Patients thank Hershey Medical Center staff for extraordinary care
Megan Patrick, an information associate in Patient- and Family-Centered Care, accepts a Lion Care Award.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
~ Poet Maya Angelou
From chaplain and guest services to patient transport and trauma surgery, more than 100 Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center employees were recognized for outstanding service to patients at the fifth annual Lion Care and Cubby Care Awards ceremony on Oct. 23. The Patient- and Family-Centered Care Advisory Councils sponsored the event at the Hershey Lodge.
Friendly, personable, approachable and compassionate are just a few of the adjectives patients used to describe this year’s recipients.
One nominee said this of her nurse: “She took the time to get to know me, not my diagnosis or my medical record number. To her I was a human being, and I mattered.”
An expectant couple shared the “worst 48 hours of our lives” when they learned their daughter’s heart had stopped beating. “My family and I were all blessed to have been admitted to a hospital with such compassionate and professional staff. It was clear the third floor as a whole had taken great care and planning in how to accommodate the passing of our daughter. Please never question what you do or how you touch families.”
The following individuals and groups were celebrated:
Individual awards
- Alan Adelman, Family and Community Medicine
- Vamsi Alli, Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Rosa Alonso-Cortes, Patient- and Family-Centered Care
- Natallia Andrews, 5 Acute Care
- Robert Atnip, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute
- Khislat Azizov, Medical Intensive Care
- Greg Baiocchi, Four Diamonds Social Work
- Erin Banonis, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute – Critical Care
- Amanda Barr, Pediatric Acute Care
- Heather Barrett, Surgical-Anesthesia Intensive Care
- Shayla Barton, Penn State Health Provider and Patient Access Services Revenue Cycle
- Michael Bell, Linen Services
- Rayven Bellamy, Neonatal Intensive Care
- Jessica Bevans, 5 Acute Care
- Misty Bowman, Patient- and Family-Centered Care
- Cindy Bowman, Patient Transport
- Carol Brown, Operating Room
- Cindy Buck, Guest Services
- Julie Carlson, 6 Acute Care
- Uma Chapagain, 6 Acute Care
- David Claxton, Hematology/Oncology
- Amanda Cooper, Trauma Surgery
- Pesa Coslow, 6 Acute Care
- Charles Darowish, General Pediatrics
- Danielle Daub, Housekeeping
- Taylor Dietrich, Pediatric Intermediate Care
- Susan Dillman, 5 Acute Care
- Jadia Ditzler, Penn State Cancer Institute Nurse Coordinators
- Jane Dutton, Chaplain Services
- Jennifer Endres, 5 Acute Care
- Heather Endy, Patient- and Family-Centered Care
- Alma Engle, Penn State Health Medical Group – Palmyra
- Jessica Ericson, Pediatric Infectious Disease
- Chris Ewing, Stroke Program
- Leroy Fallinger, Housekeeping
- Amanda Filiash, Medical Intermediate Care
- Carol Forsyth, Orthopaedics
- Stacie Freedman, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute Critical Care
- Robert Gallo, Orthopaedics
- Madelin Gamble, Patient- and Family-Centered Care
- Joanne Gassert, Shuttle Services
- Emma Giberson, Pediatric Intermediate Care
- Lisa Ginder, Surgical-Anesthesia Intensive Care
- Kelby Good, Surgical-Anesthesia Intensive Care
- Beth Graham, 6 Acute Care
- Corrie Gregorich, Medical/Surgical Float Personnel/Clinical Staffing Office
- Jill Hall, Medical/Surgical Float Personnel/Clinical Staffing Office
- Nicolette Hartman, Neonatal Intensive Care
- Stephen Henderson, General Internal Medicine
- Allison Henning, Pediatric Residents
- Rebekah Hershey, Pediatric Acute Care
- Anne Hetrick, Patient Transport
- Drew Heying, Child Life
- Catherine Ives, Perianesthesia
- Nora Jens, Pediatric Intermediate Care
- Teresa Kalinay, Outpatient Physical Therapy
- Kaitlin Karavage, 6 Acute Care
- Gurpreet (Ninu) Kaur, 5 Acute Care
- Angela Kelle, Penn State Children’s Heart Group
- Cindy Keller, Neonatal Intensive Care
- Debra Klein, 6 Acute Care
- Stephanie Knaub, 6 Acute Care
- Samantha Koch, 6 Acute Care
- Alisa Manari, Patient Relations
- Katie Manley, Adult Emergency Department
- Kyle Mashburn, 5 Acute Care
- Paul Mast, Adult Emergency Department
- John Maulfair, Penn State Health Medical Group Hospitalist Medicine
- Shamica McIntyre, 5 Acute Care
- Jaime Messing, 5 Acute Care
- Sarah Miller, Child Life
- Cody Moore, Radiology Nursing
- Josh Musser, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute Critical Care
- Conrad Myler, Anesthesiology
- Whitney Navagato, Surgical-Anesthesia Intensive Care
- John Neely, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
- Megan Patrick, Patient- and Family-Centered Care
- Deb Paulley, 4th Floor Surgery
- Mackenzie Reffert, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute Critical Care
- Kristen Renninger, Pediatric Acute Care
- Gladys Rivera, Penn State Health Medical Group – Palmyra
- Elias Rizk, Neurosurgery
- Andrew Sanabria, Medical Intensive Care
- Brian Saunders, Surgery Oncology
- Rachel Scheid, 6 Acute Care
- Leann Seibert, 6 Acute Care
- Lakshmi Shankar, Neurology – Stroke
- Nina Siciliano, Adult Emergency Department
- Michelle Simpson, 6 Acute Care
- Wendy Simpson, 6 Acute Care.
- Cheri Smith, Pulmonary Medicine
- Lauren Smith, 5 Acute Care
- Jeanette St. Clair, Outpatient Physical Therapy
- Brenda Steininger, Medical Intermediate Care
- Stephen Supernavage, Medical/Surgical Float Personnel/Clinical Staffing Office
- Gary Thomas, Neurology
- Abigail Thrush, Pediatric Acute Care
- Cary Windle, Patient- and Family-Centered Care
- Samantha Witte, Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Heidi Wolf, Pediatric Hospitalist
Group awards
- Niraj Gusani, Surgery Oncology
- Baldeep Wirk, Hematology/Oncology
- Hayley Burnheimer, Pediatric Acute Care
- Mariah Swisher, Pediatric Acute Care
- Jennifer Perry, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute Critical Care
- Jacqueline Stolo, Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute Critical Care
- Darby Catalano, Medical Intermediate Care
- Amanda Filiash, Medical Intermediate Care
- Jeff Fine, Medical Intermediate Care
- Chelsea Stoner, Medical Intermediate Care
- Alan Bardach, Adult Emergency Department
- Heather Beiler, Neurointerventional Radiology
- David Ermak, Neurology ― Stroke
- Ravindra GoPaul, Emergency Medicine
- Jessica Lane, Neurosurgery Residents
- Joseph Malone, Neurology Residents
- Jessica Mann, Emergency Medicine
- Caroline McLaughlin, Surgery Residents
- Varun Padmanaban, Neurosurgery Residents
- Neel Patel, Neurosurgery Residents
- Jessica Vesek, Neurointerventional Radiology
- Mayur Vora, Neuroscience Critical Care
- David Ermak, Neurology-Stroke
- Silvia Gosik, Adult Emergency Department
- Justin Heinrich, Nursing Education Staff
- Susan Howes, Chaplain Services
- Frank Jareczek, Neurosurgery Residents
- Krishan Keck, Adult Emergency Department
- Justin Lowe, Neurology
- Caroline McLaughlin, Surgery Residents
- Varun Padmanaban, Neurosurgery Residents
- Lesli Shade, Heart and Vascular Institute, Vascular Radiology
- Jessica Smith, Adult Emergency Department
- Keaton Truitt, Heart and Vascular Institute, Vascular Radiology
- Milissa Treibley, Heart and Vascular Institute, Vascular Radiology
- Trisha Wolpert, Neuroscience Critical Care
- Jordan Schooler, Emergency Medicine
- Mark Iantosca, Neurosurgery
- Thomas Samson, Plastic Surgery
- Jessica Buffenmeyer, 6 Acute Care
- Julie Carlson, 6 Acute Care
- Ryan Munyon, Penn State Health Medical Group Hospitalist Medicine
- Colleen Rafferty, Penn State Health Medical Group Hospitalist Medicine
- Sarah Zerphy, 6 Acute Care
- Bethany Espenshade, Pediatric Acute Care
- Nathaniel Maddalena, Pediatric Acute Care
- Sandra Mercuri, Pediatric Acute Care
- Kristin Norman, Pediatric Acute Care
- Cathleen Adams, Neurology
- Amy Leasure, Perianesthesia
- Sarah Lewis, Emergency Medicine
- Justin Lowe, Neurology
- Timothy Deimling, Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery
- Heidi Watts, Obstetrics/Gynecology
- Julie Carlson, 6 Acute Care
- Kaitlin Karavage, 6 Acute Care
- Elizabeth Seigendall, 6 Acute Care
- Joan Boyd, Penn State Cancer Institute – Inpatient
- Heather Brown, Penn State Cancer Institute – Inpatient
Team awards
- 5 Acute Care Nurses
- 6 Acute Care
- Adult Emergency Department
- Neonatal Intensive Care Physicians
- Women’s Health
Read all of the patient stories.
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