TCMH Holds 33rd Annual Employee Celebration

Texas County Memorial Hospital gave out top employee awards and honored 38 employees with service awards at the Thirty-Third Annual Celebration of TCMH Employees on Friday at Faith Fellowship Church in Houston.  In attendance were approximately 100 employees, many with guests, for a total attendance of about 200 people.

Ellen Willis, Texas County Memorial Hospital physical therapy department director, received the Manager of the Year honor at TCMH for 2016. Shown here left to right, Linda Pamperien, chief financial officer, Willis, Doretta Todd-Willis, chief nursing officer, and (back) Wes Murray, chief executive officer.

Ellen Willis of Summersville took top honors as manager of the year at TCMH for 2016.

Willis, an employee at TCMH since 2001, is a physical therapist and director of the TCMH physical therapy department.

“Ellen has taken initiative to take on additional duties and pursued additional training to bring new services to her department,” Linda Pamperien, chief financial officer at TCMH, said, explaining that Willis took on oversight of physical therapy services for Home Health of the Ozarks shortly after taking over as director of the PT department.

“When I asked Ellen about working with Home Health, she said, ‘We’ll make that work.’ And it has been very successful,” Pamperien said.

Willis has also pursued board certification in wound therapy and certification in LSVT BIG for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

“Ellen is always looking for ways to better herself,” Pamperien said.  “She’s a terrific asset for our hospital.”

Willis joined the TCMH physical therapy department in 2001, and she took over leadership of the department in 2012.

“Ellen exhibits the leadership qualities that meet our expectations for the department and the hospital,” Wes Murray, chief executive officer at TCMH said.

Murray noted that Willis takes call for physical therapy and wound therapy patients at the hospital, and she’s “always willing to work with everyone as a team player”.

Willis works closely with members of the TCMH medical staff for inpatients and outpatients.

“Ellen has the respect of all of our physicians,” Pamperien said.

Brooke Whitaker, a registered nurse in the Texas County Memorial Hospital emergency department, received the Employee of the Year honor at TCMH for 2016. Shown here are Linda Pamperien, chief financial officer, Doretta Todd-Willis chief nursing officer, Whitaker, Wes Murray, chief executive officer, and Jerri Sue Crump, emergency department nurse manager.

Brooke Whitaker of Licking received the employee of the year honor.

Employee of the year is limited to the individuals who have received the honor of employee of the month since the 2015 employee awards ceremony.  All employees are allowed to vote for employee of the year by choosing one employee of the month in a secret ballot vote.

Whitaker is a registered nurse in the emergency department at TCMH, and she has worked at the hospital since 2014.  Whitaker won employee of the month honors at TCMH in August.  Doctors, nurses, patients, visitors and other departmental staff members all interact with Whitaker as a nurse in the emergency department.

“Brooke is positive and energetic, and she takes initiative when she’s working,” Doretta Todd-Willis, TCMH chief nursing officer, said.

Murray noted that Whitaker has the respect of the TCMH emergency room physicians.

“Brooke is known for having a sound knowledge base,” Murray said.  “She has a gift for balancing patient care with handling patients and their families and the many different situations that are presented in the ER.”

“Brooke is a ‘go-to’ employee, and her future in healthcare is bright,” Jerri Sue Crump, emergency department nurse manager said.

The managers of the year and the employee of the year were honored with an engraved plaque, $500 cash, a pin and a day of paid time off.

The TCMH Customer Quality Team honored two employees that exemplified excellent customer service in the hospital organization in 2016.   Tamma Floyd, a technician at TCMH Hutcheson Pharmacy, and Frank Steelman, a paramedic in the emergency medical services department, were chosen to receive the honor.

Tamma Floyd of Hutcheson Pharmacy and Frank Steelman of Emergency Medical Services won the top customer service awards given to employees at Texas County Memorial Hospital in 2016.

Floyd and Steelman were each awarded a plaque for their efforts and given a cash award.

The Customer Quality Team also recognized two departments with a “Customer Service Department of the Year” award.  TCMH Home Health of the Ozarks and Plant Operations received the honors.

Home Health of the Ozarks staff has consistently received “four out of five star” ratings and are “above average” in the scored areas on their patient satisfaction surveys in 2016.  They have been in the 90^th percentile of “recommended home health agencies” for six months in a row.

The plant operations department is known for consistently providing excellent customer service to all departments within the hospital.  The department has also taken on several large in-house renovation projects in 2016 in addition to handling routine duties of the department.

Plant Operations and Home Health of the Ozarks won the customer service departments of the year award at Texas County Memorial Hospital. Members of both departments are here accepting the award.

Both departments will receive a special meal in their honor.

Murray and Dr. Jim Perry, OD, chairperson of the TCMH board of trustees, and board member, Omanez Fockler recognized employees with service awards.

Linda Sullins was recognized for 40 years of service.

Terri Bailey was recognized for 35 years of service.

Nancy Branson and Kim Jordan were recognized for 30 years of service.

Kelly Bell, Kathy Carr, Angie Gimpel, and Carol Turner were recognized for 25 years of service.

Brenda Barton, Yvonne Cope, Andree Havens, and Linda Pamperien were recognized for 20 years of service.

Recognized for 15 years of service were: Hope Best, Lisa Merritt, Patty Norris, Frank Steelman, Vicky Tidwell, and Ellen Willis.

Recognized for 10 years of service were: Becky Brawley, Krista Elliott, Crystal Finley, Geoff Hall, Nancy Hayes, Colleen Lebel, and Steve Mitchell.

Recognized for 5 years of service were:  Mary Barnes, Ashley Carr, Shelby Ellison, Paul Fockler, Jonathon Gibby, Sharon Gliem, Chastidy Graen, Rick Hardwick, Tommi Hogan, Malina Jordan, Lance King, Christa Mitchell, and Janell Postlewait.

TCMH also gave out prizes to hospital employees that had volunteered at hospital events throughout the year.