2011 Employee Recognition

4th Quarter - Gloria Taylor

The recipient of the ICARE Employee of Fourth Quarter is Gloria Taylor, a RN in our Emergency Department. Gloria really “Wowed” a coworker with her acts of kindness and compassion. As Gloria accompanied a homeless person out of the Emergency Department after being discharged, the person was pleading for food. Gloria gave this hungry person her lunch, snack and drink. Gloria, your giving heart really exemplifies Gulf Coast Medical Center’s ICARE standards.

3rd Quarter - Jackie Jones

The recipient of the ICARE Employee of Third Quarter is Jackie Jones, a RN in our OB Unit. Giving birth can be a very stressful time for the new mother. In one case, a new mom was having difficulty feeding her newborn child. At this point the child was crying and hungry and the new mom was in tears. Jackie came to the rescue. Jackie patiently assisted the new mom and infant until the infant was feeding and content and the new mom was relieved and happy.

This is one of the things the patient said in her letter, “…Sometimes we don’t realize how big a difference we can make in someone’s life by just taking a few minutes to help someone out even when we are busy...”

Jackie joined GCMC in January of 2006. From the beginning of her career she has been commended for being a great team player and supporter of her coworkers. She participates in activities to improve patient care and patient safety. Jackie epitomizes GCMC ICARE standards by making patient needs her first priority.

2nd Quarter - Sherry Whitlock

Sherry Whitlock is the recipient of the ICARE Award for the second quarter of 2011. Sherry has been a Pediatric nurse at Gulf Coast Medical Center for many years. During one of her shifts she learned that one of the Pediatrics patients was admitted to the hospital during their vacation. Due to the patient’s illness, the family’s vacation was cut short. Sherry overheard the patient and their family comment how badly they wanted to go to Pineapple Willy’s and get T-shirts but that was not going to be possible. On her day off, Sherry came into the hospital and gave the patient and family members brand new Pineapple Willy’s T-shirts. The patient and family members were so surprised and appreciative of Sherry’s act of kindness.

1st Quarter - Kathy Holmes and Mel Thompson

Kathy Holmes and Mel Thompson are the recipients of the ICARE Employee Award for the first quarter of 2011. They are RNs in our NICU. They were taking care of a baby whose mother had very limited funds to return home. Mel had arranged for the mother to obtain a car seat from a local agency. Unfortunately, the agency gave her a toddler car seat that was improper for a newborn. Mel and Kathy took the mother to the store and purchased a newborn car seat for her. When she received the cash refund for the toddler car seat she offered it to Mel and Kathy. They refused and told her to keep the money to spend on the long bus ride home with the baby. Thank you for going the extra mile to ensure the infant’s safety and giving someone a helping hand.