Beaufort Memorial awards recognize top employees

Move over Emmys – Beaufort Memorial has the Bemmys!

To celebrate National Hospital Week 2023 and to honor its finest, hospital leadership recently presented its second annual Bemmy Awards for exemplary performance. The awards were designed to specifically recognize employees, providers and departments that go above and beyond their job duties to carry out the organization’s mission, vision and values.

“We want to show our employees how much we value them and their service to our patients, our hospital and our community,” said Russell Baxley, Beaufort Memorial president and CEO.

The winners were picked from “You Shine Through” employee award recipients, who were selected based on nominations from patients, patients’ families, and coworkers. In addition, staff members were invited to nominate their colleagues.

Among the Bluffton/Okatie winners were Bluffton Express Care, which took home a Patient Experience Champion award, and Express Care PA Nikki Newman, who was named Provider of the Year.

AWARD from page 43A ed their then-8-year-old son Luke.

“For our 20th wedding anniversary, we became parents,” she said. “Best gift ever!”

Like many moms during COVID, Newman learned to bake.

“Luke’s a big cookie fan, and I was taking a baking class online with Christina Tosi of Milkbar. There was a class where you had to invent your own, and since he loves having fun with flavors, we made a lemon lime cookie,” she said. “We’ve taught our son to appreciate heavy metal, so we called it a ‘Lemmy Lime’ (in honor of Motorhead’s lead singer).”

As she was building happy memories with her family at home, professionally the COVID pandemic was a time that tested her resolve and demanded every ounce of effort Newman and her co-workers could muster. It was a trial, to be sure, but one

Other winners were:

• Vaux Clinical Employee of the Year: Bridget Blythe, central sterile processing specialist

• Non-Clinical Employee of the Year: Dean Adams, transportation specialist

• Department of the Year: Pharmacy

• Innovator of the Year: Joy Solomon, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, director, Education Department

• Leader of the Year: Lisa Kramer, revenue cycle director

• Rookie of the Year: Lauren Rauscher, BSN, RN, CNOR, RNFA, assistant director, Peri-Operative Department

• Community Champion: Lisa Terwilliger, BSN, RN, CMSRN, CNML, Medical/Surgical and Orthopedics Unit clinical coordinator.

• Zero Harm Patient Safety Champion: Abby Lynch, RD, clinical dietitian that demonstrated her commitment to medicine.

• Patient Experience Champions (selected based on exceptional patient survey scores).

Inpatient: Medical/Surgical and Orthopedics Unit; Outpatient: Outpatient Lab and Registration, Beaufort Medical Plaza.

“We asked the urgent care providers to help the emergency room during that time,” recalled Baxley. “And you know who stepped up immediately? It was Nikki. And not only did she do that, she did it with the most positive attitude.”

And while she’s earned a lot of fans among her colleagues and patients during her time at Beaufort Memorial – and has now been honored as its top provider –Newman admits she could probably do without the spotlight.

“I like to fly below the radar,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s amazing that coworkers have thought this highly of me. It’s an honor.”