CHA 2005 Healthcare Heroes Contest Essays

The theme for this year's Healthcare Heroes essay contest was "Answering the Call," with contest entrants writing about how healthcare is both a career and a calling and providing compelling stories of how they and/or their co-workers answer the call of service to their communities every day.  

After a difficult selection process among dozens of fine entries, 10 winners were chosen as 2005 "Healthcare Heroes."  The 10 winners were recognized at CHA's 87th Annual Meeting on June 15, 2005, and each received a $100 cash prize, made possible through the sponsorship support of Nielsen Healthcare Group.   CHA featured excerpts from the winning essays in its 2005 Annual Report, and is pleased to be able to share the 10 winning essays in their entirety below:

Asamoah "Azzy" Anane, Registered Nurse

Hartford Hospital

(Submitted by Lee Monroe, Director, Corporate Communications)

His interest in nursing grew from an incident that affected him profoundly, something that occurred when he was a senior in high school in Toronto.   He was coaching a "bantam" basketball team at his own school when one of his players died suddenly on the court.   Like others in the healing professions, he now says that the awful feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed him that day was something he hoped to never experience again.

Feeling helpless is not something that comes naturally to Asamoah Anane, RN, BSN - "Azzy" to his friends.   Born in Germany, his mother and father soon returned to their native Ghana, where Azzy stayed for another year while his parents established themselves in Canada.   During that time he lived with an aunt, a nurse who operated a medical clinic.   He joined his parents in Toronto when he was five.

Knowing he wanted to be able to help people in need, Azzy studied nursing as a college student in Canada, and then emigrated to the US in search of a job.   After getting a taste of agency nursing in various parts of the country, he came to Hartford Hospital in 1999 to work on the dialysis unit.   Today Azzy is an Advanced RN on the cardiac intensive care unit, Bliss 10-I.

Sitting in a small conference room at the hospital with his toddler Susanna on his knee, he sounds perplexed that he is the one who has been nominated by his peers for this honor.   If he has excelled, he believes it's only because of those around him, particularly 10-I's unit manager, Michele Kolios.   "She goes out of her way for you," he says, "so you want to reciprocate."

But his colleagues explain why Azzy does indeed deserve the title of "Healthcare Hero."

Patty Veronneau, RN, night shift coordinator, describes Azzy as ".a quiet guy, always at his patients' bedside.   When you walk on his unit, the respect everyone has for his quiet, unassuming ways is apparent."

She first noticed his calm authority when he joined her on a cardiac arrest.   The floor staff was in awe of his ability to keep the family informed and even to teach them about what was happening.   "In my whole career," she says, "I have never seen someone who was so calm and so smart, who was always one step ahead, and who could maintain such a quiet, well-controlled environment."

Bliss 10-I unit manager Michele Kolios has this to say: "As an orientee, I remember, Azzy had to know and understand everything, down to the cellular level.   He was like a sponge, absorbing everything.   He blends competence with confidence, and patients and families love him.   But he also lives and breathes the concept of teamwork and team behavior.   He will not sit down to chart until he's checked to see that everyone else is OK.   He loves to celebrate the successes of others, and is generous with positive feedback."

"His instincts are never off the mark," she adds.   "In an emergency, he is technically impeccable."

Michelle ticks off Azzy's accomplishments on 10-I:   Team leader for the TICU project; worked with Dr. Everhart-Kaye to develop an evidence-based practice change for patients who have renal insufficiency; is a "fantastic" preceptor; helped to submit and win a Beacon Award for his unit; functions as liaison to the house staff on 10-I, supporting the interns and residents as they rotate through the unit; provides education on the Service Excellence program throughout the cardiovascular service.

"It's always, 'Can do!' or 'How can I help?' for Azzy," Michelle says.   "He places patients above everything.   He is truly a gift to all."

On a personal level, after Susanna was born a year ago, Azzy rotated to the night shift so that he could stay home with his daughter during the day.   Azzy's wife Leticia, also a nurse, works days so Azzy takes care of Susanna while she's at work.   Ask him about sleep and he just laughs.

"I haven't gotten eight hours of sleep in a long time," he says with a smile.

It's clear that Asamoah Anane has made good on the promise he made to himself that day long ago when he watched helplessly as a young man died on the gym floor.   Now, armed with knowledge, experience, dedication and assurance, Azzy embodies the concept of "Healthcare Hero" as he serves every day to make sure that, under his care, a life doesn't end needlessly again.

Carlene Bartolotta, Director of Patient Relations

John Dempsey Hospital - UCONN Health Center

They need directions. they don't understand what the staff just explained to them. their grown children live out of state. they do not have the money to pay their medical bills. they are confused. they are overwhelmed. they are scared. they do not feel well.

It takes very little to help - just an open ear, an open mind, and a caring heart.

"You know, I've done that myself, don't feel embarrassed, let me help you."

With a combined total of 55 years of working experience in this hospital, both administrative and clinical, we understand that patients maneuvering through today's complex medical world can feel like hiking through cold, jagged mountains.

"My doctor wants me to get him copies of my medical records but I don't know who to contact." ."That is the only day my daughter can get off from work to take me for the test.   Is there anything you can do for me?" ."They told me I need to have a test, what to do to prepare for it and that I have to go somewhere to have it done, but I was so upset that's all I recall.   Can you help me?"

We are your liaison.   We will translate your problem or request so that we can best serve you.   We will treat you with respect and understanding.   We will treat you as we would expect to be treated.   As we look at you we see our own beloved parent, grandparent or precious child.   There is a quote taped to my telephone that reads, "Be patient, for we are all fighting a great battle."

It would be difficult to do this job if you did not have the wisdom gained from life experiences.   We are middle-aged, with teenage children and aging parents - it's no wonder where we've learned empathy.

Often we go above and beyond the call of duty but it seems the gesture is not recognized or appreciated. we feel a bit taken for granted. but then we remember that this is our job, and the goal of our efforts is to consistently exceed patients' expectations. and just when we begin to doubt if we are making a difference, once in a while, when we least expect it, a patient calls back to say thank you.

Way back, when we first began, it sounded so trite - "Why do you want to work in healthcare?"   "I want to help people."   At that time, we did not really even know what that meant or the magnitude of the effects our efforts would have on another human being.   But we do now. we proudly boast, "I work in Patient Relations.   I help people."

Gloria Bindelglass, Emergency Department Nurse

Bridgeport Hospital

Emergency Nursing is a career where every patient comes to your department in a crisis.   Television portrays them from daytime to primetime.   What most people see is the hustle and bustle of an emergency department; sick children crying, people moaning, trauma victims lying on backboards, and the intoxicated patient becoming abusive.   What most people never see, or never realize, are the people dying around them.

As much as an emergency nurse strives to save a person's life, that same nurse understands the importance of death.   What we finally come to understand is that not all of our patients need to be saved or want their life to be saved.   The reality is, how you lived your life is just as important as how you die, with dignity, respect and with the ones you love beside you.

I have been lucky enough to meet a family that has taught me this lifelong lesson.   The patient, over the last year, had to deal with one catastrophic health event after another.   Unfortunately, this "pattern" led to this patient's admission to our emergency department and eventually, his intubation. The patient's wife, understanding that he was not going to be able to recover this time, had the courage to consider her husband's wishes over her own need to keep him alive.   With all of his children and wife surrounding his bed, he was extubated and the agonizing death watch ensued. except it wasn't agonizing at all.   The family gathered around the patient's bed, holding his hand, laughing over funny memories and reminiscing about vacations and other family events.   Finally, quietly, and with all his family around him, the patient died.

The family thanked me for all that I had done, but the truth is, I hadn't done anything.   Instead, I thanked them for showing me how beautiful death can be and how important an emergency nurse's role can be in the process.   They made me realize that often we strive to fight off death, when in reality, death is the right outcome for some individuals.   This family should be considered healthcare heroes.   They had the courage to let go when they truly wanted to hold on.   They provided the most important care to this patient at the most important time in the patient's life.   Finally, they taught an ED nurse how important it is to allow a patient to die and the role an ED nurse can play in this process both for the patient and the family.

Dennis Gagnon, Microbiologist

Day Kimball Hospital

As a clinical microbiologist, I unfortunately have limited personal contact with patients.   Nevertheless, I am no less sympathetic to their needs.   Early in my studies I was told, in graphic detail, the misery one endures while taking a breath when suffering from a gram-negative pneumonia.   This vivid portrayal has been seared into my consciousness whereby each specimen I handle is indeed a patient.   Because of this perspective I believe that I have more than a career but a calling.   A calling to do all I possibly can to lessen the suffering caused by pathogenic microorganisms.

Friends and family are forever suggesting recreational activities or hobbies to me as outlets, yet I'm most at peace when I'm serving the community through my work in microbiology.   As supervisor of a small community hospital's Microbiology Department, I'm entrusted with the responsibility of providing the doctors of our ten-town community with clinical data in the areas of bacteriology, parasitology, mycology, and mycobacteriology.   These doctors have allowed me to help in their patients' care - a responsibility I take to heart.   I'm determined to provide the highest standard of work that will uphold and reinforce this special bond.   My wish is that the doctors and nursing staff know that results charted from the Microbiology Department at Day Kimball Hospital are reliable and done with the good intent of helping a neighbor.   Now and then it's pleasing to receive praise from them for a job well done, but more importantly, my internal dialogue must tell me that I've put forth an effort of excellence.

I have no grandiose plans of curing Multiple Sclerosis or unraveling the mystery of stem cell research.   My station in life is to serve the people of Northeast Connecticut as a microbiologist who is determined to give ideal care.   To achieve this I remain conscientious in reading my journals; I'm an active member of the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) listserve; and am resolute in attending work-related conferences or workshops.   The exchange of ideas and the chance to ask questions of colleagues from around the world infuses me with renewed fervor to seek a greater understanding of this ever-changing facet of medicine.

During those times in which I tire, I need only look to our Infectious Diseases Physician and Infection Control Coordinator for renewed energy.   Their daily actions remind me of the standard of compassionate care I should always aspire to.   I'm honored to work with them and grateful to call them friends.

My philosophy of life is to live each day as if it were my last and to study as if I will live forever.   I've adhered to this credo and it has served me well, with hopes it has contributed to better healthcare in my community.

Lorry Killeen, Director of Oncology Nursing

New Britain General Hospital

(Submitted by Elizabeth Lynch, Vice President, Human Resources, and Mary Morgan, Human Resources and Compensation Manager)

When working at New Britain General Hospital, you will come into contact with a great many caregivers who give freely of themselves each day and who make a difference in the lives of their patients.   Because of this, it is difficult to select just one person to write about as a "Healthcare Hero."   Yet there is one person whose boundless energy, tireless enthusiasm, and dedication to her profession are truly exceptional.   Her name is Lorry Killeen and she is New Britain General Hospital's Director of Oncology Nursing.

At a time when nursing administrators are burdened with meetings and paperwork, Lorry nonetheless takes the time to look beyond the diagnosis to understand her patients.   She believes that we need to consider the whole person when delivering care and she role models this approach to care every day.   Lorry spends time with the patients on her unit and gets to know them as individuals.   She chats with families, learns about patients' lives, and talks with them about the dreams that she hopes they will have an opportunity to fulfill.

She translates this belief system into action on her unit.   Examples are plentiful.   She has obtained a ball in physical medicine and played soccer with a depressed patient who had spoken to her about his love for the sport.   She has organized a wedding, complete with flowers and music, in the hospital room of a terminal patient who wanted to marry the love of his life before he passed away.   In order to grant the last wish of a young mother, she arranged for a photographer to come in on a Saturday to shoot a family portrait.

Not surprisingly, Lorry has created a work environment for her staff that fosters their creativity and focus on the patients' total well being.   Together, she and her staff have created a rooftop garden where patients can sit, enjoy, and feel the warm sunshine on their faces.   They have arranged for the Hospital's sous chef to provide their patients with a unique culinary and dining experience, a "Tasteful Moment," on a regular basis.

Each Halloween they transform their unit into a different fantasy land where, for a little while, patients can forget their illness and have some fun.   Last year our Oncology unit became the Magic Kingdom and all the Disney characters were present.   The whole Hospital wonders what they will do this year!

Lorry's passion for oncology nursing is evident in everything that she does.   All of her patients, no matter where they are on their cancer journey, can be assured that they will receive compassionate, individualized care.   In so many ways, big and small, she touches the lives of her patients, their families, and the staff at NBGH.   Lorry Killeen is a Healthcare Hero - body and soul.

Ginny Lawry, Registered Nurse

Connecticut Children's Medical Center

(submitted by Byrthe "Bitty" McCormick, Registered Nurse)

What was the calling she heard 30 years ago?

What voice?

What beckoning sign?

What drew her to the nursing profession?

Alas. for she has found her place

A place in which she thrives.

Today, she hears every voice. from the smallest premature newborn,

Who often has only a silent cry.

She hears with every sense

With her eyes, her hands, her ears, and her intuition.

She becomes the strong, protective and nurturing voice for these

Tiny, speechless patients and for all patients.

She hears their families and again. listens with all her senses

She speaks for them and with them.

Even at times when they may not want to hear

or only hear what they want, she is there.

She feels with them. their joy. their pain. their anguish.

their elation. she is there.

She is there for her colleagues, for her unit, for her family, for her community

She listens

She hears

She touches

She feels

She sees and is seen

She is a gift to the nursing profession

She is a blessing, she is Ginny Lawry, RN - she is a healthcare hero!

Kathy LiVolsi, Nurse Manager

The Stamford Hospital

Lessons Learned.

To answer the call of service, to our community every day,

We must reflect on lessons learned from our patients along the way

What better lesson in courage, a willingness to face whatever comes their way,

Then from the oncology patients on the pediatric floor,

Who embrace every moment of every day?

Who can be better teachers of trust, than parents of a newborn in intensive care?

Who in their longest, darkest hours, talk of hopes and dreams they share

The greatest lesson in dignity, comes from a life that has lived well and strong

Who accepts their final hours with humility and grace

And teaches loved ones to carry on

Where else can you humbly learn life's lessons

From despair to hope and beyond,

Then from the people you touch each and every day

Who leave a part of themselves when they're gone?

Every piece that is left, allows us to give

Just a little bit more every day

To our patients, their families, and others we touch

As we travel along life's way.

One by one, bit by bit, we leave our mark on the world,

And give back as they have given to us

And the circle continues, filled with hope and respect

With compassion, integrity and trust.

Dena Lozada, Registered Nurse

St. Vincent's Medical Center

(Submitted by Mary-Alice Koleszar, Oncology Nurse Manager)

Eight years ago I met a 35-year-old patient with a new diagnosis of breast cancer.   She was brave and determined.   This was a difficult diagnosis for anyone, but she was newly engaged. She came to the breast cancer support group with issues, and a will to survive.   She remained positive and did marry, living for the day.   As time went on, she became a recurrent patient on the inpatient unit.   Her disease was spreading.   She was in and out of the hospital.   The years passed and she deteriorated slowly.   Many of the staff became close to her.   She was easy to care for because of her "fight for life."

The patient was admitted, finally, to die.   Was it because of her young age, her strong will to live, or some other reason that we are not privileged to know, that she lingered?   She was in the hospital for 30 days.   Dena Lozada, RN was her nurse for much of her hospital stay.   Although she was not the primary nurse, she (being the associate nurse on the team) took a caring approach to this patient's and family's anguish.   She spent time with the patient's 16-year-old daughter, encouraging her to stay with her mother.   At the same time she recognized the needs of a child about to lose her mother and offered her private conversation and comfort.   Dena developed a trusting relationship with the patient's husband and mother.   They came to me to say that they could rest easily if they knew that Dena was on that shift.

Everyday tasks did not seem to be heroics to Dena.   She helped her patient with her personal care; that was important to her.   As she struggled with pain, Dena assisted with alternative methods.   She even walked the patient around the unit "one more time."   I would have not thought it possible for her to walk.   Dena recognized her strong will to keep moving and helped her to feel as though she was still living.   Soon, the patient became unresponsive.   She lasted for days.   This was another struggle for the family to watch and wait.   Dena was with them every step of the way.   And they knew it.

Dena is a young nurse, with only a year experience on the oncology unit.   The ups and downs that she has faced, as a new nurse, have not interrupted her from delivering compassionate care and making a difference.   The family was present the day our patient died.   Dena was there.   Her presence was a welcomed comfort, as I would find out later.   Dena packed up the patient's belongings, and gave her final condolences to the family.   Dena left for vacation that evening.

I had known this patient for so long that I attended the services.   When I entered the funeral home, the husband came up to me and said, "I want to show you something."   As we walked to the area where the sign-in book was, he showed me a framed note.   He said, "This meant so much to me that I had to frame it to show everyone."   Inside the frame I saw a note from Dena.   The note read "I am so sorry that I am not able to see you at this time.   I know that you have continued to thank me for the care that I have given, but I would like to thank you for the opportunity of taking care of and getting to know such a wonderful woman and her family.   I have learned so much from this experience, and so I thank you."   Dena had jotted this down when the patient died and given it to her husband with the belongings.

This is what makes the ordinary, extraordinary - one small act that lasts a lifetime.

Jo Seavey, Storeroom Coordinator

Johnson Memorial Hospital

In my role as Storeroom Coordinator in the Materials Management Department at Johnson Memorial Hospital, I am responsible for ensuring that the supplies necessary for providing high quality patient care are made readily available to the physicians, nurses and other clinical staff and also to all of the non-clinical areas of the hospital.

There are times when I feel overwhelmed with the endless tasks of receiving and maintaining all of the hospital supply areas but I find my job very gratifying because I know that without my efforts, it would be impossible for Johnson Memorial Hospital to provide high quality healthcare to our patients.

I don't give out meds or change dressings.   In fact I hardly ever get the chance to talk to the patients, but it's important to me to know that the caregivers rely on me to give them the tools they need to cure sick patients and save lives.   I know that I make a difference and I am so glad to be able to say that I am part of that team.

Patricia M. Tracey, Assistant Nurse Manager, OB/GYN

UCONN Health Center

As a child of six or seven I would eagerly awaken Saturday mornings to greet my mother as she arrived home from her night shift as an RN.   With a large family, working per diem on Friday nights was a way my mother could supplement our family's income.   My mother would be tired, but not too tired to answer the same excited entreaty I greeted her with each Saturday morning.   "Tell me about one of the patients you took care of!"  It was here, at our kitchen table that my love of nursing began.   It was here that I learned the "heart of nursing care."   My first professor was my mother, my hero.   The lessons I learned from her I carry with me today, a registered nurse for the past twenty-four years.

There was a patient she "specialed" one night who had undergone radical neck surgery that had left him very disfigured.   The nurse who had given report to my mother had not prepared her for what she would see when she walked into the patient's room.   The details of his many medications, his treatments and specialized care were meticulously passed along, but not the critical information that my mother now passed along to me.   "Always prepare the nurse that follows you for what she will see.   Avoid unnecessarily upsetting the patient when you walk in the room.   The patient has enough to worry about and doesn't need to see a look of shock on your face."   My mother no doubt took excellent physical care of him that night.   What he might not have realized is the extra measures she took to provide for his emotional well being.

Then there was the unfortunate night that my mother had a woman arrive on the labor and delivery unit full term to find that her much wanted baby was dead and would now need to be delivered stillborn.   My mother called the obstetrician at home and, because it was the middle of the night, the physician told my mother to medicate the patient and he would be there in the morning.   My mother stood up to him and politely yet firmly insisted that he come into the hospital now and deliver this baby.   She told him, "No amount of medication would allow this woman to sleep tonight."   The physician came in and the woman was delivered.   The woman's emotional pain was horrific and yet was lessened by my mother's courageous intervention.

Another one of the lessons my mother taught me still rings in my ears, "Listen to the patient, they always know."   As a new grad on a busy pediatric cardiac med-surg floor I took care of a young boy the night before he went to surgery.   His cardiac defect was complex and his surgery was going to be at best, very difficult.   He spoke to me about his fear of dying.   My first impulse was to calmly reassure him and to rattle on about his surgeon's qualifications - instead, remembering my mother's tutelage, I sat with him, listened and supported him as he shared his fears.   He died on the operating table the next morning and my mother's lesson rang in my ears.   "He knew."   I did not have the ability to change the outcome of his illness, but I believe because of my mother's wisdom, I was able to help him through his last day of life.

As far back as I can remember I wanted to be a nurse.   My grades in high school were such that I was encouraged to attend medical school by one of the teachers I respected most.   I listened as he encouraged me to "reach higher" and "not sell myself short."   I knew that he was right.   I could pursue medicine and would probably do a great job at it, but I wanted to be a nurse.   I applied to nursing school, was accepted, and have been working in the profession ever since.   With rare exception I greet each shift I work with eagerness and excitement.   I love what I do and feel that I owe much of this to the example of my mother.   In many ways as I arrive on my unit each morning, I am still the six-year-old girl sitting at the kitchen table waiting to hear about a new patient.

Thanks mom.

 
CHA salutes all of this year’s Healthcare Heroes essay contest winners, as well as the thousands of incredibly dedicated and talented healthcare workers across Connecticut for all that they do every day to "answer the call" of caring every day in their communities.