The Employee of the Month Award recognizes the people you love to work with. These winners show exhibit Kettering Health’s Standards of Behavior, live out our values, and demonstrate the healing presence practices outlined in Called to Care.
You can read the nomination stories and view the pictures of the April Employees of the Month below. Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Cynthia Hammond – Nursing, Kettering College
“Cynthia has thought outside the box with the recent surge of COVID-19. When asked to come up with ideas to help the hospital while at the same time keep outcomes and learning needs of students at the forefront, Cynthia partnered with Kettering Health to develop a plan to enable students to serve and learn at the same time. Through having students do their passport experience in her wellness course with the Helping Hands project, she enlisted student volunteers every Thursday for two hours in the month of January and February. Students and faculty assisted and some of these even signed up to work with Helping Hands on a continuing basis. Cynthia further served in the Christian spirit by providing treats to the units the week of Valentine’s Day. Her work brought some relief during a stressful time in the patient care setting.”
Jennifer Palmer – Nursing Administration, Kettering Health Behavioral Medical Center
“Jenny has been such a huge asset as a care coordinator at KHBMC for so many years. She is such a caring and thoughtful person to every patient and staff member she meets. She is a team player with excellent problem-solving skills and ensures our patients have safe discharge plans and are well-connected with services in the community. She has been a mentor for me throughout my development and I am thankful to have her as a team member. Because of Jenny’s excellent performance as a care coordinator, patients leave the hospital feeling confident and at ease that all their needs have been met. This also includes patient’s having a meticulous plan created for them to continue with their treatment outside of the hospital. Staff know they can rely on her to communicate well and to assist with any complications that potentially may arise.”
“Jenny has been an exceptional employee and dedicated to her patients and to her role as a social worker at KHBMC. She demonstrates a passion for helping others both at work and in the community. She has volunteered hundreds of hours in the community and is always willing to help those around her. She truly cares about her patient’s well-being and is conscientious to relay information to other disciplines. Jenny’s compassion and warmth are what truly make her an exceptional individual. Her actions make others want to be involved with their patients as she demonstrates such care and concern. Jenny also shows clinical expertise in her treatment of patients and will often share ideas in team meetings and when meeting one-on-one with staff. She sends encouraging notes to staff, makes meals in time of need, goes the extra mile to help co-workers with their concerns/questions about the care of loved ones, and decorates offices for special birthdays. She also brings in treats to share with fellow employees. For years she has been greatly involved in volunteering with the Grafton Hills (Stoddard Avenue) Pumpkin Glow and has also been actively involved with Stivers High School in the past.”
Jennifer Zapadka – Social Services, Kettering Health Dayton
“Jenny is an exceptional employee who consistently goes above the normal expectations of the job to help fellow teammates. Whether it is sitting in on interviews or picking up shifts when the team is hurting for staff coverage, she is always kind, friendly, and positive. She ensures she is doing what is asked of her faster than what is asked and does this all with a smile on her face and the best attitude a manager could ask for! Jenny leads by example in showing others how to handle the stresses of the job with grace, compassion, and positivity. She works her assignment and then helps her team members by taking some of theirs to help them and the patients.”
Kimberly Fullen – Radiology, Kettering Health Greene Memorial
“Kim has always gone above and beyond for her co-workers and her patients. She has never been afraid to teach new methods of imaging and loves to help out in departments who are struggling. She takes it upon herself to create a safe and friendly work environment. Her patients really appreciate her and have personally requested her as she truly shows her passion for her field. Kim has always helped clean rooms, transport patients, and has taken the initiative in scheduling or registering patients. She has a multitude of talents that keep the radiology department running smoothly.”
“Kim has a huge heart. Every patient is part of her family and she is devoted to their care. Whenever a co-worker is in need she is always there to help, cover shifts, or donate PTO. We are blessed to have her on our team.”
Helen Kanters – Radiation Oncology, Kettering Health Hamilton
“Helen comes to work every day with a smile on her face, no matter what. She wears many hats in our department and has stepped up to the plate time and time again when we’ve needed extra coverage in a variety of areas. She takes on every task with tenacity and truly puts forth an immense effort with everything she does. It’s clear that she loves her job and interacting with the other employees and our patients. She is also very efficient, organized, and thoughtful in her actions. Her positivity and ability to empathize with her co-workers and patients is a shining example of our true mission in health care. I truly feel lucky to be working with her.”
Casey Cornett – Food Services, Kettering Health Main Campus
“Casey had PTO scheduled on a day in February. She knew that the snow was coming that day and her staff would have a hard time getting in. She rescheduled her appointment and came to work. After receiving three call offs of the four staff she has, she went out and picked up two of them to help them get into work. While we are not direct patient care, her department is responsible for feeding our patients, staff, and doctors. Casey is selfless and has shown her commitment to Kettering Health over and over in the few years I have worked with her. She constantly works short due to staffing issues, never complains about it, and somehow always gets out on time. By showing her dedication, she is a model to other staff, as well as other supervisors. I wish there were more people like Casey!”
Jessica Upton – Coffee Cart, Kettering Health Miamisburg
“Jessica has been a star for quite some time. Anyone that drinks coffee knows Jess. She has a loyal following and knows what all of her regulars drink, but also what time of day each one of them come in. I have always been amazed by Jess and what she does to help our hospital be successful, whether it’s simply serving others or being a smiling face that greets staff and visitors alike. What has really turned my head in the last couple years is Jessica’s ability and desire to do anything for our team.
“When the pandemic started, she did all that was asked of her to help the team in any way she could. Some of the coffee shops in the system closed due to such a drop in sales. Jessica was determined to thrive and made sure she could contribute to keeping our coffee shop open. In the last nine months or so, Jess went to an even higher level. I was out for four and a half months and then came back part time for two months. During this time, she did everything she could to do her job, as well as taking care of my customers as best as she could. My customers knew they could go out to see her and let her know if something wasn’t going right and she always jumped in and made sure to get the job done.
“As if that wasn’t enough, we went down another supervisor shortly after I came back, and this time Jess learned not only be a supervisor, and to do it well, but also to do pretty much every job in the department. The coffee shop has opened, closed, opened, then closed again and she has never complained. She simply does the next job to the best of her ability with a smile underneath that mask. A couple weeks ago or so, we lost another employee. We had to close the coffee shop again and this time Jess picked up those hours. Have I mentioned that none of the jobs that Jess has been asked to do fall in her normal shift hours? Jess has been filling in at all times of the day and evening. Not only has she been willing to do anything for the team, but her family has also. I was supervising the kitchen this morning and we had a schedule misstep, as can sometimes happen. We had no call-center person. That person comes in at 6. Currently, our manager, is on vacation. I was stuck. Only a few people in our department know how to use the new system that patients call in on to order food. I called Jess and without hesitation, she said she would be there ASAP. And she did. The phones open at 6:30 for patients and Jess was here by 6:40.”
Jehrica Carney – Patient Access, Kettering Health Troy
“Jehrica continuously is stepping up to help her team out in any way she can. Whether that is to get certain forms signed during her downtime, cover an extra shift to help with call-offs, or float amongst different departments to help cover lunches. This helps relieve the stress from being short-staffed and helps boosts the morale of those around her. For leaders, we know that we can count on her as a staff member and know that if Jehrica can help, she will.
“Jehrica has shown so much leadership qualities in her day-to-day interaction with patients and co-workers. She has volunteered to learn and understand different workflows for the department such as co-pay deposits, work queues, and new Patient Access workflows. She is always willing to ask questions to get the information she needs to complete the registration process for the patient. I appreciate that Jehrica is open to feedback and is always willing to learn and help where is needed. She has stepped up to conduct peer interviews for potential candidates, which is helpful when hiring a new employee. Additionally, Jehrica helps train our new employees to make sure they have the knowledge and skills to do our job accurately.”
Chelsea Packard – Hand & Orthopedic, Kettering Health Washington Township
“How do I even convey how wonderful Chelsea is? She is a resource nurse for us in the Hand Center but works a regular schedule of three days a week. She is so helpful. She is always willing to switch her days. She has worked while feeling miserable with her pregnancy and never calls in sick. Even though she works resource she always lets us know of her schedule in advance. She has had conflicts with her personal schedule that she bends over backwards to make other arrangements so she can make it work which due to her status she doesn’t even have to do that, but she does. She has even traded her days to accommodate others’ schedule’s while putting her own on hold. How amazing is that? A team player of the highest degree. She always introduces herself to her patients and always brings a smile. I recall a day when a patient was overly anxious about surgery. Chelsea’s calm voice and smile eased the patient so much. She is a model employee in her work ethic and her positive attitude. She responds to call lights before anyone else does. She expressed thanks to everyone whom she asks for help and she thanks the patients for choosing our system. She really is a super star. While very quiet and reserved, she is an invaluable asset to us in the hand center. I would be so honored to see her receive this award because it is much deserved. Not only is she amazing with her patients, but she is amazing with us. We all adore her, we are blessed to have her here with us. We are the lucky ones!”
Steve Bean – Biomedical Engineering, Kettering Network Services
“The weekend of February 25-27, KPN MRI went down. Steve was not on call and spent his entire weekend repairing it. Steve consistently goes above and beyond to keep our equipment functioning for our patients. He exemplifies teamwork and dedication to the network and consistently helps our patients by keeping our MRI functioning.”
“In the world of imaging there is one name that all CT and MRI technologists know: Steve Bean. Steve’s job is to keep the CT and MRI machines up and running. This can be a difficult task to accomplish for a system of our size. His dedication was evident a few weekends ago when the MRI machine at Kettering Health Miamisburg went down. Steve was not on call this weekend and had family in town. Without Steve’s willingness and dedication to patient care the MRI would have waited to get serviced on Monday morning. We would have had to cancel patient appointments and would not have been able to provide care to the in patients. Thanks, Steve, for all you do. We definitely could not do our job without you!”
Michelle Everett – Primary Care – Hamilton Health Center, Kettering Physician Network
“Michelle started a program out of our office to help our patients get financial assistance for their medications. When she saw that our patients were not getting the medications they needed or struggled to afford them, she started helping them fill out paperwork to apply to the financial aid programs to get free and lower cost medications. Most of the patients are older or did not have access to computers and they were very grateful for her help. She helped so many who otherwise would have had to go without their medicines, ration their doses, or choose between paying their light bill or buying medications. Michelle came to the rescue and got them the assistance they needed. Michelle is patient and goes over the forms with attention to detail so that nothing is missed and deadlines for submission and re-submissions for renewals are always complete. She makes it simple for providers and patients. She has helped hundreds of our patients lower their A1Cs and blood pressures and now the program has spread from the Hamilton to Oxford location. Thank you for loving our communities, Michelle! You make a difference in our patients lives.”
Julie Harmeling – Case Management, Soin Medical Center
“Julie is always kind to our patients. She takes her time with discharge planning to ensure their understanding of instructions. Julie goes above and beyond in her care and in recognizing barriers that could lead to an unsuccessful discharge plan. Recently, a patient’s medication was changing and during the medication-teaching Julie recognized that no prescription was written. She immediately contacted the doctor and took care of the patient. On the same day, Julie recognized a patient who had been on oxygen was about to discharge with no home-oxygen evaluation. Again, she jumped into action collaborating with the physician and respiratory team to work through getting the home oxygen set up prior to discharge. Thank you for all you do for our patients, community, and Kettering Health team.”