Milestone: Olympic Medical Center names 2019 Patient Experience Champions

May 29, 2019 1:30 am
Pictured, from left, are Olympic Medical Center CEO Eric Lewis; Patient Access Representative Lisa Glynn; board president John Nutter; OR clinical educator Ellen Adams (who accepted an award on behalf of RN Charlotta Pearl); Katrin Junghanns, director of ICU/Telemetry, who accepted the award on behalf of RN Christy Ressor; Holly Heustis, Clinic Supervisor of OMP Primary Care; Jennifer Burkhardt, Olympic Medical Center’s Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel; Mikel Townsley, Patient Navigator for Olympic Medical Cancer Center, and Dr. Mark Fischer. Photo courtesy of Olympic Medical Center
Pictured, from left, are Olympic Medical Center CEO Eric Lewis; Patient Access Representative Lisa Glynn; board president John Nutter; OR clinical educator Ellen Adams (who accepted an award on behalf of RN Charlotta Pearl); Katrin Junghanns, director of ICU/Telemetry, who accepted the award on behalf of RN Christy Ressor; Holly Heustis, Clinic Supervisor of OMP Primary Care; Jennifer Burkhardt, Olympic Medical Center’s Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel; Mikel Townsley, Patient Navigator for Olympic Medical Cancer Center, and Dr. Mark Fischer. Photo courtesy of Olympic Medical Center

Olympic Medical Center staff announced six Patient Experience Champions at a recent board of commissioners meeting.

As part of April’s Patient Experience Week celebrations, Patient Experience Champions are nominated by their peers for “communicating with courtesy, compassion and respect, empowering patients to learn or cope effectively, contributing to new programs, improving processes, and/or going above and beyond to serve the needs of patients and their families,” OMC representatives said last week.

They include:

• Charlotta (Lotta) Pearl, RN, OR/Surgery

• Mikel Townsley, Patient Navigator, Olympic Medical Cancer Center

• Holly Heustis, Clinic Supervisor, OMP Primary Care

• Christy Resser, RN, Intensive Care Unit

• Lisa Glynn, Patient Access Representative, Patient Access Services

• Mark Fischer, MD, FACP, Hospitalist, Internal and Pulmonary Medicine, OMP Specialty Clinic

Pearl consistently reduces patients’ anxiety and creates an energetic, uplifting environment in the operating room, OMC staff say.

According to Jennifer Burkhardt, Olympic Medical Center’s Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel, “Mikel brings an enthusiasm to her work at the Cancer Center and infuses each of her patient interactions with honest to goodness love for her fellow humans in their times of greatest need.”

Working behind the scenes, Heustis’ mission is to make each patient visit as smooth and seamless as possible while meeting the needs of her patients, OMC staff say, while ICU nurse Resser “excels at balancing the medical and emotional needs of critically ill patients … (and) also cares for patients’ family members who are impacted by anxiety over their loved one’s condition.”

Glynn, coworkers note, has “a strong work ethic and is passionate about providing special attention to every patient, every time.”

Fischer, OMC representatives say, has a “kind manner and detailed, yet accessible explanations of patient conditions help make all patients and families feel at ease” and that “he also brings the perspective of the bedside physician to conversations during committee meetings and work groups, and has served as a champion for many improvement initiatives.”

Burkhardt said, “His unpretentious generous spirit and his patient-centered perspective have earned him respect and appreciation across the organization and the community.”