West Boca Medical Center
Sy FinkelsteinVolunteer
Sy has been a volunteer in the ER for 2 years (1300 hours) and his commitment to making a difference for people has really shined during this hurricane season. Sy came in everyday with the exception 2 days, to help in the ER during this disaster. On the Friday before the hurricane, he was the only volunteer that came in to help at the hospital and as soon as they came out of lockdown, he was back at the hospital again. Sy performs a multitude of functions including comforting and easing patients high anxiety; he assists them with their personal needs, supports staff, is a courier/transporter, just to name a few tasks. Sy is frequently mentioned by patients for his compassion and friendliness. He is a true asset to West Boca Medical Center and they are thankful to have him on their team! Dennis Macilwain
ER tech
Dennis Macilwain, ER Tech, just happened to bring his chainsaw to work in case there was a problem with trees being down and staff not being able to get out. During a driving rainstorm Dennis took his saw out to cut down a tree by the Emergency Department driveway so Rescue could get in with patients. Kathy Hoar
Director of Rehabilitative Services
Kathy did a fabulous job of “managing” the mothers-to-be housed in the PT department. She had 12 expectant moms and their significant others housed in the department during the storm and before the storm was over, the new moms were taking pictures of her to include in their keepsake and exchanging addresses. She kept them calm throughout the storm and created a peaceful atmosphere in the midst of the storm. Tim Walsh
Director of Environmental Services
Tim did an outstanding job managing the short supply of linen and providing housekeeping services without any major issues. He effectively contained the numerous leaks throughout the building. Tim was also always available to help out with non-EVS issues, including transporting deceased patients to the morgue. He also drove down to Miami on Sunday morning in the wind and rain to get linen from Palmetto General Hospital. The hospital counted on Tim to assist with numerous non-EVS issues throughout the storm and he always delivered and always with a pleasant attitude. Chris Lefave
Director of Food and Nutrition Services
Chris faced the challenge of feeding 500 people from Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. Because Frances was so slow in reaching South Florida, the hospital was running low on provisions when the actual storm was onshore and he managed to ration the provisions while providing hot cooked meals. He also kept his staff going and many of them were exhausted having worked in the cafeteria Monday through Friday and then ending up working morning through night for the entire weekend as well. Cathy McCullough
Employee Health Nurse
Ellen Kreshover
Secretary, Education Department
Deena & Shaina Nunes, ages 15, daughters of Andrea Nunes, Risk Manager
West Boca Medical Center would like to recognize Cathy McCullough, Andrea’s twins, Deena and Shaina Nunes, and Ellen Kreshover for their 4 days of very hard work in the childcare. Deena and Shaina worked from 7 a.m. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday taking care of employees children with never a complaint. They were not paid either but did this while their mother worked. Also Cathy McCullough and Ellen Kreshover kept the children organized with various activities. West Boca provided childcare to about 15 20 children. Cathy Wilkinson
Marguerite Smith
Mary Lynn Scallan
Doreen Snyder
Monica Hernandez
NICU Nurses
West Boca Medical Center would like to recognize the NICU nurses for their efforts Saturday night. When it started leaking very badly in NICU, it was decided that 6 babies had to be moved out of the NICU to a post partum room where there were 4 nurses sleeping. The nurses were woke up and told they needed to find someplace else to sleep. They got right up out of a sound sleep and instead of thinking about where they were going to go to sleep went right into the NICU and started to help moving the babies. They were in their pajamas and were sleepy but starting moving babies and equipment. North Ridge Medical Center The North Ridge Medical Center engineering team, let by Marshall Scott and supported by Scott Larusso and Dan MacDaniel, were absolutely tireless as they responded to never-ending requests for assistance via their radio “walkie-talkies”. They never once complained and were constantly juggling priorities. Whether wind and rain was seeping into the building, the ovens went out, the chillers failed and needed to be repaired on the spot, more sandbags needed to be filled despite the conditions outside, doors that were flying open needed to be secured, security with visitors/patients needed to be addressed, biomed and equipment failures were addressed, etc, etc, etc. The overall outcome of the storm was great North Ridge was lucky, but it was no accident that they came out of it so well. Good example on rounds (outside in storm conditions) Marshall discovered that the doors to a Florida Power and Light power supply panel had blown open since the force of the wind was strong enough to destroy the lock that was securing the doors. If anything would have blown into that panel, a major catastrophe and possible explosion would have occurred. Marshall, Scott, and Dan kept North Ridge out of any crisis situation because of their diligence and proactive actions. Likewise, Betty Sands, the supervisor in housekeeping was responsive to every request, had very little sleep over 48 hours and directed the operations of the entire housekeeping crew in the absence of a director who is transitioning to another position. Her actions displayed incredible team spirit and tireless effort to take care of anyone’s need on demand. North Ridge Medical Center could not have gone through this without her leadership. She stepped up to the plate when it had never been her job to do something even remotely similar to the task at hand. She is to be commended for this. Coral Gables Hospital Nuno Ferreira
Electrician
At the present time, the Plant Director position at CGH is vacant. Nuno has assumed the role of Supervisor and without hesitation actively participated in all the preparation meetings for Hurricane Frances. He activated the Hurricane Plan by ordering the needed supplies and coordinated all the hurricane preparation functions for the plant. He secured his home and then returned to be part of the team that stayed during the Hurricane. During the storm he was vigilant of the building to ensure the safety of the employees and patients. Nunos dedication and hard work during Hurricane Frances are recognized and greatly appreciated. Evelin Lopez
Director Food Services
Evelin is Director of Food Services at CGH. During the Hurricane watch, she activated the Hurricane Plan and coordinated all the food supplies and items needed. She secured her home and returned to be part of the team that stayed during the Hurricane. During the Hurricane, she ensured that all patient meals where prepared and delivered timely without interruption. She additionally coordinated all the meals to accommodate the employees at the facility during the Hurricane. On her own she made sandwiches for the employees at midnight and distributed them to the floors to ensure that all the employees were happy. Evelins dedication and hard work during Hurricane Frances are recognized and greatly appreciated. Hollywood Medical Center Dr. Larrye Feldman
Dr. Larrye Feldman would qualify in that he volunteered to stay since he is single and allowed other physicians (obligated by office to be here) to stay at home with families/children. He stayed the whole time. Patrick Jones
Production Supervisor
Patrick’s tireless efforts ensured food for patient’s, employees and visitors throughout the hurricane event. He was up at 5 a.m. preparing breakfast each morning, ready for lunch at 11 a.m. and right on time for dinner from 4-6 p.m. After preparing the main meals, Patrick and his team prepared pizzas for delivery by the department heads. He was there from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. He stayed on to finalize the details for Sunday’s dinner and the Labor Day meal. He is a trooper, so dedicated to the department and hospital. Larry Melby
CEO
Larry made rounds on the floors with an ice cream cart and food nightly and personally took the time to speak to all the employees. He kept their spirits light and extended his thankfulness for all their efforts to patients during this trying time. He held Department Head meetings to keep the staff focused and involved in the plans as the storm progressed. He developed newsletters to facilitate communication to all the in-house staff. One of the ICU RN’s was so personally impressed with the flow and organization of activities that she was compelled to call Larry and thank him herself! Through it all there were a few laughs and great leadership in Larry! Delray Medical Center Jackie Becker, ARNP
Jackie took a taxi to get to work on time, the taxi hit a parked car, she arrived in ED on a back board, refused to go home despite back injury & insisted on working in the childcare area (area designated for the children of parents who were working during the storm). Her biggest concern was not reporting on time. Sam Espinoza
Staffing Coordinator
Sam worked from 11 a.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Sunday. In addition to ensuring adequate staffing in patient care areas, he walked the floors lending assistance where needed, particularly during the power outage. After he left on Sunday, he heard a co-worker was particularly hard hit from the storm. He went directly to her house and assisted with moving debris and securing her home. Kathy Moraitis, RN
Surg/Ortho
Kathy was assigned to the hurricane relief team. She was so concerned about her peers who had worked such excessive hours, she ventured out into the weather on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. prior to the “all clear” being called. Although emotional & crying about her home which was flooded & had considerable roof damage, she left her own home in shambles and made it to the hospital. Her drive was treacherous due to the still unsafe weather. She witnessed a tree almost fall on the car ahead of her. Instead of turning back, she continued on her way in. She literally received cheers from the hurricane team on her arrival. She represented a light at the end of the tunnel for a team who was tired & beaten. I believe that Kathy was the first relief team employee to make it to Delray that morning. Her commitment to the team and patients was exceptional. She worked Sunday, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. She says that she will deal with her own home after this all passes.
