Employees of the Month

Brigette “Nikki” Barnes, Medical Assistant, Midlake Campus

Brigette is a Medical Assistant at our Midlake Campus. She works with Dr. Winfred Oniah and provides excellent patient care. Brigette is focused as she works to assure that all patient prior authorizations, pre-certifications, and FMLA documents are completed in a timely manner. She has trained several new hires at the practice, Medical Assistant students and new hires for other locations. Brigette is a “supper user” for 6 locations and often goes above and beyond the scope of her duties to provide excellent patient care.

Valentine Sanchez, RN,
4 East

Valentine is nurse on our 4 East unit at the Northlake Campus. Recently, he was described by a patient’s family as “the best RN our family has ever had the pleasure of meeting, in providing care for our mother.” The family included, “Not only did he provide the best of care for her, he made our family feel the love and care as well. You can tell Valentine genuinely loves his job, and really cares about the people he helps.”

Tiffany Bowling, RN,
Home Health Services

Tiffany is hard working, dependable, and a team player. Recently, while in a patient’s home, she performed CPR on a patient that needed assistance. She performed CPR until EMS arrived.

Veda Roberts, Ancillary
Extender, Surgery

Veda has exceptional communication skills and uses them as a liaison between the Operating Room and patient families in the waiting room. She was nominated by a surgeon who observed her at the end of her work day. Veda stood up and asked those in the room if she could have everyone’s attention. She stated that she was about to leave for the day (her shift was over) and asked if anyone needed anything. Veda then managed up the surgery staff by saying their loved ones were in good hands and if the phone rings; answer it because it may be about their loved one. She also asked them to take care of their patient tonight and said, “Don’t forget to take care of yourself too.” She made everyone feel like they were family and makes people feel good every day.

Mike Muvceski,
PET/CT Technologist

Mike has provided extraordinary leadership in getting the PET/CT program off the ground and is an expert in this area. This July we reached our highest monthly volume since we began our program in March of 2023, with 81 cases. He is very knowledgeable as a clinician on the regulation and safe use of radiopharmaceuticals. On numerous occasions, patients have mentioned the extraordinary care they have received. One patient commented, Mike explained the procedure in a way that was easy to understand, and his pre and post care instructions are clear and easy to understand. Mike’s reassuring, and comforting rapport with patients helps relieve some of their anxiety.

Danielle Pangilinan, RN,
Emergency Department

Danielle works our Emergency Department and shows her commitment to Methodist Hospitals by being an exceptional asset to our team. She is a true team player. Danielle goes above and beyond to help the department by being flexible with her work schedule. Recently, she was asked to switch back to the night shift and to switch her weekend to help the department. With no hesitation, she agreed to make the changes. Anytime Danielle is asked to help cover the department, no matter what shift, she is ready to help. Danielle is eager to learn and continues to enrich her knowledge of emergency nursing.

Avis Green, CNA, Northlake Campus IMCU

Avis has been a Methodist Hospitals team member for 9 years. Recently, a patient returned to her unit following a Heart Cathetization procedure, Avis noticed the site was hard and swelling fast during her assessment. She alerted the nurse and together they applied pressure to the site. Her quick thinking led to the patient transferred to the ICU for care.

Charles Stitt, Supervisor, Information Security

Chuck has been a Methodist Team Member for more than 17 years. Chuck has been instrumental in supporting the needs of the Infor Cloud Suite implementation. He has implemented automated processes to Infor applications based on user roles. These processes have helped reduce the amount of manual work to provide access, move interfaced data, and reduce the opportunity for human error. Chuck has also taken the lead on several third-party data breaches and handled them in a timely and accurate manor. He works tirelessly to ensure security controls are in place to protect patient data from future breaches and monitors the controls to ensure their effectiveness.

Natalie Castaneda, RN, Southlake Campus 5W1

Recently during Clinical Partner Rounding, Natalie’s name repeatedly came up from her patients as someone to recognize for her excellent care of patients. Some of the words and sentiments included, “she’s an angel,” “she is compassionate,” and “she cares.” Natalie was submitted for nomination by a leader that had been one of Natalie’s patients in the past. She stated, “Natalie made me feel like I was her only patient although I know that wasn’t the case. She was kind and thorough. . . .Natalie embodies the Methodist Hospitals mission and upholds our values in the care of her patients by consistently delivering exceptional patient care and upholding the highest standards of clinical practice.”

Julia Albrecht, RN, Northlake Campus Emergency Department

Julia is the Team Leader in the Northlake Campus Emergency Room. Julia started began her career at inpatient units at our Southlake Campus. She transferred to the Northlake ER and continued to go above and beyond for her patients and co-workers. Recently, Julia managed care for the Northlake Emergency Room without direct management for a period of time and kept it organized. The new manager was able to hit the ground running because of Julia’s organization and dedication to the department and Methodist Hospitals.

Ricarda Aguirre, RN, Float Pool

Ricarda is a nurse in our Float Pool Department that has cared for Methodist Hospitals’ patients for more than 16 years. She shows kindness while providing quality care. Ricarda is selfless in her dedication to her patients and has provided for homeless patients. She loves making and impact and change in her patients. When discharged, her patients have a great understanding of how to care for themselves and are able to teach back about their medications. Ricarda has gone over and beyond her role by paying many patients’ co-pays out of her pocket, when they could not afford their medication. Ricarda takes pride in her role as a nurse and enjoys learning, teaching, and growing. Her colleagues love working with her and appreciate Ricarda as a member of the team.

Ray Rayburn, Information Security Coordinatorrtment

Ray was nominated by staff at our CareFirst Immediate Care in Schererville. Ray went above and beyond as he helped them work through email issues. He even called on a Saturday, while off duty, to be sure everything was running smoothly. Ray has been a vital component of our referral program functioning daily and running smoothly. He is kind and pleasant on the phone and always promptly answers an email or phone call for help.

Mark Cruz, Team Leader, Physical Therapy

Mark encountered a troubled patient that was trying to forcibly leave the hospital via an elevator. Mark stepped in to keep an elderly couple by the elevator safe by securing the area and restraining the patient until police and security arrived.

Southlake Outpatient Pharmacy Staff: Ashleigh Class, Allison Roeske, and Pete Tsiakopoulos

The pharmacy staff has been doing a phenomenal job of serving our patients. Many community members use the Southlake Outpatient Pharmacy because of the professionalism and friendliness of the staff. Customers describe the staff as, “people who love what they do and are willing to assist with explanations of the prescriptions.” Sometimes they encounter patients who were hospitalized because they did not take medications because of the cost. Recently, a patient’s inhalant cost $230. The patient could not afford the prescription, but our staff worked with determination and obtained discounts, coupons, and cards that brought the cost down to $30. The patient could then afford the medication and was very appreciative of their hard work to reduce the cost.

Cassandra Moore, Case Manager, Case Management Department

Cassandra is a Case Manager in our Northlake Campus Case Management Department. She shares her critical thinking skills with all the nurses she encounters to help them build their nursing skills and confidence. Cassandra shows professionalism daily and motivates others naturally. Her favorite saying is, “When we know better, we do better.” She is a prime example of one who takes pride in Methodist’s I.C.A.R.E. values. Her integrity shows daily as she takes pride in holding herself and others accountable. Compassion is shown when she converses with patients and family members. She exhibits accountability as she advocates for patients to ensure care transitions are properly in place. She respects everyone because she believes we should treat others the way that we want to be treated. Her excellence is represented as she values all of the Methodist values and continuously demonstrates positivity. Congratulations Cassandra!

Romielle Roper, Social Worker, Case Management Department

Romielle is a Social Worker in our Southlake Campus Case Management Department. She has 30 years of experience and knowledge to help her patients. Romielle is guides her patients and family members through the process of making decisions to create a safe discharge plan. Recently, a family member of a patient was looking for Romielle because she wanted to finally meet and thank her for support provided when her father was hospitalized and needed hospice care. The daughter said, “Romielle was just wonderful on the phone. She was caring, compassionate and made our decision easier.” Congratulations and thank you Romielle for caring for our community!

Lynn Budzielek, Social Worker, Case Management

Lynn is a Social Worker in our Southlake Campus Case Management Department. She always goes above and beyond for her patients and families. Lynn is a collaborative, hardworking, result-oriented individual who is unafraid to confront difficult situations to promote the best possible outcomes for our patients. Lynn is wonderful to work alongside, incredibly reliable and focused; and a wonderful human being with high levels of integrity.

Nicole Miller, Practice Coordinator / Medical Assistant, Methodist Physician Group

Nicole is a Practice Coordinator and Medical Assistant at our CareFirst Methodist Physician Group practice in Merrillville. Nicole always goes above and beyond in her role and shows initiative and willingness to help team members and patients. She ensures that the clinic runs smoothly. Nicole manages up and communicates well with management and approaches challenging situations with solutions. Besides her primary role, Nicole assists and provides exceptional training to new employees. She works closely with them to ensure they learn the most effective and correct ways of completing their job. Recently, Nicole was trained and asked to complete the referral work queue task. She completed that task of more than 1,000 pending referrals in 2 days to ensure the patients received their referrals. Nicole’s years of expertise and dedication to her work are valuable to the entire clinic team. She provides optimal patient care and has been praised by her co-workers and patients for her positive and outstanding behavior. Nicole is always willing to help and volunteers to take on the needed responsibilities on any day. She is one of the most reliable and hardworking team members of our office. She is truly a role model for Methodist Hospitals.

Ruben Martinez – Resource Nurse

Ruben is a Resource Nurse who works in our Southlake Campus Emergency Department. He has volunteered to be part of our Shared Governance and Emergency Department Throughput committees. Ruben regularly provides suggestions to improve patient care and receives compliments from our patients and their families. He makes our guests feel safe and they return to Methodist for future care. Ruben is an excellent nurse and provides patient-focused care. Way to go, Ruben!

Michael Williams – Emergency Dept. Technician

Michael Williams, better known as “Mike D”, is a Technician in our Northlake Campus Emergency Department. He is extremely organized and committed to learning and developing best practices. Mike strives to find efficient effective ways of managing department activities. Mike has over 30 years of experience in healthcare. He is currently a paramedic and a retired Gary Fire Department Firefighter. Mike is an instrumental part in making sure that every situation is taken care of and that people are safe. Way to go, Mike D!

Tracy Gnesevich – Radiologic Technologist II

Tracy Gnesevich is a Radiologic Technologist at Methodist Care First – Immediate Care in Crown Point. Tracy has received praise by her coworkers and patients for her outstanding behavior and professionalism. She continues to go above and beyond by picking up all open shifts during challenging times on multiple occasions to ensure our clinic was able to provide X-rays as needed. In addition to her role as Technologist, she works as Medical Assistant and helps with making the schedule for Radiologic Technologist. Tracy is a dependable employee that her fellow coworkers can count on to follow through commitments. Way to go, Tracy!

Simon Lillie – Public Safety & Security

Simon is a very kind person who takes his job very seriously, making sure that everyone that walks into the lobby of the Northlake Campus is welcomed and directed to their correct destination. Simon makes sure that he shows great customer service with a warm smile. He has proven himself to be an adaptable employee who can handle unexpected changes and challenges with ease. Way to go, Simon!

Denise Spiller – Accounting / Payroll

Denise is a great addition to the payroll team. She has been a member of the Methodist team for one year. She joined the team at the end of our new Infor/UKG Payroll System implementation process. Denise learned the new system and assisted the Payroll Supervisor. Recently, Denise completed more than 50 manual checks to ensure employees were paid correctly. She assisted in manually entering timecards that needed cost center transfers to allocate time to the correct accounts. Denise took the initiative and created Payroll Department instruction manuals that are uniform and professional. With the implementation of Infor, she has been attentive on all calls and assists in the processes to create a smooth payroll process. Way to go, Denise!

CareFirst Schererville Team 

Our Schererville CareFirst team has received numerous positive patient compliments regarding excellent patient care and compassion. Recently, a cancer patient visited for a PET CT scan. She was visibly upset to have the test performed. However, our staff handled her appointment with compassion and their smiling faces welcomed her to CareFirst facility. The patient commented, “It started with the call from Mike, the Pet CT Technologist, and then the warm smiling faces of Aga, Cori, and Marcia when I walked into the building. They are the most comforting and kind front-of-the-house crew ever!” She felt extra special because Marcia remembered her from a prior visit when they exchanged recipes. Marcia kindly took her hand and reassured her to stay positive and explained that that is an important part of beating cancer. Mike administered her IV and the patient said she never felt a thing. She wrote, “To say the least, a very nerve-wracking, stomach-churning experience was made to be very comfortable and relaxing by a great team of professionals with beautiful hearts and strong minds and an obvious love of their jobs and helping others.”

Brittany Green – CNA, Med/Surg 4E, NLC

Brittany is a CNA on 4 East at our Northlake Campus. Brittany’s patients consistently comment on how pleasant she is and the wonderful care she provides. The nurses and other CNAs also recognize her work ethic and willingness to always help. Brittany never stops working to ensure that her patients are clean and comfortable. Furthermore, Brittany is always smiling and cheerful and that great spirit is passed on to her patients. Way to go, Brittany!

Mekeda Henderson – Barista

Mekeda is a Barista at our Micro Market at the Northlake Campus. Mekeda exemplifies excellence and is extremely organized and committed to constantly learning and developing best practices. Every day she welcomes guests with a smile and a good morning with a positive attitude. Mekeda easily establishes and maintains relationships with staff, doctors, students, and visitors. Way to go, Mekeda!

Josephine Bunag – Outpatient Physical Therapy

Josephine is our most certified therapist in our Outpatient Physical Therapy Department. She works at our Midlake Campus and is very emphatic, encouraging, and her dedication to patients and work ethic are exceptional. Josephine has been specifically requested by doctors, community leaders, and others who are willing to wait until she is available. She helps her co-workers and has provided almost 26 years of quality compassionate service to all those in need. Way to go, Josephine!

Matthew Laudig – CNA

Matthew is a CNA on 4 East at our Northlake Campus. He consistently receives excellent reviews from his patients. Matthew always checks on his patients and is proactive in meeting their needs. Matthew fulfills our mission by providing compassionate quality health care to all those that are in need. He makes sure that each patient has a great start to their day. His positive energy draws others in and motivates them to also be team players. Way to go, Matthew!

Naumka “Nona” Prentoska – Barista

Nona is a Barista at our Southlake Campus Micro Market and provides exceptional customer service. Everyone, staff or visitor, who enters the Micro Market is greeted with a smile and warm welcome. Nona acknowledges each customer and explains the various drinks available. She does an incredible job of retaining the “favorite” drinks of her routine customers. She continues to perfect the art of being a Barista and provides it with a very friendly, positive, and helpful attitude. Way to Nona!

Ed Reyna, Supervisor – Telecommunications

Ed Reyna is our Supervisor of Telecommunications in our IT Department. He has been with Methodist Hospitals for 42 years. Recently, the Midlake Campus’ phone system was affected by numerous copper thefts. Ed worked tirelessly to escalate the situation to AT&T and remain in constant contact with ensure timely repairs. He sought out a Gary Police Officer to notify them of the thefts and even went door to door in the area to inform local citizens that live in the area to be alert. Ed also led the installation and configuration of IP phones to ensure there was a backup system in place in the event the thefts continued. The IP phones allowed our patients to contact providers and other services provided at Midlake. Ed also led the effort to get the former Medical Records area at Southlake ready with cabling and phones in preparation for the relocation of our Central Scheduling staff. The move was completed without any issues, thanks to Ed’s dedication and hard work. Way to go, Ed!

Lynn Budzielek – Social Worker BSW – Case Management

Lynn is a dedicated employee that goes over and beyond to help those in need. She provides great customer service every day and helps arrange in-services for new vendors/resources for her Department. Lynn’s selfless attitude to serve others display the values of Methodist Hospitals. Way to go Lynn!

Maria Diaz – Development Coordinator

Maria is Methodist Hospitals Foundation Development & Event Coordinator. Maria mastered all the logistics that led to the overwhelming success of the hospital’s 100th Anniversary Gala in June. The elegance and ambiance of the event surpassed all expectations and contributed significantly to fundraising results that far exceeded the results of all previous events in the Foundation’s history. Her skills in organizing, motivating, guiding, and encouraging, while appropriately assigning tasks for which the volunteers experienced success, were highlights of her performance for this signature, centennial event. Way to go Maria!

Kimberly Perry – Customer Service Representative, Care First – Immediate Care

Kim has been praised by patients and coworkers for always going above and beyond to provide compassionate care. Recently, a patient’s family member received outstanding customer service from Kim during an emergency. Kim is a great example of hard work, way to go!

Autumn Stevenson – Med/Surg IMCU 2W3 – SLC

She goes above and beyond for her patients, including spending countless hours trying to arrange for a patient that was in the hospital trying to find placement and was able to go home with everything he needed. Autumn also serves as one of our wound care nurses on the unit and helped the wound care team and another nurse to develop a tool to help decrease our HAPUs and assist staff in understanding wound care dressings.  Way to go Autumn!

Milagros “Millie” Blondet – Financial Counselor, Southlake Campus

Milagros “Millie” Blondet is a Financial Counselor at our Southlake Campus. She is responsible for our Helping Heart Charity Program in addition to her regular duties and responsibilities. Millie communicates efficiently and effectively with our patients, coworkers, collection agencies, and the Methodist Physician Group as she listens to concerns and resolves problems. Our patients have described her as very knowledgeable, professional, and patient as she answers questions.

Quianna Kendrick – Medical Assistant, Midlake Campus

Quianna Kendrick is a Medical Assistant at our Midlake Campus. Quianna is a positive employee who always is willing to assist those in need both employee and patient. She has trained 6 new medical assistants and is always willing to do whatever is needed to keep the workflow moving at the Midlake Campus. Quianna is a bright employee and true excellent example of teamwork at Methodist Hospitals. Way to go Quianna!

Christina Tobye -Coordinator Surgery Charge

Christina Tobye is our Surgery Charge Capture/Tissue Coordinator. She does an excellent job and ensures that we are always compliant with our tissue usage and storage. Christina is very timely in posting charges and works closely with the Finance Department to ensure correct documentation for billing. She always helps with any needs in the department and is the editor of our Perioperative Update. Christina helps ensure special equipment is available when needed and creates laminates with information for all staff. Way to go Christina!

Yvette Craig, Patient Account Representative

Yvette Craig is a Patient Account Representative in our Central Business Office (CBO). She is described as a dedicated, hardworking employee who manages her activities efficiently and effectively. Yvette brings a positive, high energy, personal touch to the CBO, and is always willing to help. Her customer service skills are exemplary which include listening to patient’s concerns and fixing problems. Our customers have said Yvette is very knowledgeable, very patient, friendly, and able to explain bills and copays. She has helped employees learn how to read patient’s information for Physician Billing and is always pleasant and willing to help. Way to go Yvette!

Amy Kersey, RN – ICU Southlake Campus

Amy Kersey is an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) RN at our Southlake Campus. Amy is an exceptional ICU RN and team player. She is always willing to help in any situation whether it’s coming in extra, staying over, covering code blue in house or assisting with critical situations. Amy remains positive even in crisis situations. Way to go Amy!

Misty Burress, L&D Charge Nurse / Methodist Hospitals SLC

Misty Burress is a Labor & Delivery Charge Nurse at our Southlake Campus. Misty was nominated for her fast thinking and organizational skills in getting all parties involved and equipment to the Emergency Department. Misty always takes charge of any situation that she can help with, Misty doing an above and beyond to do her job. Way to go Misty!

Myrtis Humphrey, RN – Heart Center

Myrtis Humphrey is an RN in our Heart Center. She is described as compassionate and selfless and puts the needs of all her patients’ first. Myrtis’ “can do” disposition towards her patients continues to inspire and motivate her co-workers. Thanks for your dedication towards serving the community.  Way to go Myrtis!

Erin Colville, Emergency Room Dept. Technician

Erin is very dedicated to helping her fellow co-workers and team. She is a team player and makes sure everyone including patients is well taken care of. Her positive attitude models that of the Methodist Hospitals mission, vision, and values. Erin is a great example of true commitment to serving the community.

Dr. Dale Cudjoe, Chaplain, NLC/SLC

Dr. Dale Cudjoe is a Chaplain in the Spiritual Care Dept. and facilitates our Living After Loss Support Group. He makes sure to lend a helping hand of encouragement to those that are grieving the loss of their loved ones. His compassion and dedication to uplift individuals dealing with loss is important to quality of care that Methodist Hospitals gives all they serve. Way to go Dr. Cudjoe!

Sherrie Golden, Phlebotomy Technician

Sherrie is a Phlebotomy Technician at our Northlake Campus. She was nominated by our Home Health Department. A Home Health patient was a very difficult blood draw that was discussed with the lab. Sherrie volunteered on her personal time to go the patient’s home with the nurse and obtained the blood that was needed. The family was extremely grateful for the help because it would have been very difficult to get the patient to the outpatient lab. Sherrie was described as a real team player and a great example of true commitment to the Methodist Hospitals.

Renee Gray, Payroll Supervisor

Renee is our Payroll Supervisor. Recently, Renee worked hard on our new UKG timekeeping system upgrade while also managing her operational tasks including the processing employee payroll and onboarding a new employee in her department. December was one of the most stressful months as Renee prepared to Go-Live with the upgrade (including testing and training) in the midst of the holidays and bi-weekly payroll. Renee worked to ensure the back-end details were cleared while processing payroll in a shortened week. Renee’s hard work and the UKG system upgrade will allow us to continue to make progress in timekeeping toward advanced scheduling.  

Derrinque Bazziel,
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

Derrinque is a CNA who takes pride in serving others in need and building a rapport with them. Her observant nature provides assistance to patients before it is requested. She continues to show the values that Methodist Hospitals was built upon, Integrity, Compassion, Accountability, Respect, and Excellence.

Michelle Geissler, Radiation Therapist, Radiation Oncology

Michelle started a program in our Radiation Oncology Department called “Battle Beads.” When cancer patients start their radiation therapy journey, they can choose a starting bead, and every day a new bead is added to create a bracelet. This tangible item symbolizes hope and a reminder that you aren’t what you go through and that there is strength during treatment at Methodist Hospitals. Thank you, Michelle, for all that you do.

Lois Martin, RN,
IT Clinical Informatics

Lois is a RN in our IT Clinical Informatics Department. She has worked for Methodist Hospitals for 30 years and exemplifies our vision and mission. Lois supports all Epic users by making sure they have the tools to provide quality care to those in need. She has provided on the spot training for traveling nurses and assisted Physician Services with provider training. Lois demonstrates Methodist Hospitals Values and continues to serve her co-workers with a positive attitude.

Ljiljana Trkulja, Invasive Cardiology Liaison, Cardiac Cath Lab

Ljiljana is an Invasive Cardiology Liaison in our Cardiac Cath Lab. She does everything in her control to facilitate safe patient care delivery, keeping team members informed of changes and important details. She was commended for her fast action to get a patient cleared to prevent their procedure from being canceled. Ljilijana provides service with kind and welcoming energy to everyone she encounters.

Latoya Anderson,
Customer Service Representative, Methodist Physician Group

Latoya is being recognized for her uplifting attitude and willingness to help her coworkers in need. Latoya’s act of kindness not only showed respect for her new co-workers and patients, but it exemplifies the values of Methodist Hospitals.

Calvin Fossett –
Workstation Support Engineer,
IT Helpdesk

Calvin is being recognized for his effective and productive work ethic. His selfless attitude to help others and carry his own work load displays the positive values of Methodist Hospitals. Calvin continues to do an amazing job with a smile on his face and bright energy. 

Cameron Ashley,
Cyber Security Analyst

Cameron is being recognized for his positive attitude and teamwork abilities. He is a cyber security analyst who manages work order systems, and resolves issues at multiple locations. Cameron demonstrates compassion towards his coworkers and serves with excellence and bright energy to the Methodist Hospitals community.

Cari Recker,
Supervisor – Cashier/Support

Cari is being recognized for her kind attitude and her great customer service skills. She is the supervisor cashier and is often found assisting coworkers with their tasks. Cari is very diligent and will listen and address all concerns of her customers. Cari continues to demonstrate a positive attitude to everyone she comes into contact with.

Breyon Harris,
Southlake Environmental Services

Breyon is being recognized for his contagious, upbeat and friendly attitude and positive impact on our staff. He works in Environmental Services and brings his positive smile to employees he visits. Breyon takes the time to ask questions, gets to know people, and adds his positive energy to Methodist Hospitals culture.

Dawn Jones, RN,
5 South Pavilion

Dawn is being recognized for her timely care giving on the unit. Dawn is a Registered Nurse on the Northlake Campus 5 South Pavilion unit. She received appreciation from a patient’s family for noticing the patient’s smiled changed as a result of a stroke. Dawn acted immediately and assisted in the patient’s transfer to the Neuro Unit. Her fast thinking made a positive impact on her patient’s care.

Courtney Beasley,
Southlake Food Services

Courtney is being recognized for her quick thinking in an emergency. Courtney came to the aid of an injured fellow employee, helping to stabilize her co-worker until the rapid response team arrived. Courtney’s actions demonstrate the One Methodist spirit and grace under pressure.

Veda Roberts, Ancillary,
Southlake Surgical Services

Veda is being recognized for her commitment to providing the best patient experience possible. Veda works in the Surgery Department at the Southlake Campus. Recently, a patient’s family member complimented her for going above and beyond to assist her. She stated, “Veda did things for me that I didn’t even know I needed!” Veda walked the her to the cafeteria, made sure she had something to eat, and waited so that she would not get lost. The family member also witnessed how great she was with other visitors. Veda goes above and beyond every day to help make our patient’s experience the very best.

Cali Crenshaw, Medical Assistant,
CareFirst Immediate Care –
Crown Point

Cali has worked in many other areas at Methodist, including: General Surgery, Urology, Primary Care and Cardiology. She is an excellent Medical Assistant who has come in multiple times on her days off to cover shifts. Her accomplishments include working the COVID-19 drive through testing during the height of the pandemic, helping to develop the Care First Immediate Care Train-ing Handbook, performing 90% of the vaccine injections at the Crown Point Care First site, helping to develop the process to offer COVID-19 PCR testing at Crown Point Care First, and volunteering to help register and schedule patients from the Lake County Government Center Health & Wellness project.

Marrell Tyler, Licensed Electrician,
Facilities Management Department

On his day off, Marrell responded to a Northlake Campus emergency regarding a transformer leaking oil that serves the Emergency Department, Surgery and SPD. He worked 36 hours straight to coordinate the delivery of a generator and fuel bladder the same day. Marrell supervised the installation of the generator, responded when the generator went down late at night and Coordinated fuel deliveries. Marrell Tyler’s dedication ensured that three critical areas were back in full operation the same day.

Edgardo Eliscupides, Physical Therapist,
Outpatient Rehabilitation

While walking over from Pavilion D for lunch, Edgardo entered the hospital and found a confused patient. He recognized that the patient was confused and convinced the patient to follow him to the correct area. Edgardo brings energy, compassion, and flexibility to his job. He works quickly and efficiently throughout his work day, is always willing to take on extra work with a smile. Edgardo’s commitment to his job is valued by his co-workers and manager.

Judy Rathjen, Billing Application Analyst,
Central Business Office

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges to our community and Methodist Hospitals. Judy took on the addi-tional duty of submitting for Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSAA) funds during the pandemic and Methodist weather the storm. Many patients have incurred long hospital stays with no medical insurance and HRSA allocated funds to make hospitals whole for uninsured patients with a COVID-19 hospital stay.

Eddie L. Scott, Sr., Chaplain, Spiritual Care Department

On Wednesdays, Chaplain Scott provides the Devotional Service on our Rehabilitation Department at the Southlake Campus. In a particular service in March, Chaplain Scott testified, sang, and prayed during the Rehab Service. A patient was at the service that was angry with God for over a year and wanted to die. The patient reported, “After he got done, my anger left, I was no longer angry and now want to live again.” Chaplain Scott has been a blessing to patients and staff at our North-lake and Southlake Campus through visits, emergency on call responses, and Devotional Services.

Amy Koulianos, Mammography Technologist, Southlake Campus

Amy is a Mammography Technologist at our Southlake Campus. Our patients describe Amy as extremely courteous, knowl-edgeable and professional. She goes out of way to provide warmth, take precautions, and explain the mammogram test to our patients. Amy is delightful, pleasant and explains the importance of self-breast exams. Amy recently informed a patient’s daugh-ter about the process and she provided a wonderful experience to counter the horror story the patient had been told. A doctor recently commented, “Any woman coming to your center should be as lucky . . . to have you as their attending nurse.”

Robbie Kwiecinski,
Respiratory Therapist

Robbie is one of our great Respiratory Therapists at the Southlake Campus He was nominated by our nursery staff. He cared for both a mom in the ICU and her baby in the NICU. Robbie checked on the baby and took footprints to the mother in ICU. When the Nursery Staff decided to make a gift basket for the family taking the baby home, he rallied the Respiratory Department and ICU staff to contribute. The family was overwhelmed and appreciative of the clothes, toys, blankets, gift cards, and cash.

Sandra Pierce-Bardwell, RN,
Transitional Care Services

Sandra is a Registered Nurse who works in our Transitional Care Services. She identified transportation as one of the biggest barriers our patients have – transportation to and from appointments, picking up medications, and to and from the grocery store. Following Judy Lindsey’s suggestion, Sandra contacted and met with the Legacy Foundation, completed needed forms that included how money would be used, and secured a $25,200 grant from the Legacy Foundation to provide much needed transportation for our patients in need.

Sonia Harris, RN, Daily Charge Nurse,
Northlake Surgery Department

Sonia is a Registered Nurse and Daily Charge Nurse of the Surgery Department at our Northlake Campus. Sonia often fills the gaps when there are call needs and the leads the team by example. She serves as preceptor and mentor for Nurses and Technologists. Sonia supports the Southlake Surgery Department with staff when needed and has the “One Methodist” attitude. Sonia makes sure the department is always ready for a regulatory visit and keeps the department neat and organized.

Dawn White, RN,
Southlake Electrophysiology

Dawn is a Registered Nurse who works in our Electrophysiology Department at the Southlake Campus. While admitting two patients, Dawn identified heart arrhythmias, and in neither patient was this reflected in their medical history.

Cheryl White, RN, Northlake ICU

Cheryl is a Registered Nurse in our Northlake Campus Intensive Care Unit. Cheryl heard someone knocking at a Stairwell Door. When she responded, she found a confused patient. The patient gave their name, but could not remember their room number or unit. Cheryl made phone calls and discovered what unit the patient was from and that the patient was in isolation. Because of Cheryl’s quick action and thinking, the patient was returned to the proper room without injury.

Camille McBee,
Medical Assistant

Kaylan Richardson,
Medical Assistant

Patricia Marianovich, Team Leader, Employee Health Department

Pat is our Team Lead in the Employee Health Department. She was described as an extraordinary employee and true example of the Methodist Hospitals mission, vision and values. She has taken on additional responsibilities to keep the Employee Health Department afloat. She dedicates time to ensure staffing levels are stable as we process new hires and agency staff. She also took time to bring an injured employee in a wheelchair to enjoy our Employee Picnic. Pat always has a pleasant demeanor and makes each new hire feel welcomed and a part of the Methodist Family. She continuously puts the needs of the organization and others first to keep our staff healthy and productive to serve our patients.

Laureen Pilla, Mammography Technologist

Laureen is a Mammography Technologist at our Northlake and Southlake Campuses. Recently, she listened to her patient’s concerns and complaints as she came for a mammogram. She took the complaints seriously, asked appropriate questions and advised the patient on what her next steps were. Concerned for the patient’s welfare, she reported the event to the patient advocate and her supervisor. Light was brought to the situation and Laureen was thanked for her concern, compassion, and strong desire to do the right thing.

Stephanie Swank, Athletic Trainer

Stephanie is an Athletic Trainer in our Ortho Spine Department and is the current trainer for the Gary Southshore RailCats. She manages their injuries and keeps more than 25 professional baseball players healthy. She travels with the team and endures 75+ hour work weeks. Stephanie implements the COVID protocols, coordinates testing, and helps incoming players get vaccines. Stephanie is a very hard worker and always has an optimistic attitude.

Anthony “Dusty” Snowden, Transporter

Dusty has worked at Methodist Hospitals for 15 years and been a patient transporter for 6 years. His first priority is ensure our patient’s experience is the best. When department staffing has been challenging, Dusty is always ready to support his peers and suggest solutions. Dusty provides help whenever needed, and even held down a very strong patient who was intubated and trying to pull out his support tubes as respiratory staff cared for patient. Recently, Dusty took the time to listen and demonstrate care when the patient was going having a tough day.

Tammy Symmes, RN, 5 West

Bilijana Dobrijevic, RN, 5 West

Tammy and Bilijana are both Registered Nurses on the 5 West at our Southlake Campuses. They are part of the team that provided amazing care for a long stay patient who became a friend. They took their friend on multiple walks during the day to provide some happiness. He loved sitting by the fountain outside and looking at the flowers. Tammy brought him along to the hospital cookouts. When the patient lost his wallet, she bought him a Cubs wallet (because she knew it was his favorite team). Bilijana brought special coffee from home that the patient really enjoyed. Tammy, Bilijana, and all the staff on 5W1 provided support from the heart. 

Lynette Andres, Health Unit Partner (HUP), 4 East

Lynette is a Health Unit Partner (HUP) who works on 4 East at our Northlake Campus. She has worked on 4 East since April of 2019 when an official COVID Unit was formed at Northlake. Lynette was instrumental in helping to organize the Unit, keeping it tidy and stocked with all the supplies nurses needed. She remained on 4 East as the Unit converted back to a Med/Surg Unit. Lynette always lends a hand to help patients, nurses, and the Unit Manager, LaTina Ashana. She is a support and resource to nurses. The unit is primarily staffed by traveling nurses, they agree that Lynette is helpful, going above and beyond her normal duties.

Yesenia Torres, RN, 5 South

Latonya Pippins, RN, 5 South

Mary Gaydos, RN, Southlake 3W1

Maryis a Rehab Nurse that works on 3W1 at our Southlake Campus. She has been a true asset to 3W1 and other units. Mary has volunteered multiple times to work on other units, even changing her social plans to come in and work a mid-night shift on 4W3 (when she normally works the day shift). Mary also floats to other units to learn something new. She has learned a lot and signs up for education when offered. Mary carries a small note book in her pocket, writes down what she learns and shares her learnings with others on the unit. Mary volunteered to be part of our Shared Governance and participates in UBETs (Unit Based Excellence Teams). She has taken on 2 projects, one MAGNET related and the other for CARF accreditation.

Angela Toney, Physical Therapy Aid, Outpatient Rehabilitation

Angela is a Physical Therapy Aid in our Outpatient Rehab Therapy Clinic (Pavilion D). She is the only Aid assigned to the clinic and efficiently moves from one task to another. She willingly took on the responsibility of working temperature monitoring station at the front desk and changed her lunch time so that she could clean the gym before the 1:00 p.m. patients arrive. Daily Log Books were found in perfect order during recent rounds. Angie reported that up to 10 patients per day were coming into Pavilion D in error, looking for the Vaccination Clinic in Pavilion B. She noted some of these persons were elderly and not walking well. Therefore, Angela kept her coat on during the day and would run out to patient’s cars to direct them to the correct building so they would not have to make an extra trip.

Calvin Fossett, Workstation Engineer, IT

Calvin is a Workstation Support Engineer in our IT – Network/Telecom Department. Calvin is commended for his dedication and being a valuable asset to the Methodist Hospitals. A Home Health RN was scheduled to see 16 hours of patients (32 total hours of work) on Saturday and Sunday, but had laptop software problems. Calvin Fossett worked on fixing the problem for more than 1-1/2 hours and finished around 5:00 p.m. He punched out and came back to work on fixing the problem to meet the need.

Sara Zilz, RN, Navigator, Oncology Institute

Sara is a Navigator in our Oncology Institute. Sara regularly goes above and beyond her normal work duties and is eager to help wherever help is needed. Sara provided white boards for each office door to improve departmental communication and brings cheer to the department each month in subtle ways. As an example, Sara brings different fragrant hand soaps for the department’s washroom each month. Sara was also an integral part of our successful National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) survey. Sara, thank you for a job well done.

Tracy Patterson, Catering Associate, Food Services

Tracy is a Catering Associate in our Food Services Department. While she was picking up trays she noticed the smell of something burning. Tracy investigated where the smell was coming from. When she found the source of the smell and looked into a patient room, she discovered that the patient’s bed sheets were on fire. Tracy rushed to the nursing station and screamed fire. Unit staff (Julie and Ophelia) rushed into the room, tried to remove a lighter from the patient’s hand, and dumped water on the bed to extinguish the fire. They eventually got the lighter out of the patients hand and searched the room and patient’s belongings to ensure the patients safety. Once the situation was under control, Tracy continued picking up trays.

Donielle Cotton, Physical Therapy

Donielle is a Physical Therapist who routinely goes above and beyond since joining the Methodist family. Don worked on the Northlake Rehab unit that closed. He was reassigned and helped fill staffing gaps in the Northlake acute unit, Southlake Rehab unit, and Midlake Outpatient Clinic. Don has traveled between these areas to provide coverage sometimes in the same day. He has done an excellent job transitioning between the departments that require different clinical skills and have different documentation requirements. Don has been instrumental in the startup of our lower extremity lymphedema program in the Outpatient Clinic.

Silvia Garza, RN, Cardiac Cath Lab

Silviaworks in our Cardiac Cath Lab Department and is recognized for always going above and beyond for her patients. She helped a patient and filled out her insurance form for a pleurx catheter. Silvia scanned her insurance cards and contacted the doctor’s office to get home evaluations. The patient’s family was not involved in the patient’s health care, so Silvia took it upon herself to help the patient. She went back and forth with the doctor’s office to help the patient. Silvia treated this patient the way many of us would want someone to treat our mother if we were not present to help.