(l-r) Michaela Neilson, Regional Manager of Case Management, Jo-Ann Abbot and Drew Grossman, Coral Springs Medical Center CEO.

Case managers are vital components in the process of educating and guiding patients to achieve their desired outcome. They often go above and beyond the call of duty simply to ensure that an individual patient’s needs are met. They are accommodating, compassionate and persistent when dealing with matters regarding patients. With that said, Coral Springs Medical Center would like to acknowledge and thank every single case manager for demonstrating all the aforementioned qualities as well as a slew of other noteworthy characteristics.

Specifically, a big congratulations to Jo-Ann Abbot, the quarterly winner of the Coral Spring Medical Center’s Quarterly Shinning Star Award for the entire hospital. Jo-Ann has been an employee of Broward Health for 19 years and transferred to Broward Health Coral Springs Medical Center in 2008 from Broward General Medical Center. She has been working in the E.R. as a case manager and routinely receives positive feedback for her exemplary performance. Some of the adjectives that have been used to describe Jo-Ann include: true team player, sweet, compassionate, awesome, and above & beyond!   The word “no” is not part of her vocabulary. At times Jo-Ann has to be re-assigned to work on the inpatient side of the hospital. Although she is not required to do so, she still makes herself available to the E.D. and assists them if needed. She is greatly missed by the E.D. team on her days off. Some of her above and beyond examples include: acquiring a birthday cake for a patient’s 18th birthday to make his admission easier which put a “priceless” smile on his face, going the extra mile to obtain a bed for a patient’s smooth transition home, and securing follow-up care for a patient who was in dire need of wrist surgery. She recently followed a case of a very unfortunate uninsured patient with many health care needs well past his discharge, working endless hours to coordinate timely follow-up with numerous specialists, which were necessary in order to prepare him for some major surgery, and prevent readmission.   In her role as the ER Case Manager, she frequently gets called upon to assist with follow-up care for the homeless population. From these experiences, she identified a need and set to work to establish a Homeless Closet, which had not been in place at CSMC. Today, the closet is well stocked with donated clothing and shoes for those in dire need of these items.
 
Another case manager who shines is Lourdes (Lu) Perez, who also began her career at Broward General Medical Center right out of nursing school in 1983. Thirteen years later she transferred to Coral Springs Medical Center where her determination, willingness and kind heartedness seemingly shine through in all aspects of her work. Lourdes has been presented with numerous challenges that accompany an ever changing world of healthcare, and she always seems to solve these problems with ease. When asked about her co-workers and her position as a case manager, Lourdes had this to say, “The people I work with are like my family. It is very rewarding to work together knowing that we are all making a difference.” Similarly, Lourdes’s co-workers constantly sing the same great praises about her. “Not only is Lourdes a fun-loving and great person to work with, she is a great person all around. She is very knowledgeable and is always more than willing to go the extra mile for each and every patient. She is here for everyone and we all look to her as a vital resource.”