A special month

Last month was special for our organization. It was filled with honors and recognitions, celebrations and festivities. I’d like to extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone who supported all the activities and took time to honor those who we spotlighted for excellence in quality care, length of service, dedication to their profession, outstanding leadership and commitment to the healthcare field. What better way to highlight our healthcare professionals than during a month that recognizes Hospital Week and Nurses Week. Special thanks to Food Services for the great employee picnics!

I’d like to extend special congratulations to Jessica Casey, RN, for her outstanding contributions to caring for our patients and their families. She was recognized as the 2009 Employee of the Year for her exceptional care and compassion. Likewise, several of our nurses were selected as semi-finalists by our Nurse of Distinction Committee to represent Orange Regional at 1199 SEIU’s New York State Nurse of Distinction Ceremony held in New York City. I was proud to accompany such outstanding caregivers to this prestigious event. All who were nominated deserved the honor for their top-notch skills and dedication to their profession, patients, peers and our medical center.

Selected by their peers and approved by the Board of Directors, Dr. Lewis Broslovsky was chosen as Orange Regional’s 2010 Physician Lifetime Achievement Award recipient while Dr. William Gotsis was chosen as Orange Regional’s 2010 Physician Leadership Award honoree. Their tireless service, guidance and expert delivery of healthcare services to our community should serve as an inspiration to all of us. My thanks to Dr. Broslovsky and Dr. Gotsis for the daily example they set and for reinforcing the values and mission of our hospital. They will be celebrated on June 13 at the Physician Recognition Event.

Congratulations are also extended to Ginny Rizzo, Immediate Past Chair of our Board of Directors and this year’s recipient of the Tribute to Women of Achievement of Orange County Honoree for Business. Guided by Ginny’s leadership and support, our organization advanced healthcare in our community with the expansion of services and the commencement of our new hospital construction.

I also applaud the 147 employees who were honored at the Employee Service Awards Dinner which celebrated their years of service to our organization. Special acknowledgement goes out to Robert Simmons of the Central Services department whose tenure covers 45 years.

These acknowledgements highlight some of our proudest moments because it means that members of our hospital family are committed to delivering excellent healthcare to our community. Dedicated to and passionate about the delivery of quality care to our patients means that Orange Regional moves closer to being the “provider of choice” for our community, the “employer of choice” for our staff and the “workplace of choice” for our doctors.