Employees of the Month
Kelly Dent Towne, Pediatrics Ambulatory Care
“Kelly is the chairperson of the Children’s Services Ambulatory Care Recruitment, Retention and Recognition (R3) Committee. In March, R3 was responsible for a Dr. Seuss celebration. Kelly coordinated the effort by also working with the Children’s Hospital Volunteer Department. All staff dressed in Dr. Seuss costumes and each child received a Dr. Seuss hat from a donations  received. Volunteers read Dr. Seuss books in the waiting rooms and children contributed to a rhyming poem. In April, we celebrated Doctor's Day. Again Kelly, as head of R3, organized events in each clinic to recognize MUSC physicians. Kelly went the extra step to include patients and arranged crayons, markers and papers so children could make cards for their doctor. The teamwork she promotes is an example to all and demonstrates her commitment to MUSC principles of Excellence as they apply to staff and patient relationships.”
—Rosemarie Battaglia

Nicole LaRose, Therapeutic Services, Occupational Therapy
“Nicole arranged for a charity to build a special bike for one of her spinal cord injured patients who is 3 years old. She was able to get a huge portion of it paid for by charity. This is not something that every therapist would take the time or even think to do for a patient.  This little boy will be able to ride a bike for the first time since his injury.  This supports the mission of the hospital in providing excellent service, going above and beyond in customer service to assure that this child and his family gets to see the pleasure and happiness in being able to participate in such an activity.  Quality of life improved for the child and family in experiencing this, and the staff feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to provide such an experience, and the service we provided to the customer was more than expected.”
—Ann Benton

Ella Bennett, Psychiatry
“Ella Bennett is a clinical counselor for teens that have emotional and behavioral problems and she initiated birthday celebrations for the teens in her group. She recently coordinated with the Institute of Psychiatry cafeteria staff to get a chocolate cake for one of the teens in her group. The teen was so happy and told her that he could not remember the last time he had received cake and ice cream for his birthday. She also took her own money and bought hot wings for the group of six when they completed the 1,000-piece puzzle of MUSC, and is going to buy them boiled peanuts when they finish the puzzle of the College of Charleston that they are currently working on. Her initiatives really motivate the group members and make them feel cared about and successful. Her ability to relate so well to the teens and their parents is a great example of MUSC Excellence in play.”
—Nominated by Nancy Hilburn

Fredrika Wright, Environmental Services
“I am sending this letter to thank someone that works at MUSC. Her name is Fredrika Wright. I am from Russia and was part of an exchange group of future researchers visiting Charleston. I was visiting a friend at MUSC and took three CARTA buses  and accidentally left my bag, which contained my passport, a $1,000 check, my identification cards and other personal items. I was leaving for another country two days later and was furious for losing my items. That evening someone called my friend and said they found his number in a bag that had my belongings. She met me at Citadel Mall's food court and said she would be wearing an MUSC name tag. I checked the bag and everything was there. I offered her a reward, but she refused it. I heard about the Applause Program and asked my friend to submit her name for me. Thank you Ms. Wright once again.”
—Silvyan Kcawhwis

Carol Wagner, M.D., Pediatrics—Neonatology
“Dr. Wagner showed extraordinary compassion and hard work in a recent tragic situation. A baby boy was brought to the NNICU whose mother was in the ICU of another hospital and not stable enough to come here. Dr. Wagner and the rest of the staff worked hard to keep the baby alive in hopes that his parents would be able to see him. The baby’s father was able to come and hold him, but the baby was so critical, we all knew death was imminent. There was no way of getting the baby and mother together while he was still alive. After the baby passed away, Dr. Wagner and a nurse were able to arrange for the baby to be taken to the mother so she could hold him, and then brought back here to the morgue. Having worked with many mothers who have lost a baby, I can imagine how much it meant to this mother to be able to have some time with her baby on the night he was born, as bittersweet as it was.”
—Stacy Sergent

Friday, July 30, 2010