HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital Names 2017 I Promise Award Winners

(FROM LEFT: JESSICA HARRIS, TORY BUHNERKEMPE, KYLE PAINTER AND NICOLE PROBST)

Each year, HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital presents an “I Promise Award” to the four people who are most representative of the hospital’s four Core Values of Respect, Care, Competence and Joy. The four annual I Promise Award winners are selected from 16 I Promise Award quarterly winners selected throughout the year, all of which are nominated for the award by St. Anthony’s colleagues.

The 2017 I Promise Award winners were named during a presentation at a Colleague Appreciation Luncheon held during “I Promise Week” (a special St. Anthony’s theme for National Hospital Week).

The 2017 I Promise Award winners were:

• ·Tory Buhnerkempe, Wound Healing Center: Buhnerkempe was nominated for her caring and compassion. Her nomination read, “As a nurse, she deals with patients with warmth, kindness, hope and encouragement. She helps ease their fears and celebrates their successes. Her laughter can be heard throughout the clinic and she is often recognized in our patient satisfaction surveys. She serves as an educator and mentor to the many students and nurses that shadow in the clinic. As a nurse educator, she and a coworker provided a wound care education presentation to nurses at this hospital and surrounding hospitals. Outside of the clinic, she serves as a child advocate for CASA and volunteers many hours for children's rights and protection….she is admired by patients and goes above and beyond to make sure their needs are met.”

• ·Jessica Harris, Home Care: Harris was nominated for the kindness she demonstrates and for going above and beyond to help a patient’s family. Her nomination read, “I have always heard wonderful comments about Jessica from patients and their families regarding her care, time, and consideration of their needs. [A patient of hers] remarked on how good Jessica is and how she assisted their family so much by donating clothes and toys for her great grandchild that was staying there temporarily. She couldn’t believe the kindness Jessica demonstrated as soon as she heard the child needed these items and the relief it provided the family to know they weren't going to have to provide all of these items during the child's stay. I feel this truly demonstrates the ability to go above and beyond the actual job description and how caring an employee she is.”

• ·Kyle Painter, Plant Services: Painter was nominated by two colleagues for the “I Promise” award for his positive and enthusiastic attitude and his ability to spread Joy throughout the halls of St. Anthony’s. One nominator shared this about Kyle, “On any given day, cheerful Christmas tunes may be heard echoing through the halls at St. Anthony. For those of us who know him, we smile because we know we are about to be paid a visit by our friend, Kyle Painter. Kyle is a true example of the Joy Value in action. He is always ready to greet his colleagues with a smile, a high five, or an enthusiastic round of ‘Take me out to the Ballgame.’ Kyle's joy is contagious to those who he meets…It is just the type of contagious condition that we do need to spread around the hospital! Because he is a constant reminder that life is too short not to be happy, I think that there is no one more deserving of an [I Promise] award than Kyle Painter!”

• ·Nicole Probst, Occupational Therapy: Probst’s nomination read, “Nikki is a very compassionate, loving, encouraging and kindhearted therapist. Recently, Nikki was leaving work…when she noticed that her patient who normally rides [public transportation] was still at the Workman Complex. Nikki approached her patient and found out that her patient had been waiting for [transportation] for approximately one hour. Nikki was concerned about her patient's ride so she called [the public transportation] herself and found out that they had already closed for the evening. Nikki ended up calling her dad, who arrived at the complex with a trailer to help load the patient's wheelchair and the patient [and then took the patient home with Nikki.]….Nikki truly cares about her patients and their wellbeing in more than one way! She has demonstrated the “I Promise” mission and demonstrated the hospital Core Values!”

The winners each received a trophy and a set of four tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals ballgame from the hospital for being named an I Promise Award winner. HSHS St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital congratulates these colleagues and thanks them for demonstrating St. Anthony’s Core Values in their work, demonstrating that “we are St. Anthony’s and we make a difference.”

For more information about HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, visit St. Anthony’s web site at stanthonyshospital.org. HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital is part of the Southern Illinois Division of Hospital Sisters Health System, which also includes HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Breese, HSHS Holy Family Hospital in Greenville, and HSHS St. Joseph’s Hospital in Highland.