Hospital Honors Staff Members at Celebration
Music provided by the Amphibian Jazz Ensemble filled the room as Windham Hospital honored 149 staff members who have provided a total of 1,541 years of service to the hospital over the past 40 years. Of these totals, 19 staff members have served Windham for more than 30 years. The annual Celebration of Service was held at the Elks Club in Willimantic on Thursday evening, June 4, 2009 with more than 90 individuals attending. Addressing the group, Hospital President and CEO Dick Brvenik quoted football legend Vince Lombardi, commenting that “we are here to celebrate the doer, the achiever, the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it,” he said, “and our staff is blessed with many of these achievers, whom we recognize here this evening.” He concluded by thanking the staff members for their commitment and teamwork that “combine to make Windham Hospital a truly remarkable place for both the staff and the patients they care for.”
Chairman of the Board, Arthur W. Brodeur, and Chief of Staff, Eugene Winchester, MD, echoed Brvenik’s remarks, and thanked the staff and their families for their outstanding and compassionate service over the years. Members of the Executive Team presented awards to individuals for 3-40 years of service.
The Hospital also has quarterly and bi-annual recognition programs in place for individuals who, according to Brvenik, “give just a little more than expected, who make our jobs just a bit easier, and upon whom we all rely each day.” The people from these programs were also recognized for their commitment to quality, excellence and teamwork: Reach for the Stars Quarterly Award Winners Heather Murphy (Purchasing), Michael Shaia (Plant Operations), Joanne Graham (Cardiac Rehab), Milly Vasquez (4-Shea), Rebecca Arnold (Lab), and Carmen Gonzalez (Greer); and Leadership Recognition Awardees, Cynthia McClarran, Technical Director for the Hospital’s Radiology Department, and Brian Cawley, Director of First Choice Sports & Rehabilitation. Rounding out the roll-call of honorees were the recipient of this year’s Jane Desmarias Nursing Scholarship, Jaime Ainsworth, and Nightingale Award Winners for Excellence in Nursing, Tamre Fontaine and Barbara Garceau. Caregiver of the Year, Marge Voght, RN, and the 2009 CHA “Healthcare Hero” Dr. Herbert Ridyard were also singled out for their outstanding commitment to their professions.
Windham Hospital is an acute care hospital providing a wide range of health and community services to 19 towns in northeastern Connecticut, and recently affiliated with Hartford Healthcare. For more information about job opportunities at Windham Hospital, contact Human Resources Services at 456-6931 or visit www.windhamhospital.org. |