A blessing from Fanwood

We have so many amazing employees to spotlight that it’s usually hard to pick which example to share each month! Today I wanted to share a parent’s email about Rachel De Lara (Service Coordinator, Case Management – Fanwood Plaza) and the Early Intervention Program as a whole.

“This email is to express my sincere gratitude for the excellent service my family has received through Early Intervention, all coordinated by Rachel De Lara. Having Rachel as our son’s case manager has been both a pleasure and a blessing. He will be turning 3 years this weekend and ageing out of the program. I cannot let this time pass without expressing how pleased we were not only with our case manager assignment, but with our therapists and the program itself.

Working with Rachel was both a gift and a blessing. She was very approachable and performed well above and beyond her responsibilities. She went out of her way to accommodate my needs as a working parent, responded to all inquiries with equal attention, and far exceeded my hopes and expectations as our case manager. Her dedication to what she does truly shows in her work, with excellent attention to detail, and professionalism from start to finish.”

This parent even went on to tell us how the Early Intervention Program has improved since her other child had been in the program!

“Our older son also came through Early Intervention in 2008-2009. Our recent experience with the program from then to the current program now, is truly night and day. I have to say the therapists provided for both of my boys were very good; the dramatic difference was in the case coordination. And it made every difference!

The changes made to EI since our first experience are very apparent in terms of increased and better communication, responsiveness to parent requests, qualifications of the coordinator, and the level of service provided. So I must congratulate you on both the very pronounced strides of improvement that have evolved within the program, as well as retaining a case manager like Rachel, with superior communication, organization, and interpersonal skills that were consistently demonstrated.”

Not only does this show how valued Rachel proved to be for this family, but the Early Intervention Program as a whole has proven to be so crucial in helping this family and other families in their services.

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 Equipment Shuffle

Teamwork is one of our core values that we have that ensures we a) don’t burn out trying to do everything on our own and b) that our kids get the best care they possibly can while they are with us.

So when this example came across my desk (well, in my email inbox) I couldn’t wait to recognize this team.

We accept donations of medical equipment so that when families are in need of specialized equipment we can loan something out to them, or use the equipment for either LTC or the inpatient program. The donation process can be tedious for those who aren’t familiar with it. Each new piece of equipment needs to be cleaned, checked for safety, processed into inventory, and then stored until it’s needed.

Then the shuffle begins! No, not the dance (although I wouldn’t put it past the staff in Rehabilitation Technology do a little jig from time to time), but the equipment gets shuffled from one site to another, depending on where the donation is accepted and where it is needed.

Getting the right equipment to the right site and department takes a team effort!

For this story, Sheila Blochlinger (Rehabilitation Technology Manager, Mountainside) gets the lucky straw since she is the one who got to see the happy child and family when we are able to loan a piece of equipment. 

She recently shared with me that we had an 8-year-old boy who came to us because he was just diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. He could no longer walk and was falling down all the time. We have been trying to get him an adaptive stroller through his insurance provider, but it is still not approved. 

A stroller donation from the Toms River site was ready for him and Fresnel Pierre (Materials Management) had transported it to our Mountainside site. It was the perfect size for this child and it was in good working condition. 

Sheila was able to fit the stroller and show the family how to use it properly. His parents were thrilled but most importantly, the child was thrilled. He was finally able to get around without the fear that he’d fall and hurt himself.

Here is the best part. He sat in the stroller and looked in the mirror and said, “Now I look like a King, instead of a baby.” He was smiling ear to ear.

Did happy tears just stream down your face? Because they did for me when I heard this story!

This truly shows how many hands it takes to make a good thing happen and live our value of compassion and teamwork. Not just that, but this shows us all how to be an inspiration to the kids and families we serve!

Yes, we helped to make sure that this patient was safe as he moved around, but more importantly, we changed how he felt about himself. He felt like a King!

Thanks Sheila for sharing this story with me and allowing me the opportunity to share it here on the blog. And thank you to everyone in our Rehabilitation Technology department for ensuring that equipment is clean, safe, and stored until our kids are ready to use it.

Do you know someone that should be recognized on Access Amy for something they’ve done at Children’s Specialized Hospital? I’d love to hear! Share below in the comments or send an e-mail to Megan Muller at memuller@childrens-specialized.org. 

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.

Toms River Superstar shines in the face of Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy affected a number of our employees. One employee in particular was left to rebuild her house while also managing her every day responsibilities as the OT supervisor at Lakehurst Road.

Did that stop Nichole Turmelle from going out of her way to help others? No way!

Nichole and her daughter, Ziesha

After Hurricane Sandy, the Foundation began fundraising efforts to help provide assistance through our Employee Crisis Fund to our employees who experienced damage to their homes. Nichole didn’t hesitate for a moment to share her story at radiothons and other local events.

She even put on a tutu with her daughter and participated in our Dance Dash 5k!

She is also one of those employees who recognizes important milestones for their colleagues. When Kimberly Malony (Foundation, Lakehurst Road) returned from her maternity leave, she was welcomed with a hand-knitted sweater for her son that Nichole had made for him.

Nichole’s thoughtfulness for her patients and their families, as well as her colleagues is apparent in everything that she does. We are so thankful that she is a part of the Children’s Specialized Hospital Family.

Do you know someone that should be recognized on Access Amy for something they’ve done at Children’s Specialized Hospital? I’d love to hear! Share below in the comments or send an e-mail to Megan Muller at memuller@childrens-specialized.org. 

Humanism Award: Recognizing Elio Arrechea

When the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center was sold to Saint Barnabas Health System in 1996, the money from that sale established The HealthCare Foundation of NJ, a foundation dedicated to improving healthcare for vulnerable populations in greater Newark and the Jewish community.

A portion of this foundation fund created the Lester Z. Lieberman Humanism in Healthcare Award, an award that recognizes a healthcare staff on the front line who – in addition to being a skilled clinician – demonstrates and lives the value of always treating patients with respect.

You may a recall a recent email where we shared the wonderful news that our very own Elio Arrechea will be recognized this year. We were thrilled to hear this, and are so proud that he is being

recognized.

Elio fits this award to a tee! He is a highly skilled clinician who always finds a way to support the children he cares for, his colleagues, our hospital as a whole, and the broader community with a sense of respect and purpose.

In the long list of skills that Elio has, one that I am in awe of is his master of Code Green. Let me explain.

These situations are never easy, or the code wouldn’t have been called in the first place! I remember reading an event report that Elio was involved in. The descriptions that everyone shared of Elio’s actions had a common theme of phrases like “Elio sat on the ground with the child and quietly began to speak to him” or “Elio was able to calm him and redirect the child to a safe place to regain composure” or “Elio ensured that Mom was safe and felt that she was not at risk.”

In addition, Elio often volunteers with his own children at Children’s Specialized Hospital events. The care and tenderness that he has with our children is mirrored with his own children. It’s heartwarming to see his children interact respectfully with the children we care for, treating them as friends instead of focusing on their medical frailty.

We are all so proud of Elio for being recognized and proud that he is part of the Children’s Specialized Family.

Elio will be honored with the Lester Z. Lieberman Humanism in Healthcare Award this coming Monday, July 20 at 5:15 pm at the Crystal Plaza in Livingston. Since we all can’t attend the ceremony (as much as we’d like to I’m sure), let’s share our congratulations with him on Give a WOW!

The sky is the limit for this Autism Department star

Adrienne Robertiello (Autism, Fanwood) goes above and beyond 365 days out of the year. Not only is she a visionary for the Autism Education Department, but also for all of Children’s Specialized Hospital as well as all people with any disability.

Adrienne’s vision is a world that is truly inclusionary and accepting for all. She has a number of creative ideas for how to make her vision become a reality, routinely challenging her colleagues to think outside of the box and question “why not” instead of “why.”  

Using this mentality, Adrienne helped to create a number of programs at Children’s Specialized, such as the Kohl’s Autism Awareness Community Hub, Real Life Tips, Make Friends With Autism, Friends Like You. Friends Like Me., and Autism and Safety.

Initiatives such as Friends Like You. Friends Like Me. have become such valuable resources to our patients and their families because they encourage understanding and acceptance, as well as help aim to reduce intimidation and bullying.

The list of events and programs Adrienne has helped with are endless. From shopping nights for parents of children with special needs and Chalk My Autism to advocacy and training for groups such as afterschool providers and emergency responders, there’s no telling what she’ll do next!

Her dedication doesn’t stop at just our little kids. Adrienne helped to develop a “Teen’s Guide to Understanding and Communicating with People with Autism” in the Community Hub that has helped improve acceptance of teens with ASD by their peer groups nationwide.

Adrienne is a Children’s Specialized Hospital team member who is dedicated to providing the safest and highest quality of care/service to our kids, our community, and to her colleagues.

We are so happy to showcase you this month on Access Amy, and hope to continue to share all of the great work you do in the Autism department.

Do you know someone that should be recognized on Access Amy for something they’ve done at Children’s Specialized Hospital? I’d love to hear! Share below in the comments or send an e-mail to Megan Muller at memuller@childrens-specialized.org.

Amy Norton: Phenomenal baker and star of the autism and feeding teams.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but one of my favorite blog posts is when we publicly recognize a member of our team.

Amy Norton (Intake Coordinator, Mountainside) is notorious for bringing in delectable treats for her colleagues. It’s one of her passions that she happily shares with the ones she cares about, and something that was self-taught!

“I was a stay at home mom for many years and baking was something I loved to do with my children. My most memorable moment is when I walked into an autism team meeting carrying some type of home-made treat and the team smiled, waiting to see what I brought in. Over the years, many traditions have involved these goodies and that makes me smile,” she said. 

In addition to being a phenomenal baker (according to the autism and feeding teams), Amy coordinates feeding services. In the autism department at Mountainside, she works in the Developmental Screening Program, and as coordinator of our community-based free early developmental screening program funded by Kohl’s where she organizes screenings in the community as well as training to day care and preschool providers.

It seems she is QUITE the multi-tasker!

Amy is a passionate advocate and works with a number of organizations related to low income and other underserved communities. Through her efforts, many of these groups now want to be trained to conduct quick developmental screenings, thus greatly expanding the reach of our clinics and helping to improve early access to care.

Amy is tireless and tenacious in forming community connections and helped get The Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey (SPAN) representatives to attend each of the clinics. SPAN assists families who may need a little extra guidance with pursuing additional evaluations.

She designed training and incorporated it into this year’s Kohl’s Developmental Screening programs. She identified the need and coordinated case consultation meetings for the feeding team to help ensure peer collaboration and service excellence.

WOW Amy! You have proven to be such a valuable asset to Children’s Specialized Hospital, especially to the teams you are a part of. Thank you for everything you do.

Do you know someone that should be recognized on Access Amy for something they’ve done at Children’s Specialized Hospital? I’d love to hear! Share below in the comments or send an e-mail to Megan Muller at memuller@childrens-specialized.org.

The small things

Emily Dickinson once said, “If you take care of the small things, the big things take care of themselves.” Today’s Employee Recognition story is a prime example of taking care of one teeny, tiny, but important thing.

An elderly caregiver of one of our patients left their child’s appointment with multiple scripts and a stack of papers in his hands. He asked Lorraine Landisi (Front Desk Coordinator, Mountainside) if she would make him a copy of everything before he left. He looked very tired as he was wrapping up some last minute things before heading home.

Without hesitation, Lorraine went to make the copies, a task that only took her a couple of minutes to complete. When she came back to the counter to give the man his copies, he thanked her not once but several times. He continued to thank her while he organized his papers at her desk!  

Lorraine’s simple gesture of making this man’s evening a little easier made a huge impact on him. She told him, “It was no trouble – it was a simple thing to do.” But he replied, “Small things count.”

What Lorraine did not know was the man had a few more errands to run that night before heading home to relax, and having those copies would make it easier for him to do what he needed to get done that evening.

Small things count. 

It’s as simple as that. Sometimes it’s not about the big favors or the big moments. Sometimes we [and, yes, we all do this at times because we are all human] wonder if what we do really matters—whether it’s here at work or at home.

We never know when small acts of kindness serve to touch other peoples’ lives in an impactful way. Sometimes we are not – but should be – aware how profoundly we can extend ourselves and make a difference in the lives that touch us in the smallest of ways.

Just something to think about. Thank you so much Lorraine for truly going above and beyond.

Have you had an experience like this? When someone has done something small for you that impacted you in a big way? Please share!

Ensuring a child can be transported safely after tragedy hits

Natalia Gonzalez is a research assistant who works in the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program at our Fanwood site. As part of her responsibilities, she meets with parents to review the study, obtain consent, score measures, and maintain the database that we need to comply with our grant. In addition, she is frequently asked by the ABA team to help interpret with the many Spanish-speaking families we serve. 

The families at Children’s Specialized often seek her out directly, as they recognize her caring and support; which is probably why one of the families living in Toms River confided in her when they informed her of an unfortunate accident where they lost their car in a fire. Lost in the car fire was the child's specialized car seat. Without the car seat, the family could not get their child to therapy sessions safely. 

When Natalia heard of this incident, she knew she wanted to help them. Having a child with special needs, the family needed a special car seat to ensure their child was safe when in a car. With one phone call, the wonderful community of Children’s Specialized Hospital stepped in and our team in LTC Toms River—Dalthea Beavers, Carolyn Romond, Bobbi Jo Pansier, and of course Natalia—arranged to ensure that the family not only had the car seat, but also that it worked properly, was installed correctly, and the family knew how to use it. 

Because of the dedication from this team, the family got the equipment they needed to ensure their child would be transported safely. 

We pride ourselves around wrapping ourselves around the family and ensuring that all of their needs are met to the best of our capability. This is another example of those long arms and warm hearts. Great job team!

We will continue to spotlight stories of how you are living our vision, mission, and values with a specific focus on teamwork. Please share your stories with me and you may see them in a future blog post!

Elevating the Patient Experience

This week, the Family Advisory Council is going to serve as our testers for the new patient portal. I will post about the patient portal on this blog when we are closer to “going live,” but I wanted to dedicate this post to the team that has been working on this effort.

Chuck Chianese (VP, Operations & Chief Performance Officer) has led the group which includes Darlene Carr (Applications Manager/NB), Pat DeMartino (Chief Information Officer), Janice Kelly (Director of Marketing/Mtnside), Haig Minassian (Systems Analyst/NB), Pat Newsome (Director of Patient Accounting/Fanwood), Jana Prokop (Sr. Strategic Improvement Systems Analyst/TR), Donna Provenzano (Director of Family Centered Care/NB), Carrie Snyder (Family Faculty [PD]/NB), and Linda Waddell (Family Faculty [PD]/Mtnside).

So much of what drove the content of this portal came directly from feedback from our families. We wanted a way to respond directly to their concerns and their struggles in regards to the interactions with our hospital. Items such as  making the bills more understandable, being able to print the evaluations rather than calling HIMS for copies, being able to cancel appointments online, and eventually being able to schedule themselves!

The tasks the families will be able to complete in the patient portal will save them time as well as our staff who have to trouble shoot these issues.

There may be bumps in the road as we roll this program out in its entirety, but I am so very proud of the partnership and teamwork that has gone into this effort. 

Celebrating YOU, National Rehabilitation Week

Our employee recognition event is one of my favorite of all the many events we do. Whether it is the formal event or the beach ball, it is so important for us to see each other outside of work and enjoy each other’s company.

This year, we hosted the event at Pines Manor in Edison on September 18. We had a nice night filled with delicious food, some raffles, and a lot of dancing. But most importantly, we were all there to celebrate the accomplishments and dedication of each of you.

For me, I want you to see the other side of me at the event – you see the “President & CEO” side during meetings and tours but the fun loving, “try to dance to bad 80’s music” side is definitely new for most of you. Also, getting a chance to meet your family members and thank them for supporting you is really important to me.

Why is it important? Seeing each other outside of our titles, our scrubs, and suits is just like when we see our parents as more than just customers, but people we are partnering with to make the lives of their children better. It changes the dynamics of the relationship.

I hope everyone who was able to attend had a wonderful time. And for those who were unable to attend, I hope to see you next year!

Below is a slideshow of some pictures of that wonderful night. Thank you all for all you do and for your continued dedication to building relationships with our families and each other.

Click here to view these pictures larger

Elaine Mustacchio Receives National Recognition

A few weeks ago I shared in the Weekly Wrap Up that Elaine Mustacchio, MSN, CRRN, nurse manager, was notified that she had received a national award recognizing her lifetime of service to pediatric rehabilitation.

For Elaine it was very overwhelming and somewhat embarrassing – my word not hers. See she, like many of us, has the chance to work with our children and sees it as a tremendous honor and gift to help our kids get better.

All of those holidays when she ran around like a crazy person to make sure every kid had a Halloween costume or when she worked with Dr. Burke to make sure one of the babies was wearing their best dress when their new foster parent came to see them for the first time.

She didn’t do any of those things because someone told her to or she had to. She did it because it was part of the healing process; a natural next step to try to get things to normal.

When our kids “age out” she continues to go visit them in their new locations. She’d be the first to say “I am not the only one who does this. Many people do.” And she would be right – that is what makes Children’s Specialized Hospital so special.

I’m so impressed and thankful for the things you guys do without thinking twice—Trish West-Low coming in from her vacation to teach yoga to the kids at camp or Kate Vieni working in a 10-mile run with one of our children in the pain program, for example. Or the hundreds of hours the Trish Yurochko, Ann Marie Santos, Elke Van Hooydonk, and ALL the people who volunteer with Lightning Wheels donate to help those children achieve their personal bests.

All over the state, through the work of each of you, you are extending your work and touching families in a way that give them hope and make it all seem better – even when it may not be anywhere close to what they had hoped and dreamed for their children.

We all celebrate and honor Elaine for this amazing recognition. We are so very proud. And we know it could have been anyone in the Children’s Specialized family – because those are our values, our culture, and who we are as people. That is what brought us to this very special place and why we work so hard to improve the lives of our children.

Unsung Heroes

I am constantly amazed at how so many of you extend yourself beyond the call of duty to serve our kids. The hours that are put in, sometimes outside of work, helping our kids achieve new heights is greatly appreciated. In addition, there are certain times of year when specific departments are asked to go above and beyond their normal work routine. Remember, there are the behind the scenes staff work very hard just to “make the trains run on time” that you never even think about. I thought I would share a couple of examples but then ask you to share a shout out to those you may want to acknowledge for their hard work; or someone who you may need a pat on the back during this stressful season.

Beth Upham, Volunteer Director, stopped me to tell me about the great job the Facilities team has been doing to support our kids. We are getting daily drop offs of gifts and toys that need to be delivered to our storage unit. This is in addition to all the other things that they have to do on a daily basis. Or there are outside groups, sometimes two a day, that want to come and do crafts or some type of volunteer work. Not only does this require the help of Facilities, but Environmental Services and Dietary have to do all of their normal work, but then are asked to do set up and break down for the special visitors!

For all of these special events Physicians, Nursing, CNA's, Therapists, Therapy Aides, Pharmacists, Pharmacy techs, and Respiratory teams have to reorganize the treatments and care of our patients around these activities. And then of course the huge amount of work done by Child Life and Recreation Departments organizing all of the gifts and toy requests and working with the Volunteer Department to make sure every one has what they want or need for the holiday. See everyone has their hand in this holiday madness, yet everything gets done. We all know how much efforts our parents, well mothers, put into make our own holidays such a special time and that special effort easily transfers to making sure our patients are able to make special holiday memories.

One of our Operators recently and reminded me of how important the work they do is and how busy they are directing people to the right location in the hospital to have their needs met. I often think about the folks in Billing who don’t get to see the kids on a regular basis and everyday is filled with either fighting with insurance companies or having angry parents call them about their bills.

All of this work we do is so important. We are very fortunate to work with excellent Doctor's Therapists, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Pharmacists, Social Workers and all who support them to make sure our kids have the best possible outcomes. And we see those results in our excellent quality scores and in the children's success as they continue to progress with their lives.

Having said all of this, I am reminded of my talk during orientation about Teamwork. No one person in this organization can be successful at CSH alone. It takes all of us working together to make sure the children we have the honor to care for get all that they need to reach their maximum potential.

So, is there someone that you would like to give a shout out to; or a story that you would like to share about the kindness of your colleagues?

The Big Pink Elephant

As you know we did not make the Top 25 Best employers in the State this year. We have received the actual survey results and comments.

In most companies feedback like this would normally be the “big pink elephant” in the room that no one wants to talk about. But the only way things get better is to put them out in the open and have a plan to make it better.

These statistics and comments help our senior leadership gauge how well we’re doing on employee satisfaction. There were many positive comments and negative as well. Our raw score dropped overall by 10 points and in each individual category by an equal or greater amount.

Your feedback was very telling about what you were unhappy about and what you would like to see addressed. It is also clear that there are some misunderstandings about all sorts of things from how we make money to how some of our benefits work. Here are a few noteworthy comments:

1. A few people didn’t understand why we are expanding our outpatient sites if we were having money problems.

Here is some clarity: Our Foundation raises money dedicated specifically for renovations of current or new locations, and then we hire staff to serve more patients. The only way we can make more money is to see more kids. There is no other way for us to be able to cover our increasing costs without continuing to grow.

2. Someone wrote that they were unhappy the tuition reimbursement was eliminated.

This one is just not true. We did not eliminate our tuition reimbursement program. We just put a cap on how much we will reimburse and that an employee must continue to work at CSH for a specific period of time after they complete their course. It’s unfortunate, but we had people get their degrees and resign after their graduation.

The examples above speak to a bigger issue of miscommunication and access to information. While we have the weekly wrap up, this blog, children's chatter and the intranet where a lot of information is posted, face to face interactions makes all the difference. This is an area where we can improve, and will!

I have asked Senior Leadership to start attending staff meetings to reinforce that you have access to have your questions answered at any time.

We will also be implementing “lunch and learns” given by Senior Leaders. We will advertise the topic and you can bring your lunch and learn more about all sorts of topics that were identified in your comments.

Many comments also referred for the need for more employee recognition and events we can do together. You ask, we provide.

We are going to have a get together during rehab week in September. We will also use this as the chance to recognize the employees who celebrated their milestone years this year and last (5, 10 15 years of service). In addition we will be pulling the stars that have been given out at each site and the person who has had the most Press, Ganey comments written about them by site and creating special recognition for them.

While I am disappointed that we did not get the recognition, not because of the award, but because it was your way of saying that you aren't happy.

While some will argue that it is not a surprise given that we aren't giving raises and we had to make a lot of hard choices about changing benefits in order to avoid layoffs, the bottom line is that your comments and scores tell us that you didn’t think we handled the changes in a way that was appropriate for you and I own that. No excuses.

You have given us feedback of the things you want changed. Some we can fix; some we can't. But through it all we will keep talking and using your feedback to make us a better organization and a better place to work.

Your ideas and comments are always welcome.

Amy

Meaningful Recognition

Our entire senior leadership team hopes you were surprised with our Best Places to Work recognition award – the choice of four CSH items. Please be sure to fill out your form and get it into Marketing before June 30. We can’t say thank you enough for helping us become the Best Place to Work in New Jersey!

The recognition I cherish are ones that only I see. One of the director's left me a note on my chair one day - "I appreciate you". One of our board members who has been involved with the organization for the better part of 40 years sent me a note to my home after our move to New Brunswick and said such kind things about how the organization has grown. There have been many times you have emailed me a thank you. I save them, cherish them and reread them when I need a boost. So for me the ones that mean the most come from the heart and are spontaneous.

How about you? Is there some recognition, or act of kindness, that has meant something to you at the work place that you would like to see more of?