HCMC’s October and November Stars of Excellence Revealed

Cutline: Pictured are HCMC’s Stars of Excellence recipients for October and November in the Stars of Excellence program.

PARIS, TN – Henry County Medical Center is proud to announce the October co-partners of the month are Kim Carroll, Patient Access and Andrea Lemonds, Patient Access. November’s partner of the month in the Stars of Excellence program is Rena Sanders, Inpatient Therapy. Sixteen others were also nominated for the Stars of Excellence program.

Carroll and Lemonds were nominated for going above and beyond to provide for a family to be able to bring their newborn child to an air-conditioned home during warm temperatures. Carroll was registering this family when they got a call informing them the power would be shut off if they did not pay that day. The family offered to pay the next day but was denied the request. Carroll was saddened by the family’s situation. She went to Lemonds and expressed she wanted to help this family. Together they took their own money to pay this bill for this family so that they would have one less thing to worry about when they arrived home from the hospital.

Sanders was nominated because she went above and beyond to make a patient as comfortable as possible during her LONG stay. Sanders took the patient to the jewelry sale and even brought her PJs to wear downstairs so she wouldn’t have to wear her hospital gown and feel in the spotlight. Sanders is very caring and compassionate with every patient she sees. It is obvious that Sanders loves her job and is dedicated to helping her patients regain strength.

HCMC also awards star partners of the month. The star partners for the month of October and November are Denise Brogdon, Home Health & Hospice; Tracye Morgan, Home Health & Hospice; HCMC Hospice Department; Donna Harris, HIM; Ashley Smith, 2 South; Roger Veazey, Director of Patient Access; Susan Penn, Pharmacy; Sherry Brock, 3rd Tower; Michelle Seaton, 2 South; Maelinda Varneke, Education; Andrea Caldwell, 3rd Tower; Heather Chilcutt, Surgery; Jill Fagan, Home Health & Hospice; Carrie McCulloch, Pharmacy; Jeanie Rogers, Physical Therapy; and  the Education Department.

These HCMC partners were nominated by patients and coworkers for their hard work and dedication towards this hospital. Their work does not go unnoticed here at HCMC and the hospital is glad to be able to honor them with the Stars of Excellence program. They were nominated for the following:

Denise Brogdon and Tracye Morgan: Nominated by a patient’s wife for their outstanding care and dedication to their job. The patient’s wife wrote:

“To the wonderful nurses at Hospice. I want to thank all of you for the kind care you gave my husband. You were always there when we needed you and I really appreciated that I got to know you all and feel like you are my daughters. Please don’t forget me. I counted on you so much. You would listen to me when I had to talk about my feelings. The last four years have been hard but I am so thankful I was able to care for him at home. A special thanks to Denise and Tracye for being here the last day. I am so glad Denise stayed to the very end. She must have known I needed her. Love all of you girls.”

Denise Brogdon: Nominated by her Department Director for excellence in palliative care. Brogdon recently represented Henry County Medical Center Home Health & Hospice by serving on a panel at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization conference in Nashville, TN. This panel consisted of all physicians and Brogdon. She was trusted by the NHPCO to be able to address the entire conference from a rural perspective. Denise demonstrates excellence and dedication in the area of palliative care in our rural area.

Hospice Nurses: Nominated for going above and beyond when it comes to checking on patients and their loves ones. Recently a patient and the patient’s family member passed away. Multiple nurses have stopped by to check on the loved ones of this family when they are in the area. They have truly gone above their call of duty to show compassion to a hurting family.

Donna Harris: Nominated by a Department Director for always going the extra mile with a smile on her face. Due to policy changes made by the VA and a need for a quicker turn around, Harris has had to make additional doctor office visits for physician signatures. Harris will wait in the office for the required paperwork, no matter how long it takes. If Harris were to not take the time and wait for the information needed, it would delay the patient care needed to meet therapeutic goals. In addition to this new, extra role, she has always been very helpful filing evaluations and orders on charts. If the rehab office assistant is out, Harris will take on additional filing and handling of orders without complaint.

Ashley Smith: Nominated by a partner for the care of her mother. Smith took it upon herself to talk to the doctor for the family and express their concerns. She showed compassion and love toward her patients. Her smile and compassion would help any patient feel better.

Roger Veazey: Nominated for going above and beyond in an immense time of grief for the HIM department with the passing of their Director, Marcus Rickman. As they were reeling in grief and desiring to make this journey as a group to console and uplift each other, Veazey not only offered to drive the department to the funeral but took it upon himself to procure his church’s bus to provide the department transportation. He provided much needed compassion and stability in one of the hardest days. Veazey’s kindness will never be forgotten.

Susan Penn: Nominated by her Department Director for going above and beyond to maintain exceptional patient care. For the last several weeks the Pharmacy Department has been short-handed. Penn worked close to 12 hours filling in for two other technicians while still fulfilling her role as Pharmacy Tech Supervisor. She was able to service the nursing home for daily meds and admissions, as well as fill carts. Throughout this she still continued to review formulary spreadsheets and documentation for the business department in the automation change over. Penn is a model employee and exceeds expectations daily.

Sherry Brock and Michelle Seaton: For volunteering to give flu shots when the education department was unable to. Brock and Seaton knew ahead of time that we were out of small needles downstairs and took it upon themselves to find one in stock for the children’s arms. They went above and beyond to make this process as smooth as possible for this family.

Maelinda Varneke: Nominated by her Department Director for her positive impact on her department in the short time she has been here. She has received numerous praises from the Directors on down for cheerful demeanor and her desire to help anyone who asks. She has completed the HealthStream Administrator training and has incorporated the skills into helping the department better manage the large amounts of data for the entire organization. She participates in extracurricular activities, gone out of her way to tutor numerous staff that needed help with HealthStream, baked homemade zucchini bread, and made a decorative pineapple to decorate the office suite.

Carrie McCulloch: Nominated by her Department Director for her dedication to her patients. A patient was admitted for an active GI bleed. Their home meds were restarted by the provider, which included a medicine that would make the bleeding worse. Upon processing the order and seeing the admitting diagnosis, McCulloch called the admitting provider to discuss holding the medication. The provider agreed, the medication was placed on hold which prevented worsening of the GI bleed.

 Andrea Caldwell: Nominated by her Department Director for encouraging and uplifting those around her. Recently, Caldwell has filled out and honored no less than a dozen partners for WOW and TOPS. She is very quick to praise and appreciate the efforts of others and does not expect anything in return. She always steps up to help coworkers that are in need. She gives encouragement when they feel they are drowning and will step in to ease their load. Caldwell truly cares about her team. She takes initiative to help keep the unit neat and clean. When her department had many discharges and her case load had improved, not only did she go to help her coworkers but she took time to clean out the drawers on each end of our large unit and put away supplies that had been dumped from pockets. Caldwell is a true team player and a superhero.

Heather Chilcutt: Nominated by a partner for quickly diagnosing a patient’s declining condition and notifying anesthesia. The patient was immediately sent to the ER because of her actions.

Jill Fagan: Fagan was nominated for her actions to protect a patient. Fagan had been caring for this patient for an extended time. The patient was found to be confused, without oxygen on, and dirty. She went above the call by calling the correct people to ensure this patient received the help needed and followed EMS to make sure all information was given directly to HCMC.

Jeanie Rogers: Nominated by a patient for being fantastic, sweet, and helpful. The patient was grateful to have had her.

Education Department: Nominated by their Department Director for helping another department. HCMC is growing forward with a wound care center which includes hyperbaric. The education staff took it on themselves to get trained and cover the department when there are gaps in the schedule. They are very patient centered individuals who care about each other and have gone over and above their roles to assist others.

To nominate a Henry County Medical Center partner for the Stars of Excellence program, utilize the Dear Lisa or WOW cards located in the Partners in Your Care bags given upon inpatient admission to HCMC.  Additionally, the Star Partner forms are available on our website under quick tabs – Healthcare Hero.

About Henry County Medical Center

Located in Paris, TN, Henry County Medical Center is a progressive, integrated healthcare organization committed to serving the healthcare needs of Henry County and the adjoining region. Including a 142-bed hospital and other facilities, the medical center provides a variety of outpatient services, as well as inpatient care. Henry County Medical Center is a county-owned and operated nonprofit institution. For more information: hcmc.vewebsites.com.

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