This quarter, Baptist Service First Champions faced complicated, sometimes volatile situations. All, however, handled both the unexpected and planned with ease, grace and professionalism.
[toggle title=”Baptist Corporate” state=”open”]Jermaine Wells, an intermediate Windows systems/network admin with client solutions, received the Corporate Service First Champion award. Deemed an expert in his field, Jermaine’s noted for being consistently available, particularly during critical work phases. During one weekend in July, he guided other team members through a database virtualization. He continually communicated with other 
teams and served as a key support, monitoring the process and providing updates. His patience and willingness to teach helped others—even when mistakes were made during the complicated configurations.
“He’s hard working, dependable, and engaged in his projects,” said Carolyn Hicks.
Jermaine’s known for efficiency and fast turn-around times, and team members provided many examples: Adding space to the SharePoint database server, adding space to the HPCA Archiving database server, advising about necessary resources for the College database server, creating a virtual database server for Space Labs, and more.
“Jermaine is a great person to work with and that if I have any questions about virtualization, Jermaine is the go-to-guy,” said Rob DeMotsis.
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At a reception, Skipper Bondurant, administrator and CEO at Baptist Union City, recognized paramedics Brent Farrar and Jason Becton as Service First Champions for the third quarter of fiscal year 2016. Brent and Jason have been Baptist Union City team members since 2003 and 1985, respectively.
Their nomination comes following a particular incident that happened in May during the night shift in the emergency room. When a patient became extremely violent, Brent and Jason both came to the scene—straight from their beds and after a long day. The pair helped place the patient in restraints, all the while reassuring the patient and remaining calm.
According to a team member, “They placed themselves in harm’s way to protect the ED staff. We could not have completed the orders without them. We, as emergency department nurses, know that we can always count on our EMS crew not only to assist with patient care, but also to truly have our backs.”
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Fate brought CVICU nurse Sheila Powell through the hospital lobby one evening, even though she thought about leaving through the concourse. When she arrived, she discovered a Baptist team member in the midst of a crisis. A mother had arrived earlier looking for her baby and the father.
As the team member made numerous calls to locate the baby, the father arrived with a baby boy who wasn’t breathing. When the mother became even more upset, Sheila remained calm, took the baby and began CPR.
Sheila managed the situation with grace and compassion while delivering immediate care.
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Michelle Nichols, social services, was recently named Baptist Union County’s Service First Champion for the quarter. Michelle joined the Baptist team four years ago.
Recently, Michelle assisted with the coordination of a planned adoption for a patient. Tammy Tomlinson, Women’s Center nurse manager said, “Michelle went over and above what was required to make sure every party in the adoption process had what they needed to make this the most flawless adoption Baptist Union County has ever had.”
Lee Buskirk, director of social services and case management commented that she received numerous compliments from several departments including admissions, Women’s Center staff, and the physician regarding the effort Michelle invested into making the adoption a special experience.
“Michelle is gentle, kind, understanding and compassionate beyond belief,” said Lee.
Also nominated for Service First Champion were Shawn Robertson, Bonnie Decanter and Deborah Nielsen.
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Congratulations to all our Service First Winners!