Anita Goriup, EEG Coordinator | December 2023
Nominated by Dr. Samuel Zuckerman
I wanted to make the superb work by Anita in EEG known to administration. We had a young patient with significant developmental delays and an unfortunate neurodegenerative disorder admitted to the pediatric ICU with need for continuous EEG monitoring. Anita was the technician on call that evening and was very prompt in her arrival.
She brought all of her equipment to the room and then spent some time explaining to the mother, maternal grandmother and to the nursing staff what the procedure would be. She was very gentle and carefully took her time with the child who was more irritable than usual due to her having been handled already by so many care providers in the ED. I believe that this really helped the mother and child’s comfort and relaxed everyone greatly.
After placement of the EEG leads, Anita then began the study connecting the EEG system to the internet by wifi. She informed me who would be the pediatric neurologist reading the study and spoke to the neurologist directly by phone. She then stayed to be sure that the system was working well and that the neurologist could receive and interpret the study.
It turns out that the hospital wifi for some reason was continually disrupting reception of the study. Anita then called the on-call IT personnel who were able to temporarily correct the issue. Anita stayed there to help the IT worker who was not familiar with the EEG equipment.
The next morning there continued to be troubles with the wifi interface. Anita again worked with the daytime IT team.
Continuously she checked in with the family to explain the issues and reassure them that their physician was checking the study as well. Over the next days Anita would check the connectivity repeatedly and check-in with the interpreting neurologist in El Paso, TX.
Finally, days later, the patient had completed more than 24 hours without any seizure activity evident on the continuous EEG, and we were able to discontinue the study.
Anita came to the room to remove the leads and gently remove the paste used to adhere the leads during the study. She again was very patient with a little girl who was scared and tired of the hospital. Anita also reassured the mother who herself was extremely young.
It my opinion and also that of the rest of our care team that it was mostly due to Anita’s efforts that we were able to complete the study. So much extra effort was required to make this happen, and we all felt that it was Anita’s attention to detail as well as her patient advocacy that led to success in the patient’s course of care.
Rachel James, Patient Care Tech | August 2023
Rachel deserves the Sunshine Award for many reasons, but one is she pays attention to the details. For example, during our dressing changes that can be painful and anxiety-producing for our patients, Rachel plays their favorite music to help with pain control and relaxation. She found out that it was one of our patient’s anniversary, so she bought a card for the staff to sign. Rachel took the time to connect with one of our patients that was lonely, anxious and took a lot of extra time we could not always give. Besides having the extra help, I am so grateful to have someone like Rachel, that hasn’t forgotten all the little touches that helps our patients feel seen and valued. Thank you Rachel, our day is better when you are there.
Kristie Martin, RT | July 2023
Kristie was nominated by a colleague for the Sunshine Award:
Kristie is such a good leader, she has been known to come in hours early to help night shift before working her regular day shift and staying late to make sure the patients were taken care of and things were settled for the oncoming shift. She is efficient and doesn't let the overwhelming amount of work phase her and her positive attitude helps the rough shifts go more smoothly. We are so lucky to have her as one of our supervisors!
A couple months ago, Kristie had a patient on 5th floor that had a new trach. She spent an endless amount of time with this patient going above and beyond to make her feel comfortable during a very scary time in life. She did not have family or visitors that came to see her. Kristie knew the patient was nervous to have new people care for her trach and suction, so Kristie told her to call her anytime and she would go up and help her. This isn’t always easy to do with an RT’s workload, but she always made time for her and made her feel like she was her only patient. Early in the patient’s stay the providers were going to send the patient to a hotel with a new trach because they couldn’t find placement for her anywhere and her home is in Salmon. Kristie went out of her way and stopped that process as soon as she found out about the plan. She advocated for the patient to stay at EIRMC because sending her would pose a risk to her life. Because of Kristie, the patient stayed in our care and was eventually discharged safely. She is a passionate patient advocate. She cares deeply for her patients and goes above and beyond her normal duties to make them feel cared for and safe.
Kim Petersen, Physical Therapist Assistant | May 2023
The Sunshine Award recognizes staff members for compassionate caring of our patients, their loved ones, and our own colleagues. Kim was nominated by a patient's family member.
"Kim is very pleasant with our Dad. He gets to eye level and speaks kindly to him. He is very encouraging to get our Dad to stand and take steps. When our Dad is at first hesitant, he is able to assist and guide him to stand. Our Dad doesn't normally trust easily; however, he has become fond of Kim and trusts him to assist with his physical therapy. We are very appreciative of Kim's kindness and soft-spoken when dealing with our Dad."
Georgena Yanoff, Occupational Therapist | March 2023
Georgena Yanoff, Occupational Therapist, is EIRMC’s Sunshine Award Honoree, which recognizes exceptional compassion and knowledge at EIRMC. She was nominated by her colleague, who shares why Georgena is so deserving of this award: Georgena cares deeply about each of her patients and develops quick rapport with them. With over 30 years of experience ranging from peds to adults, she is a profound resource to other staff and to providers who frequently ask for her opinion and expertise. Georgena has a wealth of knowledge and is quick to provide printed resources or hands on education when someone mentions a skill or topic they don't feel confident about. I have personally "caught" Georgena hand-stitching alterations into a compression glove for an improved fit for a patient, buying black coban on her own time and money to match a patient's tuxedo for his daughter's wedding, and covering a multitude of shifts for her counterpart (7-on / 7-off) who had to suddenly go out on FMLA for weeks due to family emergency. She has worked for nearly a month straight without complaint because she cares about the patients and her coworkers and wants the best for everyone. She is an irreplaceable asset and deserves all the recognition in the world!