Island Health hosted its annual Employee Recognition Banquet at the Swinomish Casino last month. This annual event honors staff for their years of service and recognizes exceptional dedication to Island Health through the CARES All-stars award.

The pinnacle of recognition at Island Health, the CARES All-star award, is not easily earned. All employees who were nominated as CARES Champions in the past year were considered. The CARES Champions program is an in-the-moment, peer-to-peer recognition intended to recognize a team member who lives the Island Health CARES values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Excellence and Stewardship.

From a pool of 513 nominations, a selection committee comprising Island Health leaders and Morale, Wellness, and Recognition (MWR) representatives meticulously reviewed each one to select the five most deserving winners.

Island Health is thrilled to announce the 2024 CARES All-stars and their nominations from fellow co-workers!

Compassion: Michelle Adair, Clinic Scheduler
“I think this person is an exceptional employee and coworker for so many reasons. She handles all things ED Registration like a pro. She picks up additional shifts when we need coverage and if she’s ever been flustered, she’s never let it show! She’s a supportive and sweet person to check into the ED with, and she’s so thoughtful and kind that she even purchased a large box of crayons and coloring pages so that when children or families with children check in, they can be occupied while they wait. I hope this person stays with Island Health for several more years to come, and I feel confident saying lots of our colleagues and patients feel the same way!”

Accountability: Anna Codd, Application Analyst
“We really appreciate Anna for going above and beyond all the time. Today she was extremely helpful in getting the ER, ACU and Labor & Delivery charts taken care of when a coworker called out. She helped immensely with the Portal emails when Morgan was off, and she helped us deal with a fax outage. She is really awesome and we just want to make sure to share what a gem she is for this team.” 

Respect: Will Jolly, RRT, RPFT, Respiratory Therapist
“Will is an excellent Respiratory Therapist here at Island Health. I have witnessed him with patients many times. He treats each patient with the upmost respect, always keeping in mind to care for the patient’s physical condition while keeping in mind their emotional status as well. He always treats patients, and his peers, with kindness and respect.”

Excellence: Doris Martinez, Laboratory Assistant
“My 14-year old son had his first blood draw today, and he was a little nervous. Doris asked if this was his first blood draw, and she asked him if he wanted her to explain what she was going to do. He immediately said yes. She gave my son step-by-step details, and she was quick, efficient, upbeat and compassionate during the process. My son commented that the blood draw “felt weird, but Doris was very nice.”  Thank you for turning a nervous experience into a positive one for my son!”

Stewardship: Kristin Rogers, PharmD, BCPS, Pharmacist
“Earlier this year, Kristin was involved with a Kaizen event surrounding pharmacy purchasing and streamlining the program. As part of this, Kristin evaluated the usage of each medication in the pharmacy and noticed two medications commonly used in surgery were not being billed to the patients. Kristin notified the appropriate resource and we are now billing for them. In addition, we are looking back to see if we can capture the lost charges.”

“This recognition program is driven by the staff. They have the opportunity to call out their peers for living our CARES values. It is extremely rewarding to read the nominations each week and have the amazing work of our team members recognized,” said Island Health CEO Elise Cutter.

Island Health is proud to honor the 2024 CARES All-stars with a formal recognition and monetary award.