Celebrating Our 2023 Excellence Award Recipients

Chief Experience Officer Kara Halstead and President & CEO Steve Goldstein

The following employees were recognized with an Individual Excellence Award: 

• Facilities/Safety & Security/Engineering/IT Excellence Award: Aaron Dorsey, Security Officer at Highland Family Medicine
• Clinical Staff Excellence Awards: Ko’Lynn Dehaney, Medical Assistant, Highland Women’s Health Perinton
• Tod Gentry, Physical Therapist Assistant, Rehabilitation Services
• Business/Administration Support Excellence Award: Lisa Dawley, Assistant Manager of Accounts Payable, Finance
• Support Services Excellence Award: Roosevelt Roberts, Transporter Preceptor
• Nursing Practice Excellence Awards: 
• Alicia Wollschleger, Patient Care Tech, East 6
• Jessica Aldred, RN, ICU
• Clerical Staff Award of Excellence: Cathy Lindskoog, Finance Analyst, Department of Medicine
• Administrator/Director/Manager Award: 
• Melissa Young, Director, Central Sterile Processing & Periop Supply Chain
• Jason Pacino, Senior Operations Manager, Central Sterile Processing 
• DEI Champion: Patty Corvaia, Internal Communications Manager, Public Relations Department
• John R Williams Legacy Award for Innovation and Improvement:  Sally Rousseau, Director of Social Work & Care Management

The following departments were recognized with a Highland Team Excellence Awards, Clinical Category:

• Laboratory Department
• Emergency Department

The following departments received a Highland Team Excellence Award, Non-Clinical Category: 

• Safety & Security
• Patient Relations

Photos and the recording of the Staff Excellence Awards will be available next week on the Highland intranet. Stay tuned! 

Congratulations to all! 

ICYMI: Golden Spatula Awards

The Golden Spatula Awards are a Beat the Blahs tradition at Highland! This year, 15 departments participated in the cookie cake decorating contest, which required teams to create a solar system-themed design. The four winning teams received a certificate, a golden spatula, and of course, bragging rights.

The judges-- Denise Abrams, Melissa Derleth, Kara Halstead, Maureen Malone, and Cheryl Ryan-- determined the winners in three categories- Most Fun, Most Intricate, and Most Original. 

This year, the "People's Choice Award" was introduced, which called for staff to vote for their favorite cookie cake. The entry with the most votes won.  

Congratulations to the following Golden Spatula Award winners:

• Most Fun: PACU
• Most Intricate: GAMA
• Most Original: Support Services
• People's Choice: CT Scan

Photos of the winners, entries, and the judges can be viewed on the Highland intranet. 

The Cafe' Salad Bar Comes Back

An old favorite returns to the Highland Cafe' on Monday! The cafeteria salad bar reopens the morning of March 11.

Yogurt and fresh fruit will be mostly available during breakfast service, from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

During lunchtime, the salad bar will feature a variety of fresh vegetables including greens, proteins, including vegetarian options, cheese, and favorite salad toppers.

The salad bar will be open Monday through Friday only.

Patient Safety Week is March 11-15

Every year, Highland Hospital recognizes Patient Safety Awareness Week. This year, the theme of the awareness event is March 11-15, and the theme is “We are safer together.”

Throughout the week, Highland's Quality Management team will host a series of events to highlight patient safety. All staff are welcome and encouraged to participate in the many events listed in this flyer that can be downloaded and printed!

In addition to the fun events, Highland will conduct its annual Safety Culture Survey. All staff and providers are encouraged to take the Safety Culture Survey. A link to the survey will be available on the Highland intranet beginning March 11.

This important annual survey provides senior leaders information about staff and provider perceptions of overall safety within their team, unit, or department and throughout the organization. This information prioritizes Highland's safety efforts and drives improvement initiatives, which is why employee input is so vital.

Get Ready for Spring with

Backyard Garden Webinar

Get ready for spring and summer! Through the Employee Assistance Program, Highland employees can attend a variety of webinars, including Health Bites! "Creating a Backyard Garden" will be offered on Tuesday, March 12, at noon. Learn expert tips on creating a backyard vegetable garden suitable for the New York climate.

Register here

Share with friends, family, and colleagues the great work that can only take place at Highland Hospital. Like, follow, or view us to stay connected.

Highland Acquires

Third Robot

The latest edition to the Highland ORs is the da Vinci Xi from Intuitive which delivers proven capabilities for a wide spectrum of procedures across multiple specialties. The da Vinci Xi is housed in OR 1 and is already in use by general and bariatric surgeons. The equipment offers advanced instrumentation, vision, and features such as Firefly fluorescence imaging and integrated table motion. It is regarded as versatile and flexible, with standardization that can help manage inventory and improve overall OR efficiency. “The addition of the da Vinci Xi is giving greater access to robotic surgery and expanding our capabilities,” said Roan Glocker, M.D., Highland Chief of Surgery. “This equipment improves surgical precision and recovery outcomes.” 



Read More

Maria Durdach, M.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Bariatric/GI

University of Rochester, All rights reserved. 

Highland Weekly is produced by Highland Hospital Communications. You are receiving this message as employee at Highland Hospital or as a subscriber. Please do not forward this newsletter to other distribution lists. If you are receiving multiple copies or believe this message was sent to you in error send note to email.