Martha's Vineyard Hospital employees honored for excellence
By Nelson Sigelman
Published: February 12, 2009
Martha's Vineyard Hospital honored five employees for their dedication and hard work in a ceremony on January 30. Each received the Partners in Excellence award.
Partners HealthCare, the Boston-based healthcare system, established the program in 1966 to recognize individuals and teams at all levels that have contributed to Partners' success in any of its member institutions, which include Mass General Hospital and Martha's Vineyard Hospital.
Individual awards were presented to Todd Lyonnais, a physical therapist in Windemere; parking attendant Cherrie Nunes; and Kate Welch in the hospital accounting department. The team award was presented to Cardiac Rehabilitation unit members Pam Lindgren and MJ Rogers.
Photo courtesy Martha's Vineyard Hospital
Honorees are nominated by their peers. The recognition ceremony proved to be very emotional for many of those in attendance.
More than a dozen cardiac rehab patients attended and presented Ms. Lindgren and Ms. Rogers with a bouquet of flowers. "They are like a club," Rachel Vanderhoop, hospital development director, told The Martha's Vineyard Times. "They (Ms. Lindgren and Ms. Rogers) seem to inspire their patients in a way that is very special."
Ms. Nunes directs traffic and assists hospital visitors and patients in the parking lot amid ongoing construction activity and in all weather conditions, from searing heat to pouring rain. Tim Walsh, hospital CEO, said Ms. Nunes nomination began with a very touching letter from the family member of a patient who wrote that whenever she encountered Ms. Nunes it lifted her day because she was so nice.
"It takes all of us to make it work - the whole place. Every job is important and I think that demonstrates it," said Mr. Walsh. "No matter what your job is, you can really make a difference.
