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Healthcare Workers of the Year recognized Ambulatory Care Services held its annual Healthcare Workers of the Year reception and awards ceremony on May 12 to honor this year’s nominees and recipients.  Each year employees, supervisors, and physicians nominate individuals who exemplify the values of the organization—accountability, respect, excellence, and adaptability—on a daily basis. There are four categories for nominations, specific to the role of the individual.  This year’s winners are: Registered Nurse of the Year: D. Carol Hipple, R.N., Hollings Cancer Center Licensed/Certified Healthcare Worker of the Year: Cynthia A. Scanlon-Cook, LPN, Pediatric Endocrine Clinic Healthcare Assistant of the Year: Wilhelmena L. Green, PFCA, Surgery Clinic Administrative Support Staff of the Year: Muriel M. Green, Patient Registration Representative, Hollings Cancer Center Other nominees were: Louan Russ, Crystal Wright, Amy Forcier, Susan Keller, Sue White, Cindy Stokes, Kathy Salter, Rhonda Lucas, John Martines, Jodie Powell, Tanya Riffe, Deloris Riley, Susan Johnston, Carolyn Brown, Ella Robinson, Pam Teachey, Charlene Johnson, Sharon Mazyck, Tara Backman, Sharon Boston, and Mary Moultrie. All nominees were presented with a certificate.  Award recipients also received an engraved plaque, a corsage, and a $75 dining certificate. Their names have been engraved on the Perpetual Plaque  located on the first floor of Rutledge Tower. In making the award announcements, Dave Neff, administrator for ambulatory care services, and Sherry Gillespie-Miller, director of clinical services, read excerpts from each winner’s nominations.  Carol Hipple—“Carol is very professional and exemplifies on a daily basis that her patients always come first.  She functions as the primary nurse for the urological oncology clinics. She identifies problems and works as a team member to resolve them. She interacts with many people as she cares for her patients, always with a positive attitude. She spends many hours making sure that her patients receive what they need and follows up on issues that are important to them. She and her physician make phone calls to patients who are not doing well after clinic is finished, which means a lot to their patients and families. We often get messages from patients and families expressing their thankfulness for the attention and caring attitude that they have received from Carol.  Carol is a member of the local and national Oncology Nursing Society, serves on a number of committees, and participates in community education.” Cindy Scanlon-Cook—“Cindy does an outstanding job coordinating a very busy clinic with multiple providers. In her LPN position, she sees every patient/family before they leave clinic and gives them instructions for follow-up tests, labs, etc.  She answers questions and provides guidance and direction. Cindy also coordinates a weekly meeting attended by the physicians, nurse practitioners, certified diabetes educator, fellows, and dietician to discuss clinic issues. She demonstrated an outstanding ability in the performance of all assigned tasks and responsibilities. She is also fluent in Spanish and interprets for her clinic, and when time permits, volunteers in other areas. Wilhelmena Green—”Wilhelmena is an exceptional health care worker who shows excellent judgment in the clinical area with patients, and is a good problem-solver. She always notifies the registered nurse and brings abnormal signs and symptoms to the nurses’ attention. She also takes the initiative and is self-motivated. Wilhelmena treats patients and families with respect and kindness. She is such a hard and diligent worker. She deserves the award of Healthcare Assistant of the Year to show our appreciation for all her hard work. She is caring and has excellent interpersonal skills with patients, peers, and staff. She is willing to help where needed and is congenial.” Muriel Green—“Muriel is an excellent example of accountability because she assumes responsibility for even the smallest task and follows through until it is taken care of. She recognizes that small details are important to our population of oncology patients and assures that each appointment or patient request is dealt with on an individual level according to the patient’s needs. Muriel exemplifies caring and concern when dealing with our patients. She serves as an excellent role model for other staff because she deals with problems calmly and effectively. She is the first scheduler to arrive in the morning, and often gets phone calls from acutely ill patients when she opens our phone lines. She handles each situation calmly and efficiently, and our patients appreciate her efforts to get them immediate assistance.”   Friday, May 28, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. 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