Keykoca Johnson, a patient care technician in the Mother Baby Unit, recently received the award for her quick actions and exceptional patient care, which resulted in a positive outcome for both mother and baby when a 12-day-old infant experienced respiratory difficulty and needed immediate attention. After quickly assessing the situation and alerting the health care team to the emergency, Johnson accompanied the infant and mother to the ED and shared important information that greatly assisted physicians in determining the best plan of care for the infant.
Justin Hall, a patient transporter, received the award in April for his genuine compassion, concern and empathy for a patient with end-stage heart failure. Hall took his lunch break to comfort and sit with the patient who had just been told there was nothing else that could be done for his condition and he would be going home on palliative care.
Nicolette Ward and
Dr. Anne-Sophie Brocard, with UTMB's Environmental Health and Safety-Biosafety Program, received the award for increasing efficiencies in the shipment of materials from UTMB’s World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses. Ward designed a new form, and she and Brocard have made a 500 percent improvement in processes to get rid of backlog. The WRCEVA serves as a virus reference center for the world. Any virus suspected of being biologically transmitted by arthropods or vertebrates is accepted for identification and characterization. The current virus collection consists of about 6,000 unique virus strains. Requests for viruses come in from around the world. Right now, the Zika virus is being requested to support research worldwide.
Marlo Cochran, DNP, director of UTMB’s Regional Maternal Child Health Program, and
Tracy Peveto, FNP, (not pictured) clinical director of the Orange County RMCHP, received the award for going above and beyond during the recent flooding of the Sabine River. During the peak of the flood, water covered the roadways, including Orange clinic’s parking lot and walkway. Peveto was on the ground placing sandbags all around the clinic doorway, while Cochran provided round-the-clock communications and feedback on the status of the clinic and WIC site, and helped coordinate the continuity of patient care at nearby clinics.