On October 12, 2013, North Country Hospital and 200 of its employees celebrated excellence and milestones in achievements at their 27th Annual Employee Awards Ceremony. The evening celebrated 91 employees receiving awards and recognitions from 5 years to 35 years of service. The ceremony was hosted at the Elks, which was decorated perfectly for fall and all its glory. Beautiful mums centered each table surrounded by leaves and acorns; corn stalks and scarecrows were also found throughout the venue. The atmosphere was only exceeded by the positive energy of the employees. Employees had smiles from ear to ear as they feasted on a buffet of appetizers and desserts. They danced to music as DJ Gordon Brown kept the music playing and employees even enjoyed their very own photo booth to take home memories of the special night.
The Master of Ceremonies, President and CEO of North Country Hospital Claudio Fort, opened the night welcoming employees and their spouses, friends and families by recognizing all that they had done and their commitment to patient care and the community.
“I would like to personally thank all the employees who are here tonight to either receive recognition or to support the North Country Hospital family. It’s through our employees that we maintain excellence in patient quality care; it’s through our employees that we deliver the best service possible to our community, and it’s through our employees that I look forward to coming to work each day. All of you deserve to feel proud tonight as we celebrate the milestones of our peers. Again, I thank you all for being here and for your continued commitment and dedication to our hospital, its patients and our community”, said Fort.
The guest speaker of the night was Veronika Jedlovszky, MD who represented the Medical Executive Committee and the entire medical staff. Doctor Jedlovszky genuinely thanked employees for their commitment and congratulated all who were to be honored.
Dr.Jedlovszky said, “One of the most gratifying things to see is that you represent every portion of North Country Hospital. You work in all of the departments of the hospital …You bring the entire spectrum of skills and dedication that it takes to provide excellent care to our patients while giving them a safe and comfortable environment.” She went on to say, “You all play a part in helping patients work through the stress and worry of their medical, emotional and social issues, guiding them through the labyrinth of insurance and financial matters as well as the mystery of regulatory systems that are often not particularly patient friendly.”
Dr. Jedlovszky also talked about quality of patient care and its direct correlation to attentiveness to the patients and positive attitudes, efforts and skills of the staff that keep everything running so smoothly.
Kim Dodson, Respiratory Outpatient Coordinator for Respiratory Care, was presented with the 2013 V.I.P. Award for her outstanding service to patient care and commitment to North Country Hospital. It was said that Kim is never to be found without a smile and that her dedication to asthma education exceeds far outside the hospital walls and around the state. Claudio Fort stated that, “Kim is a great asset to the North Country Hospital Family”.
Angel Lucas was also awarded Employee of the Year for Derby Green. Derby Green administrator Lisa Bohlman said, “It’s a pleasure to have Angel as an LNA at Derby Green. She has a positive attitude and works well with her team. She quickly became an LNA leader and has successfully oriented new LNAs to the evening shift. She was chosen to participate in the OASIS train-the-trainer program and assisted the OASIS team in training the staff regarding dementia care earlier this year. Angel certainly deserves the Employee of the Year title!”
The evening continued with service awards for employees with 5 years of service up to 35 years of service. Employees are recognized in milestone increments of 5, 10, and so on. But it was at year 20 when employees rose to their feet to cheer on fellow colleague Peter Harris, MD as he received an award for 20 years of service. As the employees came forward they were awarded with pins and gifts including jackets or backpacks. Employees were congratulated by the entire Senior Administrative Staff and their direct department managers.
The evening ended on a high note with dancing, more photos in the photo booth and employees getting to connect with each other outside of the workplace. For now it’s back to work for NCH employees, implementing their talent and skills to serve patients and the community. As always North Country Hospital prides itself by having a dedicated, caring and compassionate staff of employees that also make up our surrounding community. For some, North Country Hospital is a place they work for a while but for many, it is a place they call home and stay for years to come.