SPECIAL STAFF APPRECIATION
3 A REWARDING PATH TO NURSING At HMC, nurses are well supported.
4 SHOWING OUR APPRECIATION Why employees of Valley Health Systems choose to work here— and why they stay.
6 WE ARE FAMILY
Some HMC employees have multiple family members working under the same roof.
8 LIVING THE MISSION WITH PASSION Meet two dedicated employees of Holyoke VNA Hospice Life Care.
10 SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE Bilingual clinicians from Puerto Rico help RVCC clients maximize care.
12 THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME Just ask these six Western Massachusetts natives who work at HMC.
14 SUPPORTED SUCCESS
An entry-level employee saved a patient’s life. Now, with HMC’s support, he’s becoming a certified nursing assistant.
15 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
HMC’s food service team dispels the notion of “hospital food” with delicious, nutritious meals. 12 3 8 6 10 15
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A REWARDING PATH TO NURSING
AT HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER, NURSES ARE SUPPORTED THROUGHOUT THEIR TRAINING AND CAREERS.
ASK ANYONE WHO WORKS in health care, and they’ll tell you that nurses are the backbone of the industry, especially when it comes to caring for patients in a hospital setting. In some places, nurses are the “unsung heroes” of patient care—but not at Holyoke Medical Center (HMC).
Here, nurses and prospective nurses are nurtured and supported from the beginning of their training so that they can achieve their career goals and provide the best, most comprehensive care for HMC’s patients.
Take Makayla Cote, RN, BSN, for example. This summer marks Cote’s fourth year as an RN at HMC, where she works on South 3 (medical-surgical floor). Cote’s journey to a nursing career began in high school. “I began volunteering at another local hospital in
my junior year,” she says. Cote received her CNA (certified nursing assistant) certification from Holyoke Community College (HCC) and started working as a CNA at an area assisted-living facility in Northampton. “I realized that I wanted to work in a different health care environment, so I started working as a CNA at HMC in 2018 when I started nursing school.”
Cote received her associate degree in Nursing at HCC in 2020. “I used HMC’s tuition reimbursement program to complete my Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Fitchburg State University in 2022,” she says. HMC has a $7,000 annual tuition reimbursement program and offers $1,000 in professional
development reimbursement yearly as well. (At the time Cote was hired, the reimbursement program offered $5,000 annually, but that was increased shortly afterward, and she was able to take advantage of the additional funds in 2022).
“In addition, HMC has free counseling sessions, a free gym, and a relaxation room,” says Cote, adding, “They also recently started offering free classes through education and training.”
Other HMC offerings for nurses include seven weeks of benefit time upon hire; excellent health benefits; nurse residency, preceptor and mentorship programs; a robust clinical ladder program; and an extremely supportive leadership team. One benefit that is easy to overlook is the fact that HMC is a 219-bed community hospital, which means a more personal experience with patients and colleagues, something that many health care workers crave.
Cote’s duties keep her busy, stimulated, engaged and eager to continue to learn. “My day to day includes admitting and discharging patients; communicating to doctors on patient status, needs and changes; administering medications; documenting patient needs, status and progress; providing wound care; and providing support and education to patients and their family members,” she says, noting that the support she receives from her colleagues is invaluable. “The nursing team, including nursing assistants I work with every day, are amazing. They are always willing to help out when a coworker is having a busy day,” she says.
Cote advises those thinking about a career in nursing to strongly consider all that HMC has to offer. In addition to the support, recognition, tuition reimbursement and professional development offerings, according to Cote, HMC is just a great place to work. “I’m happy I came to HMC,” she says. “I have made lifelong friendships here and have met so many amazing people.
Makayla Cote, RN, BSN
SHOWING OUR APPRECIATION
HERE’S WHY EMPLOYEES OF VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEMS CHOOSE TO WORK HERE—AND WHY THEY STAY.
VALLEY HEALTH SYSTEMS—which comprises Holyoke Medical Center (HMC), Holyoke Medical Group, Holyoke VNA Hospice Life Care, and River Valley Counseling Center— employs approximately 2,000 people, nearly 1,700 of whom work at HMC and Holyoke Medical Group. According to Beverly Fein, Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, recruiting exceptional candidates is just part of the equation. Retaining employees is another. Valley Health Systems has numerous initiatives in place to do both.
RECRUITMENT EFFORTS AND EVENTS
Valley Health Systems makes it easy (and fun!) for job candidates to meet members of the hiring and management teams. After completing an online application, Walk-In Wednesdays allow candidates to walk into the Human Resources office between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons to be interviewed on the spot. Additionally, occasional applicant meet and greet events at local eateries are announced via the HMC website and social media outlets.
ONGOING INITIATIVES FOR EMPLOYEES
How does Valley Health Systems manage to keep so many excellent employees? By offering initiatives to help
keep them motivated and engaged, to let them know they’re valued, their hard work is recognized and appreciated and to help them reach their potential and meet career goals.
Of course, sometimes it’s the little things that count. At Valley Health Systems, both the big and “little things” are plentiful and really make a difference in the day-to-day lives of employees.
• On Free Coffee Mondays, employees are entitled to free regular coffee and tea in the hospital cafeteria and coffee shop. It’s a staff favorite which is why, according to longtime coffee shop employee Aida Cruz, “Everybody comes in on Mondays!”
• Free Fitness Center and Relaxation Room for staff. “A lot of what we do comes from the feedback we get from
Beverly Fein, Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer
An excited team member during hospital week 2024 wearing her new shirt and holding appreciation treats and a coupon for a free Gary Rome car wash.
Megan McAdams, Lead CRNA (center), with her family at the 2023 Children’s Holiday Party.
employees,” says Fein. “The fitness center, which is open 24 hours, was one of those ideas.”
• Massage chairs and snack carts in all clinical break rooms
• $7,000 Annual Tuition Reimbursement Program
• $1,000 Annual Professional Development Reimbursement
• Uniform stipends
• ACE Up Your Sleeve Referral Bonus Program for recruiting friends to join our team
• Free meals for annual health care recognition days, weeks and months
EVENTS, CELEBRATIONS AND AWARDS
In addition to ongoing initiatives, there are annual events and celebrations, and those designed to recognize exceptional employees.
FEBRUARY
• Gala & ACE Awards—The ACE Awards recognize exemplary employees in the categories of Best Physician, Best Caregiver, Best Nurse, Best Leader and Best Supporting Employee.
MAY
• We highlight the month of May every year and express appreciation to all of our healthcare heroes with various events and gifts, especially for National Hospital Week, National Nurses Week, and Mental Health Awareness Month.
• Nurses of Distinction Awards and Ceremony—“This event recognizes nurses who have gone above and beyond,” says Fein. It celebrates nurses who exemplify HMC’s mission, vision and values, while practicing with extraordinary compassion, empathy and clinical skill.
• Nurses Rock—A free event for all nurses in the area to register and attend, with food, drinks, live music and giveaways.
• Annual Service Awards—“We have many tenured employees and we recognize their years of service, starting at five years, with an annual dinner where we celebrate them and their milestone anniversaries,” says Fein.
JULY
• Summer Salute—“This is our summer employee picnic, which is also attended by employees’ families and extended families, including grandchildren,” says Fein. “It’s lots of fun.” Summer Salute features an ice cream truck, barbecued foods, fresh popped kettle corn and fun activities including music, a water slide, bounce house, face-painting and games.
SEPTEMBER
• Annual Employee Engagement Survey—Employees are invited to share their feedback and ideas in an annual Employee Engagement Survey. Prizes are awarded to those who enter a raffle upon completion. According
to Fein, some of the best ideas for employee perks have come from the surveys. “In addition to the fitness center, employees asked that families and extended families be included in some events, and that request was granted,” says Fein.
NOVEMBER
• Thankful Thursdays—Every Thursday in November employees receive small tokens of appreciation, including fresh fruit, cookies, donuts and candy.
DECEMBER
• Employee Holiday Party—Employees are invited to a special holiday party to enjoy delicious food, drinks and live music.
• Children’s Holiday Party—“This is a huge, festive event,” says Fein. “Employees can bring their children and grandchildren, and we usually have 500 to 600 kids who get to visit with Santa, enjoy cocoa and cookies and do crafts. Every child also gets a gift.”
• Employee Appreciation Meal—Staff are invited to a prime rib meal served by the executive leadership team in the café.
“We appreciate our employees and what they do every day for our patients and our communities,” says Fein. “We also appreciate their families. These events are a way for us to give back and say thank you.”
Interested in joining our team? Apply online today at HolyokeHealth.com/Careers .
Left: Maya Colon and Mari Guzman were excited to celebrate one Thankful Thursday with fresh donuts. Right: Iris Romero with her granddaughter, Eva Chanel Morales, enjoying ice cream at the 2023 Summer Salute event.
We Are Family
SOME HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER EMPLOYEES HAVE MULTIPLE FAMILY MEMBERS WORKING UNDER THE SAME ROOF.
WE HEAR IT ALL THE TIME: “My coworkers are like family to me.” At Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) and its affiliates in Valley Health Systems, this is more than just a sentiment. In some cases, coworkers actually are family.
Anna Jamieson, Mary Jamieson, and Jackie Rosa-Jamieson
THE ROSA-JAMIESON FAMILY
JACKLYN (JACKIE) ROSA-JAMIESON, RN, BSN, began working at HMC in 1984, just six months out of nursing school. “I started on a medical/surgical floor, on the night shift,” says Rosa-Jamieson. RosaJamieson now works as an Emergency Department (ED) case manager, a role she’s had for four years. She has also worked in the ICU, the ED, and the
former Birthing Center. “I’ve worn and still wear many hats,” says Rosa-Jamieson. “I’m also a great listener for staff, and provider of the candy drawer!”
Her family’s history with HMC goes back even further—to the 1960s, when her aunt, Paulina Gregory, began working there as an LPN. “She was my mentor,” says Rosa-Jamieson. Another aunt, Carla Collins, worked in the hospital lab as a phlebotomist from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was from her Aunt Carla that she heard about the opening at HMC.
The family tradition is continuing through a third generation, as two of Rosa-Jamieson’s daughters, Anna and Mary Jamieson, work at HMC as well. “My children have grown up at HMC,” says RosaJamieson. “As children, they loved to walk through the tunnel on pay day and, of course, they loved the cafeteria.” These days, Licensed Clinical Social Worker Mary, who started in 2012, is a behavioral health clinical supervisor on the community navigation team, while Anna, hired in 2019, is a social work intern on the behavioral health team.
According to Mary Jamieson, MSW, LICSW, CIMHP, her younger sister, Grace Jamieson, will start nursing school next fall. “I hope she will soon join us as part of the HMC Family!” she says.
Her eldest sister, Emma, also has a connection to HMC. She previously had her own business, Handmade with Love by Emma J, which made cards for the coffee shop and for HMC families who’d suffered neonatal loss.
Jamieson loves the fact that her family has such a strong history within the larger HMC family. “After my first shift in the ED, the nurse manager said, ‘You’re Jackie’s daughter! I remember you when you were an infant!’ I felt so welcomed.”
Consider joining the Valley Health Systems family, apply online today at HolyokeHealth.com/Careers.
NOEMI
HERNANDEZ
AND FAMILY
HUMAN RESOURCES RECRUITER
NOEMI HERNANDEZ, who is in charge of recruiting nursing support staff at the hospital, has been with HMC since 2010 in various HR capacities.
Like Rosa-Jamieson, Hernandez
THE CRUZ/STARK FAMILY
AIDA CRUZ is one of the most beloved members, not just of her own family, but of the HMC family. The Holyoke resident has been a fixture at the HMC coffee shop, located just inside the hospital’s main entrance, where she’s worked for 25 of her 28 years at HMC, serving staff and guests alike. Cruz says some employees, including many doctors, are regulars. “When I see them coming, I start getting their order ready,” she says. Some just come in for graband-go items; others like their coffee made a special way. One of them (“I probably shouldn’t name names,” she says) usually orders two double shots of espresso and sometimes a pastry.
Cruz’s daughter, Sandra Stark, RN, who works in Short Stay Surgery/ Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (SSS/ PACU), has been at HMC for 24 years. Sandra’s son Aidan, has been working as an orderly in the PACU since 2023 and wants to be a nurse like his mom, while her daughter-in-law, Brigitte
has several family members who work at HMC, including three sisters: Mary Torres, an office assistant in Cardiovascular Services; Aida Farrell, a correspondence coordinator in Health Information Management; and Lissette Alicea, an office assistant in the Urology Department. In addition, her son, Isaiah Ortiz, was hired in 2019 as a junior system administrator in Information Systems. Finally, she has two nieces who are part of the HMC family: Natalie Figueroa, a mental health counselor in the Adult Behavioral Health Unit, and Laila Jordan, a cardiac monitor technician in the Med Tele Unit. “It’s always nice to bump into family while walking to get a snack at the gift shop or to the cafeteria for lunch,” she says. Hernandez says her family has a special bond with HMC that goes beyond work. “My family grew up in Holyoke,” she says. “We are very proud to work here!”
Stark, (she’s married to Sandra’s other son, Josh) is a licensed clinical social worker who began in 2017 as a social work intern and currently works as the CARE Team Clinical Coordinator.“I see my family members every day at work,” says Sandra Stark, noting how proud she is of her son. “He’s going to make a great, compassionate nurse,”
she says. “I’m also proud of all Brigitte has accomplished. I consider her my daughter.” It’s her mom, though, who, Stark says, “is the heart of the family. She’s a beautiful person and a very loving mom, grandmom and greatgrandmom. She also led the way for us to become employees at HMC. We couldn’t survive without her.”
Brigitte Stark, Aidan Stark, Aida Cruz, and Sandra Stark
Aida Farrell, Mary Torres, Lissette Alicea, Noemi Hernandez, Isaiah Ortiz, Natalie Figueroa, and Laila Jordan
LIVING THE MISSION WITH PASSION
MEET TWO DEDICATED EMPLOYEES OF HOLYOKE VNA HOSPICE LIFE CARE WHO’VE SPENT THE PAST FOUR DECADES WORKING TO EASE THE PAIN OF OTHERS.
IT TAKES A SPECIAL KIND of person to work in health care. Even if they are not clinicians or working directly with patients, the responsibilities of health care workers are enormous. Caring for patients, both directly and indirectly, is at the heart of Holyoke VNA Hospice Life Care, which provides home health care to patients who are ill, injured or recovering from surgery; palliative care to help relieve symptoms in patients with serious conditions; and hospice
care to help patients navigate their final days and weeks of life with comfort and dignity.
Working with patients who are in or about to enter hospice care presents its own special challenges and rewards. Despite decades of education from medical professionals and thousands of comprehensive volumes written on death, dying and end-of-life care, these topics are still taboo, often instilling fear and panic.
Yet there are exceptional people who work with patients nearing the end of their lives, people who don’t instill fear, but instead help bring comfort and dignity to those in hospice care and their families. Two of those special people, Jennifer Martin and Sonia Badillo, work right here at Holyoke VNA Hospice Life Care and have shared what it is they do, how and why they do it, and what keeps them going after nearly four decades in their respective jobs.
DIFFERENT ROLES, COMMON GOALS
Though Martin and Badillo have very different positions (Martin is director of Operations/IT and Badillo is a Spanish/English language interpreter), educations and professional backgrounds (Martin’s is in software analysis and design, and Badillo’s is in accounting), they each share some common traits that have proved vital to their longevity and success in home health care and hospice care. Among these traits are compassion, strength, tenacity and patience, and personal experience with grief, loss and hospice care.
CIRCUITOUS CAREER PATHS
Jennifer Martin never intended to work at a health care agency or in hospice care, but she remembers the day she joined the Holyoke VNA. “My first day was May 4, 1987,” recalls Martin, a Holyoke native and married mother of two sons who now lives in Chicopee. “I interviewed in the morning and was offered the position later that afternoon.” At that time, she knew nothing about the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA). “I only knew that nurses went to homes,” she says. “And
Jennifer Martin, HVNA Hospice Life Care team member since 1987.
hospice was an unknown term then.”
Martin, who’d once dreamed of being a software engineer in a large company, was originally hired by the Holyoke VNA for a one-year stint to help implement new software for medical record-keeping and billing. She was then asked to stay on to assist in additional IT implementation strategies which included being part of the team that was starting the hospice program in 1989. “I was intrigued with the hospice concept and had family and friends that were some of our first hospice patients,” says Martin. “A few years later, I myself needed our VNA services, and I knew the change in career paths was the absolute correct decision for me.”
Similarly, longtime Holyoke resident Sonia Badillo, who joined the Holyoke VNA in 1986, began her tenure in a temporary position. “It was a summer job,” says the Brooklyn-born Badillo, who has two grown children and two grandchildren. “I started out doing home visits to check people for lead poisoning.” Badillo had been going to school for accounting at that time but quit because her mother had become ill.
“When my mother was sick, I wanted to make sure that she understood what she was being told to her by doctors, nurses and other medical personnel, and vice versa,” she says. “Hispanics love to answer by nodding their heads and a lot of things get lost when there’s not a clear understanding of the language.” Badillo knew that her mother needed an interpreter, and she naturally took on that role.
As fate would have it, the Holyoke VNA created an interpreter position, and Badillo was offered the job. Like Martin, she’s never looked back.
REWARDS, CHALLENGES AND MISCONCEPTIONS
“Even though I am not on the frontline of direct patient care, working in this setting and assisting the clinicians from the operational perspective can
absolutely be emotionally draining at times,” says Martin, whose job includes ensuring that non-direct patient care operations run efficiently, effectively and within state and federal requirements.
Badillo, who does work directly with patients and serves as a communication liaison between Spanish-speaking patients and clinicians, also sometimes finds her job emotionally challenging. “I get emotional all the time, but I try to compose myself before I see patients,” she says. “If I have to sit in my car for a half hour and cry, I do that. Or I’ll talk it out with somebody. Our hospice group has a bereavement coordinator, and if I need to talk, I’ll talk to her or to my supervisor.”
Still, knowing that she is helping patients and their families keeps
Badillo going. “I always finish my visits by making sure I’ve explained everything and asking if I’ve answered all their questions,” says Badillo. “If they say yes, I know I’ve done my job to the fullest.”
Martin agrees that the rewards of working at Holyoke VNA Hospice Life Care are many. “It is so rewarding to hear about a VNA patient that we helped get back to doing what they love, or a hospice patient that we helped live and do what they wanted in their last remaining days,” she says. “Being born is difficult. Dying is more difficult in many situations, and our clinicians are there, not to facilitate any part of the dying process, but to make the last months, days and hours as pain-free and comfortable as possible so the patient and family can cherish each and every remaining moment.”
Holyoke VNA Hospice Life Care is hiring. Apply online today at HolyokeHealth.com/Careers .
Sonia Badillo received recognition from the government of Puerto Rico for the help and care provided to a patient who lost their home in Hurricane Maria in 2017.
SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE
RIVER VALLEY COUNSELING CENTER’S BILINGUAL CLINICIANS FROM PUERTO RICO HELP CLIENTS IN HOLYOKE’S PUERTO RICAN COMMUNITY GET THE MOST FROM OUTPATIENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES.
HOLYOKE IS A SMALL CITY with a rich history and an equally rich ethnic and cultural heritage. The Puerto Rican community in Holyoke is an especially important part of the city’s cultural fabric, comprising over 50%—nearly 20,000 residents—of its population.
River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC), like Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) and the other members of Valley Health Systems, works to make its services available and accessible
to area residents who need them, including those in the Puerto Rican and other Hispanic communities, many of whom face language, financial and other barriers to quality healthcare.
Several RVCC clinicians and other staff members were born and raised in Puerto Rico and are bilingual. This makes it easier for them to communicate with Puerto Rican and other Hispanic patients, many of whom speak Spanish only. Having providers who understand
not only their language, but their culture, means that many people in the community who are in need of behavioral health services but have been hesitant to seek them can find them at RVCC.
No one understands this better than Virmarit Davila Sanchez, Ph.D., LMHC, clinical director of RVCC’s Springfield Outpatient Services, who has been working at the center since 2015 when she joined as a bilingual clinical supervisor for the Holyoke
Some team members of RVCC with Puerto Rican heritage.
location. A native of Aibonito, which is in the center of the island of Puerto Rico, Dr. Davila Sanchez was raised in Bayamon, which is located about 20 minutes from San Juan. She came to Massachusetts in 2005.
According to Dr. Davila Sanchez, whose clinical work includes seeing patients for therapy and managing both the clinical and administrative aspects of the center’s outpatient services, RVCC has approximately 260 clinicians on staff. Since she joined RVCC, Davila Sanchez has personally recruited five clinicians directly from Puerto Rico. “This has been significant in terms of being able to offer services mostly to clients who are Spanish speaking only, and the level of knowledge and experience these clinicians have brought to RVCC has been a key for our growth within the communities we serve,” she says.
SHARED CULTURE AND EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
One of these clinicians is Daisy J. Valle, PhD. Dr. Valle, who hails from Sabana Grande, a small town in the southwest part of the island. She has been a licensed psychologist for 30 years. In Puerto Rico, Dr. Valle worked as a program director and as a psychologist for various
nonprofit organizations. She also practiced forensic psychology. “I had a very successful private practice in my hometown for more than 10 years before I decided to move to Massachusetts,” she says. Dr. Valle moved to Springfield in July 2016, working at RVCC’s Holyoke office as a bilingual clinician before moving to the Springfield office in 2021.
At RVCC, Dr. Valle offers psychotherapy both in person and via telehealth. She believes that her clients find comfort in knowing that the therapist they’re seeing is not just a clinician but a person who can really relate to them and who, literally, speaks the same language.
“Sharing the same culture and heritage with most of my clients who are Hispanic, especially Puerto Ricans, has been the most important thing that helps me truly connect with their real emotional needs,” says Dr. Valle. She believes that while speaking the same language as clients is crucial to connecting with them, there’s more to it than simply understanding the words. “Knowing how to speak our dialect helps me as a therapist to be able to correctly interpret the meaning of their words and the base and origin of their emotions.”
Shared culture also plays a critical
role, not in just connecting with clients, but in building trusting relationships with them. “Knowing the places, towns of origin, government, folklore, food and traditions that they lived and remember helps them see me as more reliable and lets them know that I can relate to what they say,” says Dr. Valle. “It also helps them speak freely without feeling judged and assures them that they will be understood.”
José Colón-Sifonte, LCSW, shares many of Dr. Valle’s views on the important role of cultural connection when working with Puerto Rican clients. The Springfield resident, who was born and raised in Corozal, Puerto Rico, moved to Massachusetts in 2017. Prior to coming to RVCC, where he works as an outpatient clinician, Colón-Sifonte served as director of an outpatient clinic in Puerto Rico.
“It helps you to connect on a much deeper level if you’re able to speak a client’s native language,” says Colón-Sifonte, who holds a master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Puerto Rico. “It also makes the clients feel more comfortable. It’s like having someone from home who they can open up to. It definitely makes them feel more at ease during the therapeutic process.”
River Valley Counseling Center is hiring. Apply online today at HolyokeHealth.com/Careers.
Daisy J. Valle, PhD
José Colón-Sifonte, LCSW
Virmarit Davila Sanchez, PhD, LMHC
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
JUST ASK THESE
SIX WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS NATIVES WHO WORK AT HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER.
THOMAS WOLFE WROTE that you can’t go home again, but these six Western Massachusetts natives have proven him wrong. After studying, living, and/or working in other locations, each one returned to Holyoke to work as advanced practice providers at Holyoke Medical Center (HMC).
Maria Quinn, MSN, PMHNP-BC
Director, Addiction Treatment and Recovery Support
“Working in Holyoke was never a question.”
Maria Quinn’s impressive education and credentials—including bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing— could have taken her anywhere, but Quinn, who is HMC’s Director of Addiction Treatment and Recovery Support, always knew she wanted to work in Holyoke, where she was raised.
“Being able to speak Spanish to patients is particularly important to me,” says Quinn, a first-generation American (her family is from Colombia). “Growing up, my brother or I helped translate for our mom anywhere we went—including doctors’ offices. When I see patients who only speak Spanish, they tell me how nice it is to be able to speak to me one-on-one.”
According to Quinn, who joined HMC in 2017 as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, “I have the best job in the world. I absolutely love the Holyoke community and the incredible collaboration between providers and agencies here.” Plus, she says, “Holyoke people are built different. We’re loyal, tough, proud, and fun as heck!”
Nicholas Felton, PA-C
Adult Primary Care
“I have a passion and love for Holyoke.”
Certified Physician Assistant Nicholas Felton spends his days in close interaction with patients, evaluating, monitoring, treating, and diagnosing various medical conditions.
“So many in the community deal with hardships such as food insecurity, limited medical literacy, and inadequate access to care,” says the provider, who has been on staff at HMC since 2017. “I have a passion and love for Holyoke and it gives me a great sense of purpose to serve the people here.”
It was his love for Holyoke and his determination to help others, especially underserved populations, that drew Felton, who holds a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, back to Holyoke to work at HMC. “There is just something about people who grew up in Holyoke that’s deeply ingrained in them,” he says. “We call them ‘Holyokers.’ You know one when you meet one.”
Jackie Rodriguez, Bethany Williams, Ashley Landry, Ashley May, Nicholas Felton, Maria Quinn
Maria Quinn in her Holyoke Catholic High School cheerleading uniform.
Nick Felton playing for the Holyoke High School soccer team.
Ashley Landry, PA-C Hospitalist
“Holyoke is home to me.”
Certified Physician Assistant
Ashley Landry says one of the best parts of her job is being able to give people relief.
“Prescribing medications for anxiety, pain, or infections is easy,” says the hospitalist, who takes care of inpatients at HMC. “But when you can ease patients’ uncertainties and anxieties by providing education and empathy and allowing them to feel safe and comfortable, that is extremely rewarding.”
Though she’s lived in other places, “Holyoke is home to me,” says Landry. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Providence College, Landry moved to Boston and worked in IT before moving back to the area 11 years ago, where she began working in the same field at HMC.
“I developed a good relationship with the hospitalists here and admired their teamwork, dedication and commitment,” she says. Landry knew she’d found her calling and left to attend Bay Path University, where she earned a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. When a position at HMC became available two years ago, Landry accepted it. “I am so happy to be part of the team that I admired so much,” she says.
Bethany Williams, PA-C Pediatric Care
“This community is really special.”
Certified Physician Assistant Bethany Williams spends her days surrounded by kids, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Pediatrics is amazing,” says Williams, who has worked at HMC since 2016. Williams received her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Bay Path University in Longmeadow.
According to Williams, part of her will always be in Holyoke. “This community is really special,” she says. “There is something about the culture here that you can only understand when you live and grow up here. It’s not something you can walk away from easily.” Her career goal is to stay at HMC until she retires. “I am also working on learning Spanish, so hopefully I can start seeing Spanish-speaking patients on my own within the next year or so.”
Ashley May, PA-C
Occupational Health Clinic and Lung Cancer Screening Program
“I always wanted to stay close to home and family.”
To say that Ashley May has her hands full is an understatement. The Certified Physician Assistant has two roles at HMC. At the Work Connection – Occupational Health Clinic, May handles preemployment and DOT physicals, managing medical surveillance exams and treating workplace injuries for local businesses.
At HMC’s Lung Cancer Screening Program, she meets with high-risk patients to discuss risks for lung cancer and goals towards smoking cessation, orders CT scans for screening purposes, and guides patients’ surveillance versus treatment based on scan results. May was born and raised in Holyoke. Her reasons for coming back to Holyoke are simple. “I always wanted to stay close to home and family,” says the married mother of two, who holds a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. May’s mother worked at HMC for 38 years and, though she is just 32, May likes to joke that she’s been at HMC for 33 years. “I was here in-utero when my mom worked the floors as a nurse.”
trip
Jackie Rodriguez, AGACNP-BC, MSN Hospitalist
“I felt a need to live and work in my community.”
Nurse Practitioner Jackie Rodriguez, who has worked as a hospitalist at HMC since 2015, has always had a passion for helping people and was naturally drawn to health care. “I knew as a nurse practitioner I could make a positive change in the lives of patients.”
Rodriguez, who grew up in Easthampton and Holyoke, received a Post-Graduate Certificate as a Nurse Partitioner (NP) in 2015, when she began working as an NP at HMC.
“I wanted to work at HMC because I felt a need to live and work in my community, especially because of the large Puerto Rican population,” says Rodriguez. “They know I can understand them not only from a language standpoint but from a cultural perspective as well. Communities like Holyoke face unique challenges and by working here, I can get to know the people that I serve and contribute to addressing important issues, specifically health disparities.”
Want to work with great people like those highlighted here? Apply online today at HolyokeHealth.com/Careers .
Ashley (Reidy) Landry was the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade Committee Grand Colleen in 2008.
Bethany Williams as a student with her face painted to support Holyoke High School.
Ashley May “performing surgery” at a Holyoke Hospital KidKare event at the Holyoke Mall in the late 1990’s.
to McCray’s Farm in South Hadley in 1984.
HEROIC EFFORTS
A RECENTLY HIRED, ENTRY-LEVEL EMPLOYEE SAVED A PATIENT’S LIFE. NOW, WITH THE SUPPORT OF HIS SUPERVISOR AND HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER, HE’S BECOME A CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT.
IN 2022, JOEL BRITO was living in Holyoke and working for a local transportation company, taking individuals to medical appointments and daily programs, when he saw an ad on a job board for the role of patient safety associate (PSA) at Holyoke Medical Center (HMC).
monitoring, which includes watching multiple patients with potential safety risks on monitors and alerting staff to urgencies as needed; and by serving as a “rounder,” frequently checking on patients, answering call bells and assisting patients with various personal tasks.
On one particular “one-on-one” shift, Brito stepped out of his patient’s room for a moment while the patient was being attended to by a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). “Hearing a suspicious sound coming from the next patient room, Joel checked on the patient and found her choking on her breakfast and starting to turn blue,” Toia recalls. “Joel yelled for help, repositioned the patient in bed, then successfully performed the Heimlich maneuver. Without Joel being in the right place, at the right time, with the right training, the outcome could have been very different for this patient.”
For saving the patient’s life, Brito was nominated for and won a Health care Hero Award, presented by Business West, in the category of Innovation in Health care. But the recognition for his hard work and dedication was just beginning.
Toia was so impressed with Brito and his work, he nominated him for HMC’s Pathways Program, which gives financial assistance to employees who want to become CNAs. “Joel was nominated because he was the ideal employee— reliable, enthusiastic, passionate and dedicated to the job and the patients.”
Brito applied for the job and was called in for an interview. The HR recruiter who interviewed him was impressed that he wore a suit and tie for the interview, especially since it was for an entry level position. Brito was offered the job and accepted.
“Right off
the bat, Joel’s enthusiasm and commitment to the job were unlike anything I have seen before,” says Brito’s supervisor, Brian Toia, MSN, MBA, RN, nursing director of the ICU. “Over the course of the next year, Joel was always going above and beyond and was well-liked by patients and staff, but we also knew he had a lot more to offer.”
PSAs have an important job. Their duties include observing patients in three different ways: oneon-one direct observation, in which the PSA stays in close proximity to a patient with a high safety risk; virtual
In April, Brito officially became a CNA, working more directly with patients and having more expansive duties than he had as a PSA. “The Pathways Program has helped and supported me in so many ways,” says Brito, who loves his new role, his patients, and is grateful for the help and support from Toia and HMC. “I’m very proud and fortunate to be part of the HMC team.”
Brian Toia, MSN, MBA, RN
Joel Brito, CNA
FOOD FOR
THOUGHT
HOLYOKE MEDICAL CENTER’S FOOD SERVICE TEAM DISPELS THE NOTION OF “HOSPITAL FOOD” WITH DELICIOUS, NUTRITIOUS MEALS.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF when you hear the words “hospital food?” Chances are your mouth doesn’t water, and your thoughts don’t include nutritious, delicious and chef-prepared meals that make you wish you could have seconds.
If you could talk to Nicholas Bernard, Holyoke Medical Center’s recently promoted sous chef—or, better yet, see him in action as he helps to oversee HMC’s large food service team—your perceptions might change.
In addition to being a member of the leadership team for the hospital’s patient and retail food service operations, Bernard handles quality control, ensuring that patients’ nutritional and dietary needs are met. “I check for quality, consistency, and flavor to ensure that a great product is being served, for patients, staff and retail customers,” he says.
Prior to working at HMC, where he began as a line cook, Bernard, who has an associate degree in Hospitality
Management and a certificate in Culinary Arts from Holyoke Community College, worked in the food-service industry for 12 years, including stints as a culinary manager at two area restaurants.
Bernard is passionate about his work and about food too; you can hear that passion when he talks about his favorite menu items. “We have weekly rotating specials for the patients,” he says. “My favorite is the chicken parmesan. On the retail menu, I enjoy the pulled pork sandwich with the pineapple coleslaw.”
HMC’s food service team, which Bernard says comprises roughly 60 employees, is equally dedicated, operating like a well-oiled machine to serve 200-plus patients three meals a day on time and according to their specific dietary instructions. “Patients’
PINEAPPLE COLESLAW
Makes five servings
INGREDIENTS:
• 1/3 cup yellow onions, fresh
• 11.5 ounces green cabbage, fresh
• 5 ounces crushed pineapple with juice
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon mustard, dry powder
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground celery seed
• ¼ teaspoon iodized salt
• 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons canola oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
• Wash hands before beginning preparation.
• Sanitize surfaces & equipment.
• Wash all produce under cool water and drain.
• Slice onion into rings.
• Layer cabbage, onion, pineapple, and first portion of sugar in a bowl.
• Put the remaining ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a full boil while stirring.
• Pour over cabbage layers and refrigerate for four hours.
• Serve and enjoy! The
dietary needs are discussed upon admission and modified by their physicians as needed,” says Bernard, who takes pride in his work and in the dedication of the food service team.
What does Bernard like best about his job? “I love being able to serve highquality food to patients and staff alike,” he says. “Sometimes, it is the highlight of a patient’s day which makes what we do worth it.”
Nicholas Bernard holding the pulled pork sandwich with pineapple coleslaw special.
