BeStaRRs – October, November, December – 2019

BeStaRRs is an employee recognition program of Holy Cross Medical Center | Behavior Standards Reward, Recognition and Social activities.

Robert Motha | Accountability

Robert took on the role of Interim HR Director more than once in conjunction with being the Pharmacy Directory. Robert effectively delegated tasks, never complained and maintained a positive attitude. He went above and beyond what was asked of him and has truly embodied what a leader, manager and teammate is. Thank you Robert. You are a ROCKSTAR!


Christa Castro | Customer Service & Compassionate Care

The patient was in our ER in June with a broken ankle. The patient said Christa set the ankle beautifully allowing me to get back home. She described to me exactly the number of screws and the plate I would need when I had surgery, which is what happened. How right on you were with your care, making me know I was in wonderfully very capable and caring hands. This meant so much to me and I wanted to say thank you so you would know how important your care was. The nurses also gave me wonderful care; please convey my deep gratitude for the great care I received. This entire event showed me more about the human heart than I have personally seen in my 76 years. I am so grateful for every person who rendered aid to me and feel quite blessed in always. Thank you for all you did for me.

Thanks for providing high quality compassionate care to your patients!


LDRP Department | Teamwork

LDRP had a busy day/night, delivered 4 babies, with two ill neonates and despite being short staffed, everyone chipped in with every patient. It was one of the busiest days the practitioner had seen at HCMC and the LDRP staff killed it! The teamwork was exceptional, the atmosphere was busy but not chaotic and the practitioner felt exceptionally lucky to be able to perform his job with such astounding individuals. Care of the transferred infants could not have been performed so well if it wasn’t for the entire team working together.

Also a nurse from the Lifeguard Emergency Service also said she wanted to pass on kudos to the team. She said the neonate they picked up was the most well managed neonate she had ever transported out of Holy Cross. Treatments were spot on, correct antibiotic doses given, gases done, everything was perfect.


Anthony Esquibel | Quality & Safety

Anthony went to investigate a car that was parked in the front visitor’s lot whose horn was honking continually. Anthony arrived at the car and noted a male, slumped over the steering wheel, who was unresponsive. Anthony tried to wake the individual and he did not respond. Anthony quickly ran into the lobby and requested help from the staff who were in the hallway. He returned to the car and after rubbing the individual’s chest he came around however was confused and disoriented. Anthony kept him from driving away and turned his care over to the ED team who arrived. Anthony’s quick reaction not only saved this individual but kept him from driving off and potentially hurting others.

Anthony demonstrated many of the behavior standards; accountability, service, communication and safety and quality. We are glad he is part of our HCMC team.


Theresa Trujillo | IT Department

Theresa is a valued IT member. She is always willing to help out whenever and with whatever is needed. There have been multiple times when I needed help and it didn’t matter if Theresa was on or off the clock she always helps when asked. Recently there was an issue that could not be resolved during the employees shift and when asked, Theresa followed-up with them, took time to work with them, spoke with Evident, and was able to resolve the situation within an hour.


Kathy Alcon | Service

Kathy is outstanding at demonstrating all of the behavior standards. She is excellent and exemplifies service to her patients and to the therapy staff. She honors her word. Works to provide the team with what they need to achieve success with their patients. She is a stalwart advocate for the PT team and follows-up with concerns and questions. She treats everyone with respect. She provides outstanding care to patients. She is compassionate, empathetic, a listener, caring, kind, hardworking and so so much more. Patients benefit from her faithfulness and service. Her service to Holy Cross cannot be measured and is greatly appreciated.

She has devoted her professional life, her time, and her energy to the Holy Cross, delaying retirement to ensure we could continue to serve our patients with high quality physical therapy.

She always goes above and beyond and is the best boss ever!


Anthony Esquibel | Quality & Safety

Anthony went to investigate a car that was parked in the front visitor’s lot whose horn was honking continually. Anthony arrived at the car and noted a male, slumped over the steering wheel, who was unresponsive. Anthony tried to wake the individual and he did not respond. Anthony quickly ran into the lobby and requested help from the staff who were in the hallway. He returned to the car and after rubbing the individual’s chest he came around however was confused and disoriented. Anthony kept him from driving away and turned his care over to the ED team who arrived. Anthony’s quick reaction not only saved this individual but kept him from driving off and potentially hurting others.

Anthony demonstrated many of the behavior standards; accountability, service, communication and safety and quality. We are glad he is part of our HCMC team.

Christina Garcia | Service

Christina is amazing and always super helpful. She is always smiling and checking in on her patients. She is also willing to assist patients to the bathroom as long as it is safe. She pitched in and helped the LDRP team when they needed assistance and performed non-RT duties to make sure everything got done. I am thankful for her and want to give a shout out to let everyone know of her outstanding performance and skills. She shines BRIGHT when she is here and is always visible to the staff.

We want to thank Christina for her outstanding service.

Nicole Groves | Accountability | ACU

Nicole is highly skilled and flexible ACU nurse. She picked up a ton of shifts when a coworker was out due to an injury and made sure the ACU was covered. In addition she recently floated to PACU and the ER to cover when they need additional staffing. Nicole’s skill and willingness to flex makes her an outstanding team member and valuable staff member. Thank you for putting the needs of our patients first!


House Shift Coordinators | Teamwork

This group of nurses consistently helps everyone in crisis. Recently they took on scheduling the majority of the nursing departments. When individuals have FMLA or sudden illnesses they cover each other so they can staff departments in need. They are awesome and do whatever is necessary to ensure the hospital is safe and running. They often do things not in their job description (emptying buckets of water when our pipes were leaking). Their continued commitment to the hospital makes each of our jobs easier. They put safety of staff and patients first, are good communicators, are pro-active and go out of their way to meet every need.

Thanks to each of you for your outstanding work and commitment.


Tristan Kwiecinski | Safety and Quality

Tristan was calm and amazing during the delivery of four babies during a 12 hour shift. She exceeds her job expectation everyday however on this day she really showed her skill and knowledge as the primary nurse for the ill baby that had to be transported. The Flight nurse that picked up the ill neonate said she provided amazing care and her report including all the records needed. She said the neonate they picked up was the most well managed neonate she had ever transported out of Holy Cross. Treatments were spot on, correct antibiotic doses given, gases done everything was perfect.”


Anna Fresquez | Communication

A patient was upset when his MRI authorization seemed to be taking too long. He had severe PTSD and alerted the staff that he felt angry and that he might need security to stay in control. He also reached out to Barbara Garcia, whom he knew, and she in turned called Anna Fresquez to help resolve the situation. Barbara came over to the imaging department and along with security sat with the patient while Anna worked quickly to get the paperwork that was needed. Anna called the VA and was able to get the order that was required within the hour. They were able to deescalate the situation and keep a calm environment using their strong communication skills.

Thank you for helping to care for our patients and communicating in a way that prevented a situation from getting out of hand.


Leslie Smith | Teamwork

Leslie Smith was recognized for her TEAM effort in a Memorial Day event with multiple trauma victims. House shift manager Leslie Smith along with multiple departments (ED, ICU, Cardiopulmonary) rolled up her sleeves and jumped in to help. A big thank you to Leslie and all these departments for their excellence in TEAMWORK!


Mike Rael | Teamwork

Mike is the kind of person you can count on to deliver a good performance day or night. He is always willing to stop whatever he is doing to help a team ember or an employee. When we are on call and need his help he stops what he is doing and works with us to fix the problem even though he is not the person on call. The technical knowledge that he possess is something you don’t often see. He treats others in a respectful and supportive manner.
Mike is in charge of all the systems here at Holy Cross Medical Center. He deals a lot with Dayna and the HRP system. It was down for a week while he was on vacation and we were also having issues with our VMW. Mike returned to work on Monday and by Tuesday morning he had both systems up and running.

Mike is a true asset to the organization and a team player.

Andrew Melad | Service

Andrew had worked all night and then agreed to be on call during the day to cover for another team member who had call off for their day shift. He got called back to work after only three hours of sleep because a patient in the ACU needed to be on a ventilator. He stayed with the patient until four in the afternoon when they were transferred to another healthcare facility. He then caught a couple hours of sleep only to come back in to cover his night shift. Andrew really stepped up to support his team and made sure our patients got the best care possible.

Andrew is a true team player and showed how dedicated he is to the community, hospital and our patients. Way to go Andrew!


Barbara Garcia | Communication

A patient was upset when his MRI authorization seemed to be taking too long. He had severe PTSD and alerted the staff that he felt angry and that he might need security to stay in control. He also reached out to Barbara Garcia, whom he knew, and she in turn called Anna Fresquez to help resolve the situation. Barbara came over to the imaging department and along with security sat with the patient while Anna worked quickly to get the paperwork that was needed. Anna called the VA and was able to get the order that was required within the hour. They were able to deescalate the situation and keep a calm environment using their strong communication skills.

Thank you for helping to care for our patients and communicating in a way that prevented a situation from getting out of hand.


David Bolsinger | Safety & Quality

David took multiple back to back admissions even though we already had lots of patients on the floor with many needs and all of the staff were busy. David was a real blessing, providing excellent service to our new admits and showed great teamwork by taking the three new patients without any complaints. He showed great professionalism and really helped the patients get moved out of the ER to their rooms in a much quicker timeframe.

We are thankful that David is on our team and his actions help to improve the quality and safety of care we provide.

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