The Employee of the Month Award recognizes the people you love to work with. These winners show exceptional performance as defined by the network’s Standards of Behavior, live out the network’s values, and demonstrate the healing presence practices outlined in Called to Care.
You can read the nomination stories and view the pictures of the September Employees of the Month below. Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Michael Wendth – 4 Main (Med/Surg/Tely), Fort Hamilton Hospital
“Mike is constantly going above and beyond for our patients and team members. For example, he took time from his lunch break to discuss a complicated patient with the therapy team. When asked to assist with resolving a situation for a patient, he problem solves quickly to fix the issue at hand. We had a patient who reported he was too hot in his room and had been trying to find a solution for four days. I brought this up with Mike who was able to alleviate this issue for the patient in less than 10 minutes. I could go on about Mike for quite some time because these are not isolated events. Mike is constantly performing in this manner daily. Mike always has a smile on his face and is willing to help no matter how big or small the task is. He is easily approachable, and his positivity is contagious. His actions and behaviors encourage all staff around him to continue to work together as a team not just for one another but for our patients as well. He not only brightens the day of his team members but really makes an impact on our patients daily.”
Autumn Fisher – Med Surg Tele, Greene Memorial Hospital
“A patient stated, ‘Autumn is a walking bundle of energy and makes a stay at the hospital an experience. Over my stay, she has brought me coffee, snacks, and a Lunchable. Her conversation and explosive energy, her interest in my comfort, and constant checking made my stay acceptable. I hope she is considered for this award.’ The extraordinary care she provides for her patients is evident through the words of this patient. She truly made a difference in this patient’s stay.”
Donald Hoskins – Core Lab, Grandview Medical Center
“Donald is a valuable employee who is engaged in the hospital’s mission, vision, and values. He takes pride in making a difference with every patient experience. Donald is very compassionate and highly engaged. He is the best of the best. I have received multiple phone calls and emails from patients, nurses, and physicians about the amazing service that he provides. Donald goes above and beyond to make sure everyone has what is needed. He has worked a long time for our organization and has always made himself available to stay late, come in early, or work on his day off. Donald has had to work independently a lot due to staffing shortages and hiring issues and he never complains. I sometimes tell him to take a break or to go home. If I didn’t he would properly stay overnight. I would really like to recognize Donald for being so committed to his job and would like to honor him for the phenomenal work he does each day, making sure our patients feel safe in his care, and helping the department and his coworkers when needed.”
Julie Hall – Adult Psych, KBMC
“Julie is very supportive of the patients and compassionate in her care. Whether she is working as a staff nurse or in supervision, she is supportive of her staff and works great as part of the team to collaborate with all disciplines for the best care and safety of the patient. When she works on the floor, she is the definition of a team player. She is amazing with her patients, and she is always anticipating the needs of her coworkers. She is more than happy to help pass a medication, do an admission when it isn’t her turn, or help with a discharge when things are crazy. When she is the supervisor, she doesn’t shy away from standing up for what is right and safe. She doesn’t get easily frustrated under pressure — instead she remains positive and works hard to resolve any issues that she encounters. Julie is also more than happy to help when things are busy on the floor. We appreciate her friendship, kindness, passion, and enthusiasm. We are lucky to work with her!”
Laura Amen – Enrollment Services, Kettering College
“I am nominating Laura Amen for Employee of the Month because she has gone above and beyond her job responsibilities ever since she came to work here a year ago, specifically this last month. In the admissions office, she has taken additional responsibility to cover for the team being down one team member. She made more phone calls, completed nearly all the campus visits, ran the campus visit program, and covered the front desk when the receptionist was unavailable. Recently, I observed her helping a team member from another department carry boxes, print off nametags, get pens, and other materials for the board of directors meeting. This is not her job responsibility, but she graciously offered to help. Also, she recently took a difficult phone call with a student who has significant emotional fears about being asked to get the COVID-19 vaccine. That phone call would usually be taken by an administrator, but she listened empathetically to the student, took notes, and passed it along to administration for a follow-up call with the student. Laura continues to be the model of the type of employee we want at Kettering College. She is positive, joyful, hard-working, but most of all, she shows the love of Christ in all her interactions. It is an honor to work with her.”
Sarah Buehl – Delivery Room, Kettering Medical Center
“Sarah exemplifies the definition of teamwork. As of late, our unit has experienced an influx of deliveries and it has been one of the busiest few months in labor and delivery. Sarah comes in with a positive attitude and never stops during her shifts. She assists wherever needed and always does it with a cheerful attitude. It is not only noticed by her coworkers, but by patients. Many times, patients talk about the ‘friendly’ HUC and OB tech, Sarah. Her kindness and positive attitude echo through our unit and she leaves a lasting impact not only on the patients, but on her coworkers as well. I feel that Sarah is the true definition of a star and would be a great representative as Employee of the Month for Kettering Health.”
Cassandra Kirkpatrick – Patient Access – Pre Clearance, Kettering Network Services
“Cassandra was picking up at one of our urgent care’s imaging locations to help with registration. Cassandra was missing a part of the access she needed to complete the job. The department had reached out to their leadership to close the department four hours early due to this. Cassandra reached out to me so we could get her the access she needed to take care of the patients. The situation was not the prettiest, but I could still hear Cassandra’s smile through the phone and her passion for wanting to take care of the patients. She personally went out to every patient waiting and apologized for the delay. The patients showed appreciation and we were able to keep the department open thanks to Cassandra. Bravo! Cassandra’s actions show her willingness to go above and beyond for our community. Cassandra shows such compassion in her interactions with everyone she encounters daily. This was just one of many examples of Cassandra’s big heart and compassion shining for our patients and community.”
Bernice Powell – PC Miamisburg Byers, Kettering Physician Network
“We have a patient that comes into our office that doesn’t have family and lives alone. Bernice speaks to the patient each time they come in and found out the patient’s birthday was coming up soon. The patient’s next appointment was actually on her birthday, so Bernice went out and got a small cake, card, and a gift for the patient to give her when she came in for her appointment. The patient started crying and said, ‘Oh my gosh thank you so much. I have no family.’ The surprise and joy on the patient’s face made others in the office almost cry. Bernice is always doing thoughtful and kind things for our patients. She lives by the Kettering Health mission and standards. Bernice makes others feel appreciated and cared for. We have many patients that call and ask for Bernice by name because they know that she will take care of them. She is a true asset to our Kettering Physician Network family.”
Amber Fox – CT, Sycamore Medical Center
“A CAT scan can be a scary and uncomfortable place as an adult, not to mention how scary it can be when you are a kid. We had a three-year-old little boy who came in with head trauma and needed imaging. Amber was able talk him through the very scary process. She made sure he knew she was there for him during the entire exam. After the exam, she went to the gift shop and spent her own money to get him toys and a teddy bear for him since he did such a good job. He was able to take the items with him while he was being transferred to a children’s hospital. Amber has a huge heart and went above and beyond to make sure this patient was comfortable during the entire process. She helped him feel taken care of on a really scary day!”
Beth Hoffman – Pre & Post Procedure Care, Soin Medical Center
“Beth is an amazing nurse who uses her relationship with God to guide her in her care of her patients. A loss of a patient in the operating room is unexpected and is heart-wrenching for the patient’s family but also for the staff that has connected with the patient in their vulnerable preoperative state. Beth prayed with the patient prior to going to the OR, and then was a great source of comfort for the family when she had to deliver bad news. She showed incredible compassion and support to this family. This is not just an isolated incident for Beth. She shows the same compassion and positive attitude in her interactions every day with patients and families. She supports her coworkers in all avenues of life, and I could not be prouder to work with her. Beth is a good steward of God because she used the gifts that God has given her to manage.”
Adalberto Agosto-Burgos – Police & Security, Southview Medical Center
“We had a patient having a mental health crisis who refused to continue speaking to staff in English as they began speaking in Spanish. Adalberto entered the room and spoke with the patient in Spanish to calm the patient down and explain the hospital process. Adalberto spoke with her in Spanish for fifteen minutes or so to help her understand the situation. With his help, the staff was eventually able to provide necessary care for the patient. This is the second or third time just that I have personally seen Adalberto use his bilingual skills to help staff and patients in the hospital. Adalberto’s bilingual skills have been extremely useful on multiple occasions now where there have been partial or exclusive Spanish speaking people at Southview. His abilities to speak in both English and Spanish have been crucial in problem solving time and time again. Adalberto is a kind and conscientious officer. He has worked diligently to improve his officer communication skills and is a consistent example of the Kettering Health culture of caring for others.”
Kevin Powell – Plant Maintenance, Troy Hospital
“Kevin deserves to be recognized as he constantly is going over and beyond to support the departments at Troy. This week, we had the drain backup in the room behind our linear accelerator. Kevin worked with an outside vendor to get the drain unclogged and helped the staff get the room cleaned. Unfortunately, the backup occurred again and this time we were not as lucky because it got into the electronics behind the machine and under the floor. Kevin dropped everything to come assist the therapists to help prevent damage. This involved going out to get a dehumidifier, fan, and being the one that physically sanitized all the equipment. He did such an amazing job that we were able to treat patients in the afternoon maintaining continuity for our cancer patients. Coming off a holiday weekend where we were already closed, his dedication to resume our services Friday afternoon is nothing short of heroic because in our field delays can impact the patient’s overall outcome. Kevin never complains. He runs with whatever the task may be and has been this way since we have opened our department at Troy. Whatever we need, he has always assisted us and helped to coordinate with outside vendors, especially with our very large lead door. In this case, the team also came up with a plan to prevent this from occurring in the future. Kevin will be taking the lead to get the part ordered and installed. I am so grateful for Kevin and the whole plant engineering team!”
Do you know someone who is a Kettering Health Star? Help us honor them by telling their story in the Kettering Health Stars form, located in the MyHR portal.