News

Cass Regional Medical Center recently celebrated National Nurses Week, May 6-12, and National Hospital Week, May 9-15. Various employees were recognized for their years of service and other annual awards were also presented during the celebrations.

The Employee Relations Team selected and presented the annual award for Employee of the Year. This year’s recipient was Sara Lee, RN, from the Nursing Administration department.

The 2021 Dave Paxton Customer Service Award was also presented to Lee. Annually, Cass Regional employees have the opportunity to nominate and then vote for who they believe best demonstrates outstanding customer services principles and skills.

The Leadership Team selected the Manager of the Year. This year’s recipient was Lester Vohs, Information Services manager. This award is chosen according to set criteria and scoring guidelines based on the organization’s Pillars of Success.

The Great Catch Award was presented to Tricia Leiker, RN, from the GI/Pain Clinic. The Great Catch Award encourages staff to recognize and report events, issues, and/or processes that affect workflow and/or have the potential to cause a safety event for staff or patients.

Jeffrey VanBiber, MD, Emergency Department physician, was honored with the eleventh annual Physician Excellence Award. Dr. VanBiber was selected by the nursing staff to receive the award along with $500 to give to a charity of his choice. The award was presented by Chief Nursing Officer Twila Buckner, RN, BSN, MBA, NE-BC.

Patty Nigro, CRNA, from the anesthesia department, was selected by the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff as the recipient of the eleventh annual Excellence in Nursing Award, which was presented by Chief of Staff Walter Costner, MD, FACS. Nigro also received $500 to further her education.

Alta Kukovich, EMT, from the emergency department, was selected by the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff as the recipient of the first annual Excellence in Nursing Support award. She received a plaque and flowers.