At Aultman, we are proud to have more than 6,500 team members who work hard every day to lead our community to improved health. During our annual recognition dinner on May 16, we honored two Aultman employees from the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), Julie White and Jason Simpson, as the Aultman Employees of the Year.

The Employee of the Year award is designed to recognize employees who consistently go above and beyond their job expectations, while demonstrating the mission and vision of Aultman Health Foundation. White and Simpson are well-deserving recipients of the honor, specifically for the compassionate, holistic care they provided to an elderly patient and her husband.

Their remarkable story began one evening as White was caring for a patient and realized that her elderly husband also needed some assistance with his hygiene. With his approval, White bathed the husband and also provided him with clean pajamas. When dinner arrived, she provided a guest tray for the husband, and set them up at a table facing each other, joking that they were “on a date.”

This is where Simpson steps in, showing his true empathy for his patients and their families. He had set the wife and husband up for breakfast the next morning, and even took the time to make sure the husband took his medicine. Seeing that the couple was settled in for breakfast, Simpson left the room to care for another patient.

When Simpson returned to the room, the husband was nowhere to be found. He searched the surrounding area noticing that the bathroom door was closed and the lights were off. However, he knocked and opened the door to find the husband slumped over the toilet and unresponsive. Simpson immediately flew into action, called for help and started CPR. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful and the story doesn’t have a happy ending. It does, however, show how two SICU nurses went above and beyond to demonstrate what the Aultman customer service credo is all about: respecting individuals and their families, developing relationships of trust, integrity and compassion, and fulfilling the physical and emotional needs of patients.

White provided a quiet and enjoyable evening for this couple on their “last date,” and Simpson went above and beyond to provide quality care for a patient’s family member.

“We are so proud to have both Julie and Jason as Aultman team members,” said Sue Olivera, senior vice president of human resources. “Their heartfelt and compassionate actions that day truly exceeded expectations - and demonstrated their willingness to go above and beyond.”

This year’s event was attended by more than 800 employees, celebrating milestones ranging from five years to 50 years of service at the organization.

Two Aultman employees celebrated their golden anniversaries with Aultman. Both Eileen Good, of Dalton, and Beverly Frase, of Massillon, were honored for 50 years of service. The ladies shared their memories from over the years in a special video presentation during the event.

In addition, a total of 18 “Keys to Success,” “Rising Star” and “Points of Caring” award recipients were honored during the recognition dinner. Keys to Success awards are designed to recognize those individuals whose deeds or actions stand out to their peers as best representing Aultman to patients, employees, the medical staff, the board of directors and the community.

The following Aultman employees (listed with their department and hometown) received Keys to Success awards during the recognition dinner:

• Olivia Daya, SICU, of North Canton
• Melissa Yost, MICU, of Carrollton 
• Sandra Swigert, Intensivist Program, of Louisville
• Joshua Diehl, Aultman Orrville Hospital Imaging, of Wooster
• Tiffanie Petrovich, SICU, of Peninsula
• Eric Paliswat, CCU, of Canton
• Todd Pritt, Safety, of Canton
• Dr. Jeffrey Pellegrino, Aultman College, of Hudson

An additional six Aultman employees received Rising Star awards. The Rising Star award recognizes employees with less than ten years of service who show potential for advancement, enthusiasm in promoting Aultman and ways to improve services offered. The award recipients are:

• Jenna Burin, CCU, of Stow
• Ronald Davis, Aultman College, of Aurora
• Cameron Casimir, Cardiac Rehab, of Dover
• Janna Gowen, AultCare Project Management, of Alliance
• Michelle Newman, IHC Care Coordination, of Massillon
• Chelcie Travis, MICU, of Canton

A total of four Points of Caring awards were handed out during the dinner, as well. The honorees exemplify the five characteristics of outstanding caregiving: Compassion, Customer Service, Clinical Participation, Commitment and Community Involvement. These honorees consistently go above and beyond to demonstrate clinical excellence, and to exceed the expectations of the customers that they serve both internally and externally. The award categories and winners are:

• Individual Nurse: Carol Williams, 4 South, of Massillon
• Allied Health Professional: Linda Tesch, Aultman Specialty Hospital, of Alliance
• Manager: Amy Chambers, Magnet Office, of Canton
• Group: Lymphedema Team - Anna Frum of Bolivar, Kim Rook of Canton and Jeanie Lee, of Massillon.