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. 

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.

The Winners Are…

As you know, with our redesigned Employee Recognition Program we have introduced the Employee of the Quarter/Year component. This program recognizes five (5) employees each quarter who go above and beyond in exemplifying our Core Values and Service Excellence Standards.

Our Q2 honorees for 2015 – and our Employees of the Quarter – are:

• Adrienne RobertielloAutism Educator, Autism Program, Fanwood
• Beth Anne DoboshDirector of Corporate Foundation Relations, Foundation Department, New Brunswick
• Cynthia GreenPhysician Relations Representative, Business Development Department, New Brunswick
• Haig MinassianSystems Analyst, Strategic Improvement Department, New Brunswick
• Melissa SmithClinical Lead – ST, Administration, New Brunswick

Here’s a little peak into what their nominator had to say about them:

Adrienne Robertiello

“[Adrienne] is a visionary who routinely looks for and creates opportunities for CSH to shine and to broaden our reach. For example, not only has Adrienne created resources to improve safety for people affected by ASD, she has also instructed countless emergency providers how to recognize people with special needs and how to more effectively communicate and anticipate in order to prevent emergency situations and/or to better handle situations as they arise…She tirelessly works to make improvements to the Hub and to add practical information that is accessible and also promotes the expertise of CSH…Adrienne is always willing to help others with various projects, including using her graphic arts

background to create professional posters and flyers, problem solve situations involving patient/family needs, and hook up families and staff with community resources.”

Beth Anne Dobosh

“Having grown up with an aunt who had Down syndrome, Beth Anne had a special place in her heart for people with disabilities and she knew she wanted to make a real impact for an organization that helped children with special needs. Lucky us, because during her 7 years here at Children’s Specialized, Beth Anne has developed into a dynamic, multi-skilled leader under the guidance and direction of Phil Salerno, among others. Beth Anne has too many accomplishments to list; millions of dollars raised; numerous corporate partnerships that have blossomed into signature relationships with multi-tiered levels of support from monetary, grants to thousands of volunteer and corporate service hours. Beth Anne has been a part of our Community Engagement Pillar since its inception and has helped lead many successful changes and initiatives to increase our community engagement events. What’s important to understand about Beth Anne’s work is that she has to inspire and motivate others to give, to volunteer, to grant funding and to commit to helping our cause – to be successful with any of those tasks it takes an incredible amount of passion and skill.”

Cynthia Green

“Cindy always goes above and beyond to provide VIP concierge service to every family. For example, not only does she arrange car service if needed, she gets them local gym membership, purchased a bathing suit for a child who did not have one so the patient could participate in aquatics, and found a poster of a patient's favorite hockey team for a patient who lived in California and was extremely homesick. She shows this same compassion, sincerity, commitment, and anticipation of unstated needs with co-workers. For example, she has befriended the troubled young son of one of the staff in New Brunswick, providing a listening ear when he visits, making sure that he has a snack and help with games to keep him busy while his parent prepares for home. She travels throughout the NJ-PA-NY-CT area to tirelessly promote CSH programs…Her eyes and ears are always open for patients, families and staff interests and needs…Many of the families who contact Cindy are extremely anxious about the health of their children. Cindy acknowledges their concerns and follows through 100% of the time…Cindy has been singled out by many inpatient and outpatient families for going above and beyond.”

Haig Minassian

“Haig worked throughout the past year to prepare for the roll out of both the Tablet Registration and the Patient Portal and has been the point person for both projects. Both of these projects are responses to the expressed need of patients and families and seek to improve the experience of those we serve while also increasingly efficiency and keeping our organization at the forefront of the marketplace. Haig has been working incredibly long hours throughout the state to make sure that the tablet roll-out is successful, and he balances a great deal while also training staff, anticipating concerns, and problem solving on the go. He keeps the strategic aspects of the project in mind in the face of daily minutia that also needs to be addressed…I've been particularly impressed at how I have seen him grow in recent months as he interacts with a wide spectrum of people in many roles with a wide spectrum of personalities and life experiences. He has been very encouraging to staff who are learning something new.”

Melissa Smith

“As a clinical lead [Melissa] has the opportunity to influence so many by sharing her clinical expertise using evidence based practice and the most current literature both in one on one mentoring and in workshop settings. She continues to support the inpatient teams with leadership and provision of highly skilled Speech services in a family centered environment. She is truly impacting inpatient and outpatient services by being compassionate and caring mentor to make a positive lasting difference for many staff and patients... Melissa has truly taken on her new role with a passion, she understands the importance of being committed to developing and growing her own leadership skills so that she can have a greater influence on improving our clinical lead team and in turn the organization.

Congratulations to each of you and thank you to the team members who took the time to recognize all who were nominated!

Each of these individuals will be rewarded with a $50 gift card and an item of their choice from our Give a WOW! gift shop, as well as considered for Employee of the Year.

Please join me in congratulating each of our honorees for their dedication to Children’s Specialized Hospital both in the comments below and on Give a WOW!

If you have a colleague that you feel should be rewarded for going above and beyond both at Children’s Specialized 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.