E
vergreen places the highest value on providing quality care to patients. We work hard to ensure our programs and services meet the strictest standards of professionalism, compassion and respect, all while finding ways to improve. Ryan Hughes plays a large role in this process. Ryan is project manager for clinical quality in the Primary & Specialty Care
division. He's responsible for coordination of the division's quality assurance and quality improvement initiatives. "I dive into clinical data analytics to help our organization better understand the needs of specific health populations," explained Ryan. "I take these findings and help facilitate implementation of initiatives to improve the quality of patient care, outcomes and overall experience." Ryan's work varies from day to day, week to week. "The quality team has a bunch of deadlines and work priority is based off of that," said Ryan. "Examples of recent projects include working on our Uniform Data System (UDS) data. The Health Resources and Services Administration uses UDS data to assess the impact and performance of our health center programs. Another project was AZARA data validation. AZARA is a population health tool used by FQHCs that allows us to get a deeper understanding of the gaps in our patients' care along with things we can do as a health center to fill these gaps, such as annual wellness visits, cancer screenings or chronic disease management." Although Ryan doesn't work directly with patients, he feels the rewards of his work are still patientcentered. "We strive to improve the quality of patient care, outcomes and overall patient experience and I’m happy to be able to make an impact in these areas. Anything we can do to make a difference in our patients' lives is what we strive for." Ryan cites examples such as the recent purchase of pointof-care HbA1c testing, diabetic retinal exams and lead testing kits which will be available in coming months at our site locations. "This is a major milestone for maximizing our patients' quality of care and convenience. Having on-site, immediate results like this is game changing. Find me, Ryan, coming to one of our clinics near you to help with implementation and process training!" The quality team's collaboration and dynamic vision have lead to great advances, but there's a down side as well (spoiler: it's minor). "We collaborate as a team, put all of our ideas together and create a list of goals/projects that we believe would be excellent for Evergreen as an organization and the patients
Anything we can do to make a difference in our patients' lives is what we strive for. - Ryan Hughes of Evergreen. The main challenge is that we have to understand not everything can be completed overnight. Great things take time, but each movement forward makes significant differences. We have countless projects in our minds and on the horizon, but we have to tackle things in manageable doses." Ryan came to Evergreen from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center where he served as the manager of service line operations and special projects. This involved managing primary care, bariatrics, wound care, suboxone, general surgery, etc. as well as special projects such as the COVID-19 task force. "I'd been at Memorial for over three years and I was looking for an opportunity to further grow my career," said Ryan. "I learned about an opening at Evergreen. To be honest, I'd never heard of Evergreen so I did some research. The first thing I learned was that Evergreen is on Buffalo Business First’s Best Places to Work list. The position fit me, the organization’s reputation was great, and, most of all, after doing some more digging I realized Evergreen’s mission and goals aligned with mine perfectly. What makes Evergreen stand out compared to anywhere else I've worked is that I know everyone comes to work here on a daily basis to make a difference. The culture that we have at Evergreen is special and is something I’m happy to be a part of. Evergreen values their employees'
hard work and we are celebrated for that. My co-workers are the best! " Great things are happening in terms of quality, but Ryan is looking ahead to further improvements in the future. "I see the continuous advancement of our quality initiatives which will allow us to better understand our patient population and help us deliver the best possible," sid Ryan. "Evergreen will continue to provide Primary & Specialty Care with the necessary resources to be one of the leaders and strongest innovators in the industry. We will continue to follow modern trends and adapt with the constantly changing healthcare industry. I hope be one of the leaders in these future advancements." Ryan was born and raised in Grand Island. After graduating from Grand Island High School he attended St. John Fisher College in Rochester, playing Division III baseball and football and earning a biology degree. "Growing up, I'd always wanted to be a doctor," said Ryan. "After graduating from Fisher, I attended medical school for two and a half years. Halfway through, I realized I wanted to be on the other side of the field, in administration. Through those years of medical school and added experience, I learned about practice operations, financial structures and quality metrics, on top of the demanding medical education. I wanted to be leader in the field and be a bridge between administrator and clinician. I earned my Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Oklahoma State University and knew that this field was right for me. "My mom is a nurse and my father is an engineer," said Ryan. "My mom’s passion for the medical field had me hooked at an early age." Ryan has two younger brothers, and two pets he describes as "spoiled". "There's a German Shepherd named Maya and a Beagle named Buddy." Ryan is also interested into sports and fitness, and is an avid outdoorsman. "Nothing better than spending a nice, warm weekend afternoon with friends and family boating on the water (with a few adult beverages included, obviously). If not boating, find me playing 18 holes of golf with friends (watch for me on the PGA Tour, just kidding). I also enjoy spending time relaxing on any tropical beach. Favorite food would definitely have to be hot chicken wings from Bar Bill or a medium-rare steak from any of our favorite local steakhouses. Diehard Buffalo Bills and Sabres fan. Where’s my Bills Mafia at?! 2022 is our year, better believe it. In Josh Allen we trust!" You heard it, folks, and Ryan knows a thing or two about great teams that continue to improve year after year.
Team Evergreen is still reeling from the shocking hate-based violence that took place in our community on May 14. Evergreen Health, Community Access Services and the Pride Center have always stood united against hatred, and always will. Many staff members expressed a desire to get involved and help the people who were directly impacted by the shooting; people who are now in desperate need of basic necessities such as food and toiletry items. The Community Response Team coordinated the purchase of essential hygiene supplies, and Team Evergreen stepped up to help fill bags which will be distributed to those in need. Bags included diapers and pull-ups, toilet paper, wipes, feminine hygiene products, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, baby food and much more. More than 100 bags were delivered, including many with products specifically for babies. Special thanks to everyone who was involved, including Ekua MendsAidoo, Tiffany Valentin, Kim LaVare and the Procurement team along with everyone who gathered to help assemble the bags.
If you have any questions about COVID-19, please send an email to COVID19questions@evergreenhs.org. Mark your calendar! The submission
For questions about Evergreen’s COVID-19 vaccination program, you can email COVID19vaccinequestions @evergreenhs.org. Or, visit ADP or evergreenhs.org for more information.
deadline for the July 2022 issue of Connections is Friday, June 17. Be sure to get your content in before the deadline to guarantee placement. Kids, pets, vacations, recipes -we want to share it all with Team Evergreen! Email EvergreenConnections via Outlook.
Top: the new drop-in center in the Watkins Building is up and running. This exciting new center will provide meeting, shower and laundry facilities for our patients. Bottom left: Evergreen swag galore at the hepatitis C outreach table in the Atrium. Bottom right: Congratulations to Mark Wolf and Jessie Dorman, who were married on May 7!
Liz Whipple.................................................June 1 Kristy Mangel.............................................June 2 Gaelin Carrig..............................................June 4 Joshua Carter............................................June 4 Kimberly Smith..........................................June 5 Kaylin Gowan.............................................June 6 Ileana Hernandez-Cromer.......................June 6 Tara Monaco..............................................June 6 Dennis Kraft...............................................June 7 Naomi Taylor..............................................June 8 Lakisha Price.............................................June 10 Shontae Scott............................................June 10 Amarylis Peñalvert....................................June 11 Stephanie Simmons.................................June 12 Nicole Jones..............................................June 13 Erin Carmina..............................................June 13 Kimberly McQueary..................................June 15 Janine Gibbs..............................................June 15 Abbie Burd..................................................June 15 Jason Perez...............................................June 16 Alan Jacyszyn............................................June 16 Katherine Marrero.....................................June 16 Kimberly Martin.........................................June 17 Stephanie Mejia.........................................June 18 Brianna Cabrera........................................June 19 Ashley Kuss................................................June 19 Sandra Aviles.............................................June 20 Dawn Ganoe...............................................June 20 Shateer Douglas........................................June 20 Sharon Yager.............................................June 23 Jenny Domke.............................................June 25 Amy Meyer.................................................June 25 Alice Ayala Larregui...................................June 25 Eliud Kosgei................................................June 25 Kyle Berberich............................................June 26 Jacob Marsh..............................................June 26 Jennifer Sander.........................................June 27
Stephanie Mejia......................................... 1 Year Hannah Smith............................................ 1 Year Brianna Kirk................................................ 1 Year Angelica Gonzalez.................................... 1 Year Johanna Price........................................... 1 Year Leslie Fineberg.......................................... 1 Year Keith Garvey............................................... 1 Year Stephanie Green........................................ 1 Years Kyle Botsford.............................................. 2 Years Richard Ridenour...................................... 2 Years David McCready........................................ 2 Years Mel LeMay.................................................. 2 Years Elizabeth Woleen....................................... 3 Years Kimberly Smith.......................................... 3 Years
ANNUAL TRAININGS COMING SOON
Christian Rossman................................... 3 Years Marcia Derby.............................................. 4 Years Jonathan Puma......................................... 4 Years Nicholas Maggi.......................................... 4 Years Alan Jacyszyn............................................ 4 Years Christina Monroy....................................... 5 Years Robert Smith.............................................. 6 Years Kaitlyn Gately............................................. 6 Years Jessie Dorman-Wolf................................. 6 Years Carolee Corbitt.......................................... 7 Years Jacob Perrello............................................ 7 Years
It’s almost annual training time again! Annual trainings are required
Julie Mayer................................................. 7 Years
for all staff to complete and contain company trainings, policies and
Kristen Bechdel......................................... 8 Years
acknowledgements. There will be plenty more communications to come so keep an eye out for further emails. In the meantime, feel free to check out all the new and updated courses in Evergreen University. Reach out to Jocelyn Leising with any questions.
Kathryn Diebold......................................... 11 Years Ray Ganoe .................................................. 16 Years Elisa Luciano.............................................. 22 Years
We asked people celebrating anniversaries with Evergreen to share a baby photo to be displayed at the Huddle on April 27. Because of technical difficulties, the photos were not displayed as intended. Here they are... enjoy!
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Publisher/Layout John Carocci
Copy Editor
Saturday, June 11 Jamestown Pride Jamestown, New York, all day
Friday, June 17 Juneteenth Celebration Community Access Services
Saturday, June 17 Juneteenth Parade
Marketing Team
Contributors Jocelyn Leising Melissa Delgado Megan Fagyas Joelle Toal Connections is the monthly newsletter for employees and board members of Evergreen Health and its affilliates, the Pride Center of Western New York and Community Access Services. You can submit photos, comments or a "hello" via Outlook at Evergreen Connections.
Left: Jocelyn Leising holds her Buffalo Business First 30 Under 30 award. Right: Matt Iwanski-Jackson, Jocelyn, Gaelin Carrig and Christine Marrano at the ceremony.