Newsworthy

Dear Community Partners,

Here are today’s updates:

• Congratulations to Dominic Katsbulas, RN, DAISY Award Winner
• Meet Morgan Ray, Stormont Vail Health’s Career Counselor
• Emerging Leaders Program Graduation this Thursday
• Nurse Residency Program Graduations on the Calendar
• Stormont Vail Team Continues to Step Up in Caring for Additional Patients

Congratulations to Dominic Katsbulas, RN, DAISY Award Winner

Congratulations to Dominic Katsbulas, an RN at the Topeka Campus Hospital Intermediate Care Unit, for receiving the DAISY Award after two separate patients nominated him for the exceptional attention he delivered in the IMCU.

“Dominic had a lot of patience with me,” one patient wrote in their nomination. “I had many questions that I wanted answered. Dominic took the time to explain what was happening with the patient and ensured I was there when the doctor was in the room. Overall, he reassured me that I would feel comfortable enough to go home and rest with the care given.”

Thank you, Dominic, for providing our patients excellent care.

Meet Morgan Ray, Stormont Vail Health’s Career Counselor

Meet Morgan Ray, our new Career Counselor at Stormont Vail Health!

After being raised in Arizona and crossing the country for her husband’s career in the Marine Corps, Morgan came to Topeka, where she worked as a recruiter/human resources manager at Premier Employment Solutions for more than a year before starting at Stormont Vail Health in the Human Resources Department.

The job of a career counselor is to help existing Stormont Vail Health employees reach their career goals or aspirations, and to help them further their career and passions.

When asked what her favorite part is about her new position, Morgan replied, “Meeting with current team members, getting to know them and helping them either advance in their career or help them find their right fit at Stormont Vail Health. I also run the TCALC program, which enables me to mentor the high school students and hopefully set up a pathway for them at Stormont Vail in the future.”

When Morgan talks about her job, her enthusiasm shines through as each day is different. She will spend one day at a career fair and others meeting with team members and TCALC students, which she says is the best part of her job: helping others.

“I am so excited to use my past leadership and recruiting experience to really advance this role,” she said. “Being able to be there to help mentor and assist people along their career path truly makes me happy. I hope all the team members at Stormont Vail use my services, whether it is to help develop a resume or see what other opportunities are available for them!” Please welcome Morgan Ray to the team at Stormont Vail!

Emerging Leaders Program Graduation this Thursday

The Emerging Leaders Program graduation will be 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, in Pozez Education Center Auditorium. Twenty individuals from across the Stormont Vail system will be graduating from the program.

They include Ashlan Alexander, Brett Bernhard, Kassadee Clark, Ashley Cobb, Michelle Cody, John Collins, Carrie Cummings, Monica Damman, Stacy Davis, Derrick Eddy, Erin Golightly, Deondre Harris, Tracy Haverstein, Kelsey Joice, Jace Lowe, Kimberly Lynn, Allison Reid, Jessica Renyer, Katie Trejo and Adam Vormawor.

William Johnson, Senior Organizational Development Consultant, will provide an overview of the program, followed by a message to graduates from Page Bachman, Senior Vice President and Chief Experience Officer. Several graduates from the class will also make remarks as well as Dena Brake, Manager of Organizational Development. A reception and opportunity to view the graduate’s portfolios will be in Centennial B, following the ceremony.

Nurse Residency Program Graduations on the Calendar

Nurse Residency Nurse Manager Program Graduation – Please join us in celebrating the Stormont Vail Health Nurse Residency Nurse Manager Program graduates. The event will be 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 15, in Centennial A & D, Pozez Education Center. There will be a welcome by William Johnson, Senior Organizational Development Consultant, A3 presentations, graduation ceremony and reception.

Nurse Residency Program Graduation – Please join us in celebrating the Stormont Vail Health New Graduate Nurse Residency Program graduates. The event will be 8 a.m. to Noon Thursday, Dec. 21, in Pozez Education Center Auditorium. There will be a welcome by Salena Gillam, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, Vice President, Patient Care Services, case study presentations, graduation ceremony and reception.

Stormont Vail Team Continues to Step Up in Caring for Additional Patients

The Stormont Vail Health Topeka team continues to receive great support from team members across our system as we continue to care for an influx of patients needing hospital, emergency and urgent care. This increased demand is due to a cybersecurity incident that began impacting systems on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, at Ardent Health Services’ hospitals, which includes the University of Kansas Health System St. Francis in Topeka. Ardent said in its last update on Nov. 30 that it is still working to restore systems and did not have a timeline for full restoration.

During this time, Stormont Vail has had the only fully functional Emergency Department in Topeka open to ambulances, resulting in increased patient volumes, as well as experiencing increases in patients needing hospitalization and care in our urgent care settings.

Addressing this community need for medical care has been a team effort at Stormont Vail Health. More than 1,800 team members worked over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at our Topeka hospital and Express Care clinics. This includes team members providing direct care or supporting that care. This effort has continued with team members from across the system – and region – taking extra shifts in Topeka to help provide patient care, and taking on extra responsibilities to help our Emergency Department or get more nursing staff to the bedside to care for inpatients. Thank you to all who are providing extra hands and skills to help us care for the community.

We together,
Dr. Kenagy