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The 2013 Nurse and CNA Excellence Awards were handed out during Nurses Week at Waldo County General Hospital. The nurse excellence award was won by Sandra Weagle RN, while Taylor Garcelon took the CNA award.
 Sandra Weagle RN won the 2013 Nurse Excellence Award. Making the presentation was Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN.
Weagle, who works in the Emergency Department, has been with the hospital for 22 years, while Garcelon is in her third year and works on the patient floor.
 The 2013 CNA Excellence Award winner was Taylor Garcelon CNA, shown here with Director Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN.
In announcing the 2013 Nurse Excellence Award winner, Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN, said of Weagle: “(She) was nominated by a peer who recognizes her as setting high standards for patient care and professionalism. She is seen as a valued colleague who serves as a good resource for others and as a leader who helps keep the patient flow moving smoothly and calmly…
“She consistently puts the patient’s safety and comfort at the top of her list of priorities. She quickly responds to special needs for equipment or services, such as requesting social work assistance, to meet the patient’s requirements beyond the obvious medical needs…
“She is a steady force in a fast-paced area providing everyone with calm, competent direction,” Young-Hise concluded.
On the nomination form, Weagle’s colleague also wrote: “She not only performs the mandatory year-to-year training within the department of education and skills, but maintains the Advanced Care Certificate recommended. She has obtained and maintained her certification as a CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse) and exceeds even that goal by serving as president of the ENA (Emergency Nurses Association) in a nationwide capacity.”
In making the announcement of the CNA Excellence Award winner, Young-Hise said of Garcelon: “(She) is described as a natural leader with a warm and intuitive approach that immediately puts her patients at ease. She is noted for her strong teamwork and for her collaboration with the nursing staff, consistently keeping them apprised of any changes in vital signs or in the patient’s condition…
“Patient safety and comfort is her mission. She consistently discusses her patients with the nursing team to be sure that their safety and care needs are met,” said Young-Hise.
The nurse, who nominated Garcelon for the award, wrote, “(She) brings her ‘A game’ regardless of what may be happening in her life. I have stood outside a patient’s door donning isolation garb and can hear Taylor inside the room calming a patient, laughing with a patient or settling down a patient…”
Garcelon also serves in various committees at the hospital. She is described as eager to implement new ideas and remains upbeat with change.
 Finalists for the Nurse Excellence Award were, back row from left, Sandra Weagle RN, Krystal Brouty RN, and Cate Bryant RN. In front are Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise and finalist Patty Trask RN.
The other nominees for the 2013 Nurse Excellence Award were Krystal Brouty RN, who works in the Women and Infant Health Care Unit; Cate Bryant RN, who works in the Intensive Care Unit: and Patty Trask RN, who works on the patient floor.
 Nominated for the CNA Excellence Award were, back row from left, Jennifer Larrabee CNA, Taylor Garcelon CNA, Pam Ripley CNA, and Stella Littlefield CNA. In the front row, are Director of Nursing Teri Young-Hise RN, and nominees Diana Hills CNA, and Janice Boetsch CNA.
Nominated for the 2013 CNA Excellence Award were Janice Boetsch CNA, and Pam Ripley CNA, who both work on the patient floor; Diana Hills CNA in the procedure room; Jennifer Larrabee CNA in cardiac rehab; and Stella Littlefield CNA in the emergency department.
The criteria for the awards are: • demonstration of leadership at the bedside; • commitment to professional development; and • dedication to high quality, safe patient and family-centered care.
This is the second year that Waldo County General Hospital has made the Nurse and CNA Excellence Awards. The winners last year were Carol Knight, LPN, and Cheryl Lucas, CNA. |
 Shown with their awards are, front row from left, Page Dilts, Chris Harrington, Roxie Whitney, Wanda Moody, Erika Young, Brenda Smith and Perley Martin, RSU 20 Food Service Director. In the second row, from left, are EBS and Nickerson principal Abbie Hartford, CASS principal Jody Henderson, Debbie Mitchell, Cindy Boguen, Rhonda Bishop Wood and Sue Black. In the back row from left are Angela Wight of Maine Child Nutrition department, Linda Hartkopf, Ames principal Laura Miller, Northport principal Sandy Flacke, Rhonda Kinney, and Thierry Bonneville of the RSU 20 Health Kids parents’ group.
Five elementary schools in RSU 20 have been awarded national recognition for their efforts to improve school meals and overall wellness among their students and staff. Only 5 percent of schools in the United States have achieved this award.
Receiving a bronze award from HealthierUS School Challenge were the Ames School in Searsmont, Belfast Area High School, Captain Albert Stevens School in Belfast, East Belfast School, and Drinkwater Elementary School in Northport.
To earn this award, a school must serve healthy meals, teach nutrition education taught in all grade levels and encourage physical activity. Physical education has to include at least 45 minutes a week. There must also be a wellness policy, which states that physical activity is neither denied nor required as a means of punishment, and use of food as a reward is prohibited.
Honored June 3 were the principals, wellness champions and food service personnel from the five schools, along with Linda Hartkopf, the school health coordinator, a position funded by Waldo County General Hospital; Perley Martin, RSU Food Service Director; Healthy Waldo County, Let’s Go! Waldo 5210 and the RSU 20 Healthy Kids parents’ group. With the bronze award, each of the schools received $500 for their nutrition program.
Hartkopf said the goal for next year will be to have the entire district earn a silver or bronze award.
The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) is designed to improve the health of the nation’s children by promoting healthier school environments.
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Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) has been named to the 2013 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals in the United States. That announcement was recently made by iVantage Health Analytics in collaboration with The National Rural Health Association. This is the second year that list has been prepared and the second time that WCGH has been on it.
This honor comes on the heels of learning that WCGH has been placed on the preferred Tier 1 list for the University of Maine System Health Plan, which recognizes hospitals that provide both affordable and high quality care. That status means that employees insured under the University of Maine System Health Plan can receive care at WCGH without an inpatient co-pay. WCGH is also on the preferred Tier 1 list for the Maine State Employees Health Plan.
And last fall, WCGH was named as one of the 100 Great Community Hospitals nationwide.
According to Becker’s Hospital Review, inclusion on the 2013 Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals was based on iVantage’s 2013 study, “Benchmark Performance for Critical Access Hospitals.” The study used iVantage’s Hospital Strength Index™, which uses publically available date from over 50 indicators organized into eight performance categories.
These eight categories include: competitive strength, competitive intensity, market size and growth, quality, outcomes, patient perspectives, cost and charges, and financial stability.
A Critical Access Hospital (CAH) is a rural community hospital that receives cost-based reimbursement. CAHs, which are sometimes referred to as “rural, safety-net hospitals,” must be located more than a 35-mile drive from the nearest hospital, and must provide 24-hour emergency services, have a maximum of 25 beds and have an average inpatient stay of less than three days.
The 2013 list of Top CAHs includes 60 previous awardees and 40 new facilities. According to the summary of the 2013 Top 100 CAH findings, the Top 100 CAHs “face the least population-based demand for future healthcare services while their quality is near the top quarter of all U.S. general acute care hospitals.”
Also, the Top 100 perform as well as or better at the median than all general acute-care hospitals in the U.S.
As of the end of 2012, there were 1,331 critical access hospitals in the United States. Six of the 2013 Top 100 CAHs are in Maine. Besides WCGH in Belfast, they are Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan, Bridgton Hospital, Millinocket Regional Hospital, Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville and Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft. |
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Waldo County Home Health and Hospice has once again been placed on the 2012 HomeCare Elite list of home health care agencies in the United States. But even more than that, they have been honored as one of the Top 500 providers nationwide. Read more… |
 Husson University Nursing Professor Jeanne-Ann Ouellette, left, presents Erin Bellaire, with the Clinical Education Award from Husson University. Looking on at right is Teri Young-Hise, Director of Nursing at Waldo County General Hospital, who along with Bellaire is a Husson University graduate.
Erin Bellaire, RN, recently received the Clinical Education Award from Husson University. The award recognizes someone who has gone above and beyond to assist students in their clinical learning. |
 Letitia Stover RN, left, and Carolyn Koopman RN have both met the requirements and are now Certified Emergency Nurses at Waldo County General Hospital.
Waldo County General Hospital has two new Certified Emergency Nurses (CEN). Letitia Stover and Carolyn Koopman recently passed the extensive exam to become certified. |
 Diana Wing was honored for 30 years of service.
 Speech pathologist Nathan Curtis has been with the hospital for five years.
 Controller Raye Porter has worked for the hospital for five years.
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 Cheryl Lucas, CNA, left, was awarded the 2012 CNA Excellence Award. Carol Knight, LPN, was selected to receive the 2012 Nurse Excellence Award.
During National Nurses’ Week, Waldo County General Hospital held its first Nurse Excellence Award Ceremony. Read more… |
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The hospital has also been honored with a 2011 Caring About Lives in Maine Award. Tim Woitowitz, Making Change Coordinator, nominated the hospital’s emergency room for the award presented by the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program. He said over the years the ER staff has helped his group Read more…
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Waldo County General Hospital (WCGH) has won another national award. VHA, Inc., a national health care network, honored 28 hospitals for meeting or exceeding national performance standards for clinical care and efforts to improve the patient experience. Read more… |
