Thankful for…

I've shared before that Thanksgiving has always been my Mother’s holiday. As an only child that meant that everyone came to our house and there was huge excitement. As my parents have gotten older, I now bring the turkey and sides while my Mom makes her three favorite things and sets the table.

It is always a dramatic scene trying to get the cooked turkey to their house, but somehow we always work it out!

When my parents were first married – over 59 years ago –  the story exists about how my  Aunt made an apple pie. Now, I am not sure what went wrong but my mother couldn’t cut the pie. No really, the crust was so hard that she ended up getting a carving knife for my Dad to do it.

This of course is all while trying to play it off as if nothing was wrong. It happened before I was born, but the story is still shared over and over.

There is also the Thanksgiving that my Mother’s goddaughter was 5 years old and decided that she was only eating peas and pumpkin pie. In our house, we could care less as long as she ate something. But it was quite a sight with the peas and pie on the same plate.

My cousin’s wife said that it took years to get used to what she refers to as, “The Thanksgiving March." If the weather was nice enough, there was a mandatory walk after dinner, before dessert. Keep in mind, this was way before my FitBit obsession!

The men would leave the table and go for a walk around the property. The women would stay back to wash dishes and get the table ready for dessert. My mother didn’t care about the walk – she wanted them out from underfoot!

Another reason why (besides the fun family memories) I love Thanksgiving is because it is a holiday that everyone celebrates in America. We are taking a day to count our blessings and to say Thanks for all that we have been given.  You know that at the top of my list is to work with each of you. You are the finest, most caring and talented group of people. Your selflessness towards each other and our children is extraordinary.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Do you have funny Thanksgiving stories that you would share? Or something that you’re especially thankful for?

Who is your person?

So, there are a few of you I can count on at every employee meeting to ask me a question. And when I say count on, I really mean count on. You guys are the first to raise your hand, and always willing to fill an awkward pause (although there rarely are any).

I know there are questions that you guys have, and I hope you know that I truly appreciate when people put it all out there on the table – especially the tough ones!

Theresa DeFosse (Rehab Tech, New Brunswick) is one of those people I can rely on when it comes to asking questions, so I asked her for some help on some blog ideas.

So, I want to share something with you guys. I can see the number of views that the blog gets, and I’ve noticed that the numbers have been dropping a bit.  I’ve asked you guys for some ideas on things you want to hear about, but I didn’t get many! 

Back to Theresa. She likes to think about it for a bit, and then will send me an email with some topics or issues. Recently, she sent me the push on reminding people why voting matters right before Election Day. You probably saw my email about it, so you can thank her for giving me that boost!

Well, it made me start to think about how much some of us use friends and trusted advisers to be better—better leaders, colleagues, parents, children,  friends, etc.

I am blessed with trusted colleagues and friends who I can work through any issues that come up where the path just isn't clear for me. It is such a gift to have these resources!

Yes, management books and Ted Talks provide tools, but there is nothing like that trusted friend or colleague who is going to tell you straight. And definitely nothing like that one person who will raise their hand and put issues on the table.

So who is that person for you – the person you go to when you need to work something out? What are the things you value about them? Or maybe you would be willing to share how you serve as that person for others and what lessons you have learned from these relationships?

Also, don’t forget to leave me some comments about topics you want me to talk about at the employee meetings. They are coming up fast!

Rock stars of Quarter 4

Doesn’t it feel like we just announced our first Employees of the Quarter? Time sure flies! Today we’re sharing our Employees of Quarter 4. These five (5) employees were nominated by their peers for having gone above and beyond in exemplifying our Core Values and Service Excellence Standards.

Our Q4 honorees are:

• Maria Fermin – Registration Rep, Patient Access Services, Hamilton
• Ryan Sharkey – Desktop Support Technician, Information Technology, Stevens Road
• Amy Norton – Intake Coordinator, Feeding Program, Mountainside
• Kimberly Baglieri – Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapist, Mountainside
• George Greene – Maintenance Mechanic, Facilities Management, New Brunswick

We could tell you how great they are ourselves, but let’s let their nominator share why they nominated them:

Maria Fermin

“Maria is the epitome of a team player. She works so hard every day to make sure our patients and their families have a great experience at CSH. She is a jack of all trades whether working the greeter position, printing cards or just taking the time to talk to patients and their families. She knows all the patients by name, what kind of stickers they like and remembers everything they say to her. She makes everyone else's job easier and her personality lights up the lobby. She's great and I'm extremely proud to have her as a colleague.”

Ryan Sharkey

“Ryan is always available to help and goes above and beyond to find a resolution to any issue that comes up. He is very patient when dealing with all of the staff... He is a team player and exemplifies the Teamwork/Collaboration Value. He also shows the value of Excellence by knowing the various computer systems and always finding an answer if he does not have one immediately for you.”

Amy Norton

“Amy embodies every CSH value and service excellence standard. Because of her compassion and innovation, she went above and beyond her role as Feeding Team Coordinator to start the Kohl's funded community free developmental screening clinic program. Because of her excellence and teamwork, she went beyond that to make sure that daycares in low income areas had access to these clinics. This included holding a clinic in a family support organization that served the Haitian community, a group that is particularly hard hit and underserved. Because of her compassion and integrity, she linked child care program staff from high resource (Princeton) and low resource (Trenton program for the homeless) to ensure that ALL kids received quality services. Because of her pride in CSH, dedication, follow through, sincerity, and all CSH values, she reached out and created networks and connections, resulting in developmental screening training being incorporated for all quality child care programs in NJ, with CSH having the contract, and Amy designing and implementing the training curriculum. Because of her sense of fun, she uses her extraordinary baking skills to always make a treat for all Feeding and Autism Dept trainings and meetings, thus creating a literally nurturing and welcoming environment at all times.”

Kimberly Baglieri

“Kim was an OT student at our Clifton site and as a student she demonstrated a commitment to learning and to the practice of occupational therapy. As a student Kim exemplified Children’s values and was a committed member of the OT department and we knew she would be an asset to the Children’s team. While Kim is a relatively new clinician, her passion and dedication to her role at Children’s is seen in her embracing the job of updating the student lecture series. Kim has been leading the OT team and working collaboratively with the PT team to organize, revise, and develop interdisciplinary and discipline specific student educational modules so we can provide the best clinical education and experience to our next generation of clinicians. Kim’s passion for OT, her commitment to her purpose and dedication to her patients and families is apparent in her leadership with this project and in her daily interactions.”

George Greene

"George consistently meets all of our values/standards. He is reliable, courteous, & efficient in his follow-through. He wears a smile and anticipates the needs of others. George engages in innovative team approaches to making CSH a fun & safe environment. George comes to every encounter with respect & compassion whether for staff, patients, families, or vendors. George wears his pride in being a member of our staff & in his pride for our organization in his daily demeanor. George is calm no matter the situation – staff knows when he walks into a situation that it is under control. He is able to prioritize various aspects of the environment including not only safety but also patient/family needs and immediate or upcoming therapy/nursing needs. Most of all, George defines integrity. He is a pleasure to work with and it is an honor to nominate him."

Congratulations to all five of you for being recognized for your hard work and dedication to our patients, families, and each other. You will each be rewarded with a $50 gift card and an item of your choice from our Give a WOW! gift shop, as well as be considered for our Employee of the Year.

If you have a colleague that you feel should be rewarded for going above and beyond both at Children’s Specialized Hospital and in their community, please submit an Employee of the Quarter nomination in Give a WOW! Questions on how to do this? Please contact Megan Muller at x7135 or memuller@childrens-specialized.org.

Comment below to leave a congratulations message for each of our Employees of the Quarter.