The Living the Mission Award is given to people who bring the network’s mission to life, demonstrating the sacred work of improving the quality of life for people in the communities we serve. They use their own time and resources to transform lives, whether that’s at a network location or out in the community.
You can read the nomination stories and see the photos of the April Living the Mission recipients below. Congratulations to all of our recipients!
Amanda Garrett – IS Disruptive Innovation, Administrative Support Building
“When COVID reared its ugly head and we were all yanked from the comfort of our routines, both at work and at home, our team was extremely lucky to have Mandy as Scrum Master. Not only does she help keep us on track with the day-to-day tasks, she’s always willing to be our advocate when communicating with other IS teams or even service lines. But this nomination isn’t about what she does as Scrum Master. It’s about what she’s done and is doing for the community and how she spreads the mission of Kettering Health Network. You see, Mandy has been assisting dozens of elderly residents to ensure they can navigate the online portal for scheduling of their COVID vaccines. Imagine an 82-year-old who doesn’t have family close by who can help with the scheduling portal. She is lucky enough to find an appointment and savvy enough to have gotten herself to the point of registering. Now comes the part where she must enter identifying information and insurance information. Her arthritic fingers are going as fast as she can, but when she finally gets to the end to submit and schedule that coveted appointment, she gets a message that says, “that appointment time is gone, pick a new time” and all the appointments have been gobbled up. This is where Mandy steps in. For those who don’t have a family member to help navigate this electronic world of scheduling, she’s been an advocate in helping get so many elderly patients scheduled for their COVID vaccines. Not only this, but she’s taken her own PTO to drive people to and from their appointments when they had no other way of making it. In my eyes, Mandy’s caring of this population of Ohioans reflects our mission statement completely. She’s an asset as a Scrum Master, but it’s her heart and straightforward willingness to just help that gives her jewels in her crown.”
Laura Vielbig – Inpatient Therapy, Kettering Medical Center
“As an acute care physical therapist, Laura mainly serves on the Critical Care Trauma team, but she is competent and well versed in covering all areas of the hospital. She also serves as one of our Epic super users and has done significant education with our staff related to Epic and our documentation. Laura is very active in the community with her church. Most recently, she went to her church leadership and inquired about having some monetary donations to put together some “care packages” for our COVID population. I would like to mention, that Laura was one of our first staff members back in early 2020, to step up to volunteer to work with this population. Although staff were anxious and uncertain at that time, she knew there was a need to provide therapy services to these COVID patients and she was willing to step up and meet the need. Laura coordinated a donation of approximately $1,800.00 from her church and went out and personally shopped to make up care packages consisting of blankets, neck pillows, coloring books, nail polish, etc. She also included a piece of scripture in each bag for the patient to keep. She made these care packages available to staff to take up and give to patients. It has been incredible. I would also like to mention that Laura also saw a need in the community right before the holidays. She knew a single mom with several children was in need and she organized within our department a gift donation. Laura got the wish list from the mother and coordinated the gifts and then personally drove them to Lebanon to provide them to the mother, someone she did not know personally, but had learned had a need through a friend. Laura is very kind and compassionate and really wants to ensure she meets the needs of her patients and families often going above and beyond to get things done or make them feel secure. She is also a great team member whom is always willing to help her colleagues. Laura is a great representative of our department and the organization overall which is evidenced by her giving spirit and her willingness to serve others to make the world a better place.”
Gretchen Trunk – Infusion Center, Grandview Medical Center
“Gretchen literally gives everything she has to offer to her patients and her co-workers. Last year a co-worker’s teen daughter ended up with End Stage Renal Disease and had to start her first year at college on peritoneal dialysis. Upon learning the news of the diagnosis, Gretchen, without a second thought, quietly went to see if she was a match for a kidney donation and found out that she was. Once she was approved to be a donor, she told a few co-workers and manager to get the time off for the surgery. She wanted this gift to be anonymous. Upon the morning of the surgery, only then did she reveal herself to the family. Gretchen truly exemplifies the meaning of sacrifice and humility. Every single day she gives her all to everyone she encounters. I have never met a more selfless and kind human being. Our patients adore the knowledge and genuine kindness Gretchen brings to work every single day. And because Gretchen is true mentor to other employees, she encourages all of us to give 110% to the people we care for every day. She is the reason that our patients receive the best care her at Kettering Cancer Center, and her heartfelt kindness radiates throughout our patients and the community.”