Medical Staff Recognition - March 2023
Provider of the Month - January 2023
Congratulations to Shamim Nejad, MD, psychiatric hospitalist and our January 2023 Provider of the Month! Chief Medical Officer, James Park, had this to say at his POM presentation: "We are all here to celebrate with you and congratulate you. Since coming here, you have absolutely transformed the way we take care of our inpatient psychiatry patients. Before you got here, we simply did not have the right external or internal resources to care for such complex patients. It was hard on the staff, the other providers, and on the patients. When you started, you said, 'We're gonna need a bigger boat.' And so we got a bigger boat (more providers), transforming this program to give our patients better treatment and better outcomes, and it's made a huge difference for everyone involved. This is all due to your support and leadership, and you deserve this recognition!"
Provider of the Month - February 2023
Congratulations to Andy Tsai, MD, a provider in our hospitalist program and our February 2023 Provider of the Month! Chief Medical Officer, James Park, had this to say at his presentation: "Andy, we are here to talk to you… about how fantastic you are. As many of you know, we have a recognition program for our staff and this month's award winner is Dr. Andy Tsai! Andy has been here at Valley for about 12 years (started in 2011), and since he's been here, he's been an absolute delight as a hospitalist. He is well known among his team members around the hospital as being so pleasant to work with—in fact, I see his name on the Teacher of the Year award plaque over there—the residents love him, the nurses love him, all the staff love him! Obviously, because he's awesome, but also because I think it takes really special skill to be, as a physician, good in all phases of care. There's medical expertise, the ability to really connect with patients, and the ability to get through your day in an efficient way. There aren't many of us that are what they call five-tool players in baseball, or a triple threat on the stage— but Andy represents all of those. So, Andy— congratulations on being provider of the month! Thank you for being a great hospitalist."
United Heroes 2022 by United Healthcare
Five Valley Providers Named 2022 United Heroes by United Healthcare. Todd Curtis, MD, Elisabeth Golden, ARNP, Dina T Nguyen, MD, Creguta Stepan, MD, and Heather Rudisill, MD, were recognized as United Heroes for their performance in 2022 by insurer UnitedHealthcare. Providers were rated highly for their patients getting needed care, care coordination, and their effective communication with patients. Congratulations to these caregivers—this is a recognition of Valley Medical Center's Clinic Network team, as well as the individual providers!
Speak-Up! Award
Congratulations to Lynne Freeman, MD, a provider at Renton Landing Urgent Care who was chosen as one of finalists for the Washington Patient Safety Coalition Speak-Up Award! Her nomination is below:
Dr. Freeman, an Urgent Care provider, sent a patient to the ED with clearly documented concerns about a serious underlying medical condition and markedly abnormal 40 pound weight loss. The patient received a chest x-ray in ED; the X-ray was abnormal with several nodular densities, and a CT was recommended if malignancy was suspected. Unfortunately, the patient was not informed of an abnormal chest X-ray, and no follow-up was arranged with the patient. However, Dr. Freeman was concerned for their patient, so they did a follow-up on this particular case. Dr. Freeman contacted the patient, informed him of the abnormal chest x-ray, and ordered advanced imaging. This result may not have been identified if Dr. Freeman didn't go above and beyond to care for this patient and ensure care transitions happened effectively.