Thursday August 26, 2021
Initiative Spotlights: HCHR Week 2021
Health Care HR Week 2021: Strategic Partners for the Health Care Workforce
Get inspired by these Initiatives
Thoughtful gestures, big and small, can have significant impacts that we can’t always measure. This year, we want to highlight the creative efforts of health care HR professionals who encouraged, supported and uplifted the care givers on the front lines. Click on the links below and get inspired by these efforts. This page will be updated throughout the week, so check back regularly to see who will be next on the spotlight!
Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Mid-Cities – Roving Carts
Bedford, Texas
Nominated by
Frances Fuentes
Director, Human Resources
Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Mid-Cities
About the Nominee
Recognized 2020 was named the ‘Year of the Nurses,’ and this pandemic made it even more obvious of how much we need to appreciate all of our staff.
About the Initiative
We came up with Roving Carts for appreciation of our staff to maintain distance and keep fighting this pandemic. We decided to continue some activities to keep them motivated and show our respect, and honor that they love what they do and we love what they do. We are stronger thanks to them and their sacrifice and resilience.
Cary Medical Center – Employee Appreciation Drive-Through
Caribou, Maine
Nominated by
Penny Wickstrom
Manager, Human Resources
Cary Medical Center
About the Nominee
Our HR Team at Cary Medical is amazingly creative, always striving to make every employee feel special, appreciated and this is continuously done with passion and incredible creativity. This held true as our team planned our annual employee recognition dinner. At this event, we honor and recognize those employees with milestone years. Of course, as with everything that happened in 2020, COVID became a challenge. HR was faced with a difficult decision, how we can continue to recognize our team, our Cary family. This team would not allow for a year to go by without continuing to make our Cary family feel appreciated. Especially the year 2020. Doris, Jamie, and Abbie brainstormed and decided we would hold a drive-through event! The team mapped out a route to be held right at the hospital, complete with props, booths, gifts, not one detail left out! The group decided on a western theme for the event. This team worked tirelessly on this event to ensure every detail was complete, safety was in check, and more importantly, recognition was at the forefront, all while fun was to be had. The event was to be held on Oct. 2, 2020. One additional challenge was presented, Mother Nature did not exist cooperating. Rain was in the forecast, however, as with any other challenge, this team held firm and moved the event to our local Wellness Center. This allowed the show to go on, and supported our community center. The event was continued while maintaining social distancing and keeping with COVID guidelines. This team pulled off an employee recognition like no other! We had upwards of 30 employees honored during the event. Cary’s Annual Employee Recognition dinner will definitely go down in the history books as one of the best, even during a pandemic!
About the Initiative
Continuing with the employee recognition event is an honor for our team at Cary Medical Center; it is an event that everyone looks forward to. This is an evening that allows our team to get out, socialize with co-workers outside of the hospital—an opportunity to let our hair down and enjoy each other. Our HR team would not allow a worldwide pandemic to stop them from allowing this enjoyment for their work family. This evening is critical to showing appreciation for everyone to come together, show appreciation. And as we know, this was needed even more for 2020! We succeeded because of our team! Thank you for all you do!
Norton Healthcare – Trilogy Health Services Health Care Career Tracks
Louisville, Kentucky
Nominated by
Gladys Lopez Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer Norton HealthcareAbout the Nominee
Norton Healthcare and Trilogy Health Services partnered to offer area high school students a unique career pathway towards health care careers. Our innovative program is a joint collaboration between two large health care organizations and the public school systems to provide a career pathway for students in a health sciences academy. Our partnership with Trilogy Health Services allows high school students to explore a variety of health care specialties, with either organization, while earning their high school diploma. The idea was born out of the need to educate, expand, and diversify the pipeline of future health care professionals. With over 20% of the careers in our area being health care related fields, we felt the responsibility to engage high school students by giving them exposure to hands on experiences in both the acute care and long term care settings. To participate, students apply to their school’s health science academy as freshmen and follow a pathway through their high school experience. Juniors and seniors ages 16 and up can then apply for paid positions as part of the program. After graduation, students are encouraged to enroll at one of our higher education partners.About the Initiative
In the 6 months since the start of the program, we have impacted over 100 students giving them real world work experience while providing both organizations with a pipeline of dedicated new professionals. The students gain valuable knowledge as they work alongside seasoned health care professionals, while embracing their potential and solidifying their career path. The feedback from the educators in the community has been positive and they have quickly championed our program. Students in the program can receive specialized coursework, internships, job shadowing opportunities, and hands-on clinical experience with both Norton Healthcare and Trilogy Health Services. They also learn other important skills such as accountability, confidentiality, and teamwork. Students have the opportunity to earn health care certifications, income, and apply for tuition assistance helping them reduce or even eliminate the financial burden of post-secondary education. Norton Healthcare, Trilogy Health Services, and the community we serve benefit from a more prepared, expanded, and diverse talent pipeline. Students start their new careers with a solid foundation that allows them to hit the ground running. Based on the initial success, we are excited to continue expanding our program.Ceca Foundation – Ceca Award Program
Washington, D.C.
Nominated by
Lori Stewart Senior Advisor Ceca FoundationAbout the Nominee
Ceca Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that seeks to improve the patient experience by publicly recognizing health caregivers through its Ceca Award Program. Ceca partners with hospitals, nursing, aging care and other health care communities to recognize their exceptional caregivers through innovative technology platforms (including its software and CecaTV network), support services, and monetary awards. The Program encourages all staff and family members to recognize and acknowledge specific acts of compassion and kindness and nominate those caregivers for the Ceca Award. The Ceca Award Program serves as a network for health care communities to demonstrate their commitment to core caregiving values, while ensuring staff are engaged and feel appreciated. Research shows these critical elements lead to higher safety and security, better staff retention, and improved care delivery. Since the launch of the Ceca Award program, more than 25,000 acts of care have been recognized by peers, residents, patients, and families to honor those health care workers for caregiving excellence. Nearly 1,000 individuals have been selected for the Ceca Award. In cooperation with its health care facility partners, Ceca operates the program and underwrites most costs for its innovative software and cash awards.About the Initiative
I am nominating The Ceca Award Program as the only turnkey employee engagement program designed specifically for health care communities. In this time of COVID, health care workers have been working on the frontlines fighting the pandemic in our most vulnerable communities. They have made truly heroic personal sacrifices that jeopardized their own health and private lives to care for and comfort those who have been impacted not only by the pandemic, but also by the lockdowns in care communities. Research shows that even before the COVID lockdowns, nursing home residents in particular, suffer from lack of engagement and isolation. Studies by Holleran Consulting, Oxford Academic, and others have identified a symbiotic relationship between staff engagement and resident engagement and/or satisfaction. Ceca has tracked engagement, participation, and organizational performance metrics since 2013, and the research is clear – the Ceca Award Program increases employee engagement, which in turn leads to increased levels of patient well-being in our partner organizations. Ceca has partnered with dozens of hospitals, skilled nursing, hospice, mental health facilities and at-home care providers across the nation. The Ceca Award Program serves as a network for health care communities to demonstrate their commitment to core caregiving values, while ensuring staff are engaged and feel appreciated. Research shows these critical elements lead to higher safety and security, better staff retention, and improved care delivery. Since the launch of the Ceca Award program, more than 25,000 acts of care have been recognized by peers, residents, patients, and families to honor those healthcare workers for caregiving excellence. Nearly 1000 individuals have been selected for the Ceca Award, and more than $300,000 have been awarded. In cooperation with its healthcare facility partners, Ceca operates the program and underwrites most costs for its innovative software and cash awardsMagnolia Regional Health Center
Corinth, Mississippi
