A new year, a new group of honorees!

So, January flew by faster than I could imagine. But that just got us one step closer to recognizing our next five (5) Employees of the Quarter

Our Q1 honorees for 2016 are:

• Kaylee McGuire — Community Recreation Program Coordinator, Mountainside
• Carol Sherry — Ambulatory Care RN, Mountainside
• Luciana Mendes-McGuire — Family Faculty, New Brunswick
• Marilyn Zuniga — Assoc. Coordinator for Autism, Fanwood
• Shavane Thompson — Team Lead-PAS IV&A, Mountainside

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

Kaylee McGuire

“Kaylee oversees our community recreation programs. These programs include Friday Night Fever, summer day and overnight camps, Adapted Aquatics, and Martial Arts. She has been expanding programs over the past 3 years to increase our patients served to a total of 491 children. She works countless days and hours to ensure safe and fun programs for this population who have few community resources to turn to. She continues to be innovative in her planning and organization of our programs to help their growth, satisfaction, and overall participants served. She is a true team player. Kaylee often assists with inpatient and LTC coverage needs. She also serves as President of NJ/EPA TRA and as the Pediatric Treatment Network leader for ATRA. This year, Kaylee has presented at conferences/webinars a total of 10 times, not including multiple inservices to staff throughout the organization.”

Carol Sherry

“I have no words to describe how much Carol Sherry contributes to the lives of our patients and the people with whom she works. Carol is the glue that holds Mountainside ACC together. If she can be helpful in any way, Carol is always right there. She has been here for so many years and I have never seen her dedication waver, not even for a moment. Going above and beyond is Carols norm, but that should never be taken for granted. I believe Carol deserves this honor, for sure. I'd nominate her for Employee of the Decade if I could.”

Luciana Mendes-McGuire

“Luciana goes above and beyond every day in her work as Family Faculty. She is a role model for our Service Excellence Standards. She goes out of her way to ensure that our families’ needs are met no matter what the circumstance—from bringing them food, to helping them get clothing, transportation and so much more!! She partners with staff in all that she does to help make our families experiences the best that it can be (e.g. supports staff and families in family meetings, coordinates welcome bags for families, oversees the Family Resource room, partners with Brain Injury Alliance for resources etc..). Every Thanksgiving Luciana and her family cook and serve a holiday dinner for our inpatient families and staff as a way to give back to the hospital for the wonderful care that they have received.”

Marilyn Zuniga

“Marilyn exemplifies compassion for all families, especially those from underserved communities. For example, children from Spanish-speaking families who she screened in the community Kohl's clinics actually have a higher rate of follow through with recommendations versus English-speaking families, which is very unusual. This is because she makes sure that these families understand what is going on and how to link to services. Families often contact her long after their screening to keep in touch and ask further questions to make sure their kids are getting needed services. She also exemplifies Excellence in her work as Study Coordinator for one of our autism grants. This grant requires constant attention to detail, networking with community providers and providing support to clinical staff. Some of the community agencies can be quite challenging but Marilyn never gives up as she tries to find ways to meet everyone's needs. Marilyn is endlessly patient in soothing frustrated families and staff. I have seen so much growth in Marilyn as her confidence and advocacy has grown. This is shown by her involvement with the International Meeting for Autism Research where she has been worked with the cultural diversity committee.”

Shavane Thompson

When I think of integrity and excellence I think of Shavane. Shavane is someone that I can trust and this value is shown through her everyday interactions with her co-workers, customers, clinicians, and to all in which she interacts with. Shavane is has that "get it right" personality. She works to perfection, and will not stop until her work is presentable and includes what is expected and beyond. She continues to go above and beyond what is expected to get the job done; even if it requires her to stay late. Shavane has volunteered in different fundraiser events at Children’s and serves as a member of the Family Advisory Counsel. Shavane has sat on the Board of Career Vision Ambassadors and was the President of the Alumni Association at her college. She has run multiple church groups in her spare time. Shavane also sat on the Board of the Rotary Club.”

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.