OAKLAND – In a fitting kickoff to Environmental Services Week, two EVS colleagues were recognized on Monday in a dual BeRemarkable Award ceremony. Teresa Hayes was selected for March’s BeRemarkable Award, while Susan Romaya was chosen for July’s award. Both colleagues were honored for their kindness and compassion toward patients, and for serving as part of the larger care team.

Teresa was nominated after leaders at St. Joe’s Oakland received a letter from a patient family. In the letter, a patient’s sibling wrote to share how Teresa’s kind words inspired her: “Throughout her stay, [my sister] often communicated what a great job all your staff were doing during these extremely difficult times. However, there was one person whom she has mentioned multiple times over the last few months since she left the hospital. She told me that on the day before she was to be released, she mentioned to Teresa Hayes, the housekeeper, that she would be leaving. Teresa said, ‘I’ve been watching you and I just know you’re going to do great.’ Those kind words meant the world to [my sister]. She hadn’t realized that not only your medical staff, but all of your staff, including the housekeepers, had been watching over her, protecting her… being her advocate.” The letter also shared that Teresa’s words had become her sister’s mantra as she continued her recovery.

Susan was nominated by a fellow colleague, who shared how she goes above and beyond to make patients feel cared for and special. The colleague wrote, “Susan Romaya takes excellent care of her work areas, yet also of the people who work in those areas. She has filled a void for the residents who are here away from home with her motherly persona. The residents really appreciate her. She brightens up the residents’ lounge with excellent cleaning, decorating for them and encouraging them on their path.

In addition, Susan’s nominator discussed the parties she holds for residents, stating, “Susan also holds special events for the residents which she ‘caters’ for them food she prepares herself and pays for out of pocket. She sets up the tables with her own lace cloths, fancy serving trays, etc.” The colleague added that Susan makes work more enjoyable for the entire team, and is appreciated by the team’s leaders.

Congratulations to both Teresa and Susan, and thank you for demonstrating how all colleagues can be a vital part of the care team. The empathy and engagement you show with patients and residents makes a real difference in their experience, and we are grateful for you.

OAKLAND – Residency programs can be difficult and intensive, as new physicians undertake the necessary post-graduate education to transition into their careers. Fortunately for residents at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, they have Laura Kobylas in their corner. Laura, a GME Specialist, listened to resident concerns during a challenging time and worked with leaders to develop innovative solutions. Her extraordinary efforts to support resident physicians earned her the latest BeRemarkable Award.

Laura was nominated by a colleague, who shared how she has gone above and beyond to help residents succeed. Earlier this year, the GME department had two unexpected resignations. Laura stepped in to help fill the gaps caused by these departures, and began to proactively identify new ways to help students. Her colleague wrote, “Laura noticed that residents were struggling with a lack of mentoring and guidance subsequent to the loss of Program Director and Coordinator and reached out to Medical Education Leadership to schedule group and individual meetings to address resident concerns. Laura also began collecting and organizing important program documentation for multiple committee meetings… As a result of her interventions, we initiated multiple meetings, interviews, and new protocols to support these resident physicians.”

Thanks to Laura’s efforts and forward thinking, the residents were able to receive the support they needed during a challenging transition period. At the award ceremony, Laura was sure to note that many of her initiatives involved a team effort, and to thank her fellow colleagues for their hard work as well. Congratulations, Laura!

OAKLAND – Our Security team does more than keep colleagues and patients safe; they also contribute to patient care and improve the patient experience. Pete Kowalak, a Security Officer at SJMO, demonstrated this by helping calm an upset patient through a friendly conversation. This allowed the care team to focus on higher-acuity patients. For his kindness and compassion, Pete was honored with the BeRemarkable Award.

Pete was nominated by a colleague, who shared how Pete had helped the Emergency Department team at a stressful time. She wrote, “This evening was a particularly difficult shift in the Emergency Department… One of our nurses was overwhelmed with her assignment, and most of her time was being occupied by one patient with dementia what would almost continuously attempt to elope. Pete was assigned to the ED at the time, and he moved to that patient so that he could still watch the psychiatric patients. He was so kind to her, and he was distracting her from her desire to leave by staying with her and conversing about her family and her holidays.”

The colleague continued, “We were waiting for her husband to arrive so that the husband would stay with her and calm her enough to keep her in the ED. Pete ended up staying with her until her husband came, which allowed for the nurse to care for her other patients (one of which was critical and really needed her time) and the patient to be happy and comfortable in his care.”

Congratulations, Pete! Your compassion and thoughtfulness not only helped calm the nerves of a patient in distress, but allowed the care team to tend to other patients in need.