When a community member called the Carle Health Mahomet Clinic and Nikki Dennis couldn’t understand the few words they were saying, Dennis knew the person was in trouble.
She quickly used the Carle Health unified health record and triage nurses to assist the person who was having a stroke. Their actions helped to save the person’s life and earned Dennis the 2024 Annual Way to Be! Values Award for demonstrating the Value of Excellence.
Carle Health honors its 2024 Way to Be! Values, Team and Leader winners.
“Every day, our Carle Health team members look for opportunities to use their resources to benefit their work, colleagues and patients,” Theresa Green, MSN, executive director of Carle Experience, said. “We are proud to honor three Annual Way to Be! winners who go the extra mile for patients and live the Carle Health Values of Accountability, Compassion, Excellence, Inclusivity and Integrity.
Way to Be! is the Carle Health program in which team members recognize each other for living Carle Health Values. During 2024, Carle Experience received 26,449 Way to Be! submissions, Dana Meek, Carle Experience manager, said.
Each quarter, the Carle Health Reward and Recognition Committee selects quarterly winners representing each Value, as well as Leader and Team winners. From the quarterly winners, one nominee is selected to represent each Value and Carle Health team members vote for the annual Values winner. The Carle Health Leader and Team Way to Be! winners are selected by the Reward and Recognition Committee.
The 2024 Way to Be! winners are:
Dennis, who was recently promoted to medical assistant, was a patient services representative when she received the call several months ago. The Mahomet clinic has caller ID so Dennis typed the phone number into the Carler Health unified health record system, where she found the patient’s name, date of birth and address.
She transferred the call to a triage nurse, who confirmed the patient was at home. As the nurse kept the patient on the phone, another nurse called 911. When EMTs arrived, they confirmed that the patient had stroke symptoms and transported the patient to Carle Foundation Hospital Emergency Department.
Sara Hissong, RN, BSN, NE-BC, the clinic’s patient care manager, said Dennis trusts her gut and knows the tools and resources available to benefit patients and team members.
Protecting patients and the team
Early one Sunday morning, an emergency department nurse at Carle BroMenn Medical Center was checking in a patient who was acting unpredictably when she noticed what appeared to be a weapon in the patient’s pocket. The Carle BroMenn ED team, Hospital Security and Normal police worked together to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution. Throughout the incident, the team kept everyone safe and patient care continued.
“This demonstrates the value of building a team,” Sarah Kolokolo, MSN, RN, director of Emergency Services and Convenient Care at Carle BroMenn and Carle Eureka Hospital, said. “Everyone trusts that their co-workers will be there to help each other when hard times hit.
“This also demonstrates the staff’s commitment to patient and staff safety and the wellness of everyone around them,” Kolokolo said. “We want to do anything we can to improve the experience of patients, visitors and team members.”
Using cookies to celebrate, collaborate
A nursing leader asked Kevin Steffes, director of Food and Nutrition Services, to order 2,500 cookies for Carle Health Champaign-Urbana Service Area nurses to celebrate securing their Magnet with Distinction Recognition® from the American Nurse Credentialling Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program.®
Steffes found his team could do the work for far less than the price of purchasing the cookies. He and his team went to work, baking, individually wrapping and labeling each of the 2,500 cookies, which were delivered to nurses in 26 locations throughout East Central Illinois.
Steffes said the project allowed his team to honor nurses while showing what his team could do by partnering with others.
“This is one story,” Allen Rinehart, vice president for inpatient hospital operations at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, said. “Kevin is always asking, ‘What can we do to assist our patients and team members?”
Join our team
Carle Health embeds its Values and behavior standards into the care and support that we provide patients, visitors and team members.
If you would like to work for an organization in which team members are encouraged every day to use their expertise to benefit patients, visitors and each other, click here.
She quickly used the Carle Health unified health record and triage nurses to assist the person who was having a stroke. Their actions helped to save the person’s life and earned Dennis the 2024 Annual Way to Be! Values Award for demonstrating the Value of Excellence.
Carle Health honors its 2024 Way to Be! Values, Team and Leader winners.
“Every day, our Carle Health team members look for opportunities to use their resources to benefit their work, colleagues and patients,” Theresa Green, MSN, executive director of Carle Experience, said. “We are proud to honor three Annual Way to Be! winners who go the extra mile for patients and live the Carle Health Values of Accountability, Compassion, Excellence, Inclusivity and Integrity.
Way to Be! is the Carle Health program in which team members recognize each other for living Carle Health Values. During 2024, Carle Experience received 26,449 Way to Be! submissions, Dana Meek, Carle Experience manager, said.
Each quarter, the Carle Health Reward and Recognition Committee selects quarterly winners representing each Value, as well as Leader and Team winners. From the quarterly winners, one nominee is selected to represent each Value and Carle Health team members vote for the annual Values winner. The Carle Health Leader and Team Way to Be! winners are selected by the Reward and Recognition Committee.
The 2024 Way to Be! winners are:
- Values Award: Nikki Dennis, patient services representative, Carle Health Mahomet Clinic, Mahomet.
- Team Award: Emergency Department team, Carle BroMenn Medical Center, Normal.
- Leader Award: Kevin Steffes, director, Food and Nutrition Services, Carle Health system.
Dennis, who was recently promoted to medical assistant, was a patient services representative when she received the call several months ago. The Mahomet clinic has caller ID so Dennis typed the phone number into the Carler Health unified health record system, where she found the patient’s name, date of birth and address.
She transferred the call to a triage nurse, who confirmed the patient was at home. As the nurse kept the patient on the phone, another nurse called 911. When EMTs arrived, they confirmed that the patient had stroke symptoms and transported the patient to Carle Foundation Hospital Emergency Department.
Sara Hissong, RN, BSN, NE-BC, the clinic’s patient care manager, said Dennis trusts her gut and knows the tools and resources available to benefit patients and team members.
Protecting patients and the team
Early one Sunday morning, an emergency department nurse at Carle BroMenn Medical Center was checking in a patient who was acting unpredictably when she noticed what appeared to be a weapon in the patient’s pocket. The Carle BroMenn ED team, Hospital Security and Normal police worked together to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution. Throughout the incident, the team kept everyone safe and patient care continued.
“This demonstrates the value of building a team,” Sarah Kolokolo, MSN, RN, director of Emergency Services and Convenient Care at Carle BroMenn and Carle Eureka Hospital, said. “Everyone trusts that their co-workers will be there to help each other when hard times hit.
“This also demonstrates the staff’s commitment to patient and staff safety and the wellness of everyone around them,” Kolokolo said. “We want to do anything we can to improve the experience of patients, visitors and team members.”
Using cookies to celebrate, collaborate
A nursing leader asked Kevin Steffes, director of Food and Nutrition Services, to order 2,500 cookies for Carle Health Champaign-Urbana Service Area nurses to celebrate securing their Magnet with Distinction Recognition® from the American Nurse Credentialling Center (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program.®
Steffes found his team could do the work for far less than the price of purchasing the cookies. He and his team went to work, baking, individually wrapping and labeling each of the 2,500 cookies, which were delivered to nurses in 26 locations throughout East Central Illinois.
Steffes said the project allowed his team to honor nurses while showing what his team could do by partnering with others.
“This is one story,” Allen Rinehart, vice president for inpatient hospital operations at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, said. “Kevin is always asking, ‘What can we do to assist our patients and team members?”
Join our team
Carle Health embeds its Values and behavior standards into the care and support that we provide patients, visitors and team members.
If you would like to work for an organization in which team members are encouraged every day to use their expertise to benefit patients, visitors and each other, click here.
Categories: Culture of Quality
Tags: awards, BroMenn, Experience, Food, Mahomet, recognition, reward, Values