforts to keep them safe despite the 1:00 AM wake-up call.
Recently, Annie has taken on the role of primary nurse and
believe us when we say she takes her new appointment very
seriously. We love Annie’s sense of humor and zest for life.
When Annie’s around, there’s never a dull moment. So
congratulations Annie and thank you for sharing your wit and
humor with all your friends at CNS.
Our
Employee of the Month for October is a young lady that has gone
above and beyond to learn all there is to know about the world
of home care nursing. And because the core value we used to
select this months employee includes the words continuous
improvement, growth and diversification, we all agreed that
Lindsey was a perfect choice. Before Lindsey came along, we had
an unwritten policy that we would not hire new grads. We felt
that our nurses needed experience in a hospital setting before
being alone in a home. But Lindsey changed our minds and we now
consider new grads when looking through our pile of
applications. Lindsey looks at this job as a way to spread her
nursing wings and learn all she can on how to care for children
with extreme medical needs. She strives for excellence in all
aspects of nursing and holds herself to a very high standard.
Lindsey wins the prize for filling out occurrence reports on
herself. But from this she is able to learn from her mistakes
and correct them in the process. Lindsey takes two of her four
clients to school and to our amazement agreed to provide the
Unlicensed Caregiver Delegation training to the teaching staff.
After a brief orientation with Patti, Lindsey took a deep
breathe and taught the staff about suctioning, functions of a
trach and caring for her client in an emergency. CNS took a
chance by hiring Lindsey and we couldn’t be more delighted that
we did. Congratulations Lindsey and thank you for all you do!
In our
minds, the selection for this months Employee of the Month was a
no-brainer.
The core value used was Leadership and our unanimous choice was
Maria Guzman-Martinez.
Maria has stepped up to the plate these past few months in all
that has been asked of her. She has taken on a primary nurse
role with one of her three clients, a role she has held in the
past. Maria works more than 10 hours per week in the office
assisting Evelyn with chart reviews for introductory and annual
reviews. But what speaks volumes in our book is her willingness
to take the lead in the role of communication between CNS and an
only Spanish speaking family. Maria has made herself available
at our beck and call to speak with the family through any and
all lines of communication. She has transcribed letters into
Spanish, has worn the hat of interpreter and has gone to the
home to help with training and to meet with the family regarding
concerns. And get this...Maria works full time elsewhere! So
thank you Maria for all you’ve done and continue to do for the
good of Children’s Nursing Specialties, Inc.
2010
Employee of the Year Click above to discover
all the wonderful things about Laura and why we selected her as our
2010 Employee of the Year. Laura
Piedmont
