By Jordan J. Phelan
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
NEW LONDON — Members of New London Hospital’s entrance screening team received a surprise welcome and warm appreciation on Thursday for their unwavering perseverance and support throughout the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.
Fellow staff members and hospital leaders came together early Thursday afternoon for a pinning ceremony to officially name the facility’s entrance screening team as “Health Care Heroes” for identifying and implementing strategies to keep patients and staff safe. New London Hospital’s entrance screening team consists of Paul Bosquet, Amy Carney, Nancy Collins, Susie Mochel, Lynn Williams, and Deborah Wood.
The award is one of seven announced last week by NH Healthcare Heroes, an effort developed in 2020 by the health care sector team at New Hampshire Sector Partnerships Initiative (SPI) to shine a light on the essential roles and opportunities to help others by working in the health care field. This is the second year the award — whose recipients are determined in part by nominations submitted by colleagues, family, friends, and patients — has been given out to New Hampshire health care workers.
Tom Manion, New London Hospital’s president and CEO, began the pinning ceremony by reflecting on the team’s role and impact on the facility and community.
“If we think back, if you look back just two years ago, this job never even existed before. This wasn’t something that we thought about in any health care facility to this magnitude,” he said. “If you want to talk about living through change, this team, I think week to week, had something new. . . We change things on a daily basis and try to make sure that we have our patients, our staff, [and] everyone that came into this hospital healthy. And without them we would not have been nearly as successful in keeping all those people healthy in our community.”
Sally Patton, New London Hospital’s chief nursing officer, who nominated the team to the NH Healthcare Heroes Committee for the award, echoed Manion’s sentiments and appreciation for each and every member of the team.
“In the early weeks and months of the pandemic, it became clear that we needed to adapt our procedures to stop the spread of COVID-19. The screening team members are often the first faces patients see when entering our buildings, and they endure the daily struggles of patients who experience COVID-fatigue,” she said. “Each of the individuals on our screening team have performed their roles with patience, understanding and an on-going dedication to such a monumental effort.”
Roxie Severance, health care sector advisor for SPI, thanked the team and all health care workers at New London Hospital for doing what they do.
“We continue to see how critical the health care workforce is to New Hampshire,” she said. “It takes a full community of professionals — from nurses and Licensed Nursing Assistants to cooks, maintenance technicians and dentists — to run our health care system. We’re excited to honor each of them and share their unique stories, so they serve as inspiration to those in or considering a health care career.”
In his closing remarks, Manion, while recognizing the work that has been done thus far, reminded us that we are all still in this.
“Thank you for all the hard work you have done and are still doing because remember we are still in the middle of this pandemic,” Manion said. “It’s not over yet.”
A complete list of award winners include:
— Concord Region Winner: Laura “Beth” Nagy, Director of Rehabilitation Services, New Hampshire Hospital in Concord.
— Lakes Region Winner: Ashley Douthart, Behavioral Health Manager, HealthFirst Family Care Center in Franklin.
— Monadnock Region Winner: Emilee Guyette, Environmental Services Manager, Cedarcrest Center for Children with Disabilities in Keene.
— North Country Region Winner: Laurie Fellows, Licensed Nursing Assistant, Cottage Hospital in Woodsville.
— Seacoast Region Winner: Stacy Dionne, Clinical Nurse Manager, Lamprey Health Care in Raymond.
— Southern NH Region Winner: Matt Bouchie, Homeless Outreach Coordinator, Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester.
— Upper Valley Region Winner: Entrance Screening Team at New London Hospital.
The NH Healthcare Heroes effort is sponsored in part by the NH Bureau of Economic Affairs through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor and through the support of our generous sponsors, which include the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire Health Care Association, the New Hampshire Sector Partnership Initiative (SPI), North Country Healthcare, Northeast Delta Dental, NH Needs Caregivers! initiative, Southern New Hampshire Area Health Education Center and River Valley Community College. For more information and to follow the stories from our heroes and runners up, follow the effort on Facebook at “HealthcareHeroesNH.”
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