On this Employee Appreciation Day, I wanted to express my appreciation for Lisa Dishner. I have worked with Lisa in helping document recovery strategies and downtime procedures as part of the Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the Behavioral Health departments. And particularly over the past year, I have observed Lisa exhibiting extraordinary Courage in leadership by stepping up whenever there is a disruption or crisis event.

Kristen Bevil, Practice Line Lead for Carilion Direct demonstrated Courage and Compassion in the midst of urgent situations while on site.  On two separate occasions within the last month, two co-workers, working in the facility had experienced unexpected health issues.  Kristen is normally at her desk but during these incidents she just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  She found both co-workers in distress, called 911, was able to keep them calm, assisted by calling family and waited with them for EMT to arrive.

My co worker Jan Winand, patient transport,  and myself met in the CRMH cafeteria for lunch on January 12, 2024.  As we were leaving to return back to work, a visitor sitting with an elderly gentleman began to panic that her father was choking. Jan calmly approached the gentleman and asked if he could breathe, he was clearly choking. The gentleman gestured that he couldn't breathe, Jan asked if he needed assistance to help with choking. The man nodded "yes".

Today, Carilion’s Chris Deneault (Ortho) came upon a gentleman in the RMH Riverwalk Parking garage that was experiencing what appeared to be multiple seizures and was down on the concreate. Chris, and another person unknown to me, dove in to render assistance until Roanoke EMS arrived and transported to the ED. It is so good to see our folk’s willingness to go out of their way to help others in their time of distress. This is a quality that not everyone expresses in action.

Sandy Rowe, RN at CTCH received the Great Catch award for speaking up about a duplicate medication order and potentially prevented a medication error. 

Nov. 11 is Veterans Day, a day to honor our veterans for their service to our country.

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918, to mark the end of World War I. It later became a legal holiday to honor World War I veterans. By 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, the name “Armistice” was replaced with “Veterans” and the holiday expanded to honor American veterans of all wars.

As history unfolds and we face the future, the service and sacrifices of our veterans remains timeless.

Deidra Stiltner, Registered Nurse and Clinical Team Lead at CTCH received the Great Catch Award for speaking up to improve patient care!

Sam Kinsey!! YOU KILLED IT in triage. You were thrown out in triage on a busy day to complete orders when you had never been out there before AND you're on orientation. You are such a hard worker and a quick learner. Proud of you:) You're a great addition to the team!

Carilion mental health leadership in collaboration with Carilion Police, TSG, Guest Services, Operational Continuity, Crisis Communications, Clinical Administration, and Emergency Management and Safety conducted a tabletop exercise to discuss their updated emergency operations plan. The discussion focused on facility evacuation and maintaining safety and continuity of services at an alternate site. Working through and identifying areas of opportunity in emergency operation plans requires courage and commitment from all stakeholders.

Chris Looney, Registered Respiratory Therapist at CTCH received the Great Catch Award for speaking up to improve patient care!