Milestone: OMC honors employees for wellness efforts
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Jennifer Burkhardt, Olympic Medical Center’s Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel, honored five employees at a recent board of commissioners meeting.
Nutrition Services Program Assistant Lori Spink, Registered Dietitians Michael Lessor, Elizabeth Schuerman and Sue Talbert, along with Marketing and Communications Coordinator Donna Pacheco each received recognition.
“Our Nutrition Services team has worked to strengthen relationships with providers, nurses and other clinicians. Olympic Medical staff now have a higher level of education about the value of nutrition as a service in health care,” Burkhardt said.
Spink processes provider referrals for nutrition education, works closely with the several departments and the authorization team, and has improved scheduling and billing processes for the nutrition services department.
Lessor recently developed a program to offer nutrition education and counseling to diabetic patients in OMP’s primary care clinic at Eighth and Vine streets.
Highlighting nutrition at OMC in a positive way, Schuerman has helped update menu offerings in Seasons Café to include vegan and vegetarian options. She also developed a series of “Veggie Auditions” to introduce staff to a variety of vegetable dishes by providing samples and recipe cards.
A recent addition to the team, Talbert brings valuable experience in nutrition and diabetes prevention and management, and has helped reduce wait times for patients needing nutrition education.
Pacheco has worked closely with the nutrition services staff and the employee wellness committee to help promote health and wellness both within OMC and in our community.
In addition to diabetes education, the nutrition services staff offers nutrition education and diabetes support groups. Group diabetes education classes are currently offered monthly and a diabetes prevention program will be offered in the spring. For more information, call 360-417-7125.
