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| The 2016 National Health Foundation Hospital Heroes Nominees |
On Friday, November 4th, 2016, we celebrated the
11th annual Hospital Heroes Awards luncheon. Together with our
Sponsors, Providence Health & Services, Southern California, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Cedars Sinai Hospital, Desert Valley Hospital and PomonaValley Hospital Medical Center, we heard the stories of 31 heroes who, through
a deep commitment to care and community, have gone above and beyond the call of
duty as nurses, doctors, support staff, health care administrators and
volunteers. The task of choosing the three winners was challenging, to say the
least.
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| Mistress of Ceremonies NBC4LA's Beverly White, Shawn Aguirre, Bryce Kulasxa and NHF CEO, Kelly Bruno |
What makes Shawn
Aguirre, nurse educator at St. Jude Medical Center a Hospital Hero? Perhaps Shawn's philosophy on
nursing says it best: “On or off duty, I am a nurse. My purpose is to heal.”
This past January, Shawn was on her way home when she saw two trucks, one
hoisted on top of the other and legs sticking out from under one of the trucks.
She immediately pulled over and ran across the street to see if she could help.
A fourth-year medical student was also on the scene and the two devised a plan;
he would go assess the young man’s legs and Shawn would climb under the truck
to determine the rest of his injuries. “I noticed his name tag was still on his
uniform, so I asked him if he knew his name,” Shawn said. “He was pale with
shallow breathing. He kept asking over and over how he got under the truck and
why his leg hurt so badly. He was clearly in shock.” For the next 30 minutes,
Shawn lay under the truck to calm him while waiting for the paramedics to
arrive. She did more than just assess his injuries clinically. She held his
hand. She told him it would be OK. Bryce Kulasxa joined Shawn at the Hospital
Heroes luncheon.
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| Beverly White, Tommy Covington and Kelly Bruno |
Tommy Covington,
RN, has worked the 7 pm – 7 am shift on the hematology-oncology floor of
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles since 1975.
His tireless work ethic is driven by his motto: “I try to live in the
now and let the future develop around me. Many of my patients succumb to their
diseases. When there’s a remission or a recovery, we rejoice in that.”
Covington has remained in contact with many Children’s Hospital families. One
family, whose child died 20 years ago, joins him on fishing trips. “We email,
we talk, and we reminisce about their child we took care of and the love we
shared,” he says. “Love is the reason I do what I do. It’s painful
when you have a loss, but I love my job.” Upon receiving his award,
Tommy was visibly emotional, sharing that receiving this recognition, just
months before his retirement, was a beautiful way to celebrate his 46 years of
service.
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| Beverly White, La Verna McMiller and Kelly Bruno |
La Verna McMiller,
RN, BSN, MSN, from Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro, manages one of the most
challenging patient care units in the state, the sub-acute care center at
Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center San Pedro. Patients are
transferred from hospitals throughout the state with gunshot wounds, terminal
cancer, and other life threatening conditions. She urges her nurses to never
give up on a patient and shares her motto, “Miracles do happen”. La Verna leads
her team with a sense of optimism resulting in amazing outcomes for patients
who were never expected to return home. “I’ve always liked working with these
patients who I believe have the greatest potential of getting better. I don’t
give up on them,” shares La Verna. La Verna manages this
125-bed specialty unit assuming both administrative and clinical oversight. La
Verna is on call seven days a week and regularly comes in on weekends and
evenings to meet with patient families and staff. She understands the value of
recognition for her team and special events for her patients and makes sure that
every birthday and holiday is a celebration. As we celebrated La Verna’s 27-year
career, she vowed to become more educated so she could make a greater
difference through her work.
For National Health Foundation, calling attention to the
work of the health care community is one way in which we express our gratitude
for the care and services of individuals, as well as for our partner hospitals.
We could not do what we do without he formidable help of our partner hospitals
and the heroes therein. As a nonprofit charitable organization, we also could
not do what we do without the financial support of our partners and our
community. The Hospital Heroes Awards luncheon is one way for organizations and
individuals to celebrate the work of these heroes, while supporting NHF’s many
important health initiatives in and around Los Angeles County.
For more information about National Health Foundation,
please click here.
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