Heroes in Health Care nominees announced
Community Medical Centers’ programs, clinicians and staff are being honored by Business Street, a monthly business news publication covering the central San Joaquin Valley.
Business Street announced nominees in seven categories for its second annual “Heroes In HealthCare Awards,” recognizing organizations and medical professionals for their contributions to the Valley. All the nominees will be feted and winners will be revealed at an April 26 gala.
Community’s hero nominees include: a trauma team that stepped up to take on critical pediatric patients; the man leading the transition of University Medical Center’s services to the downtown Community Regional Medical Center; a twice-nominated maternal/child care nurse; the award-winning weekly TV show that delivers cutting-edge health news; and a radiologist who devoted her life to finding breast cancer and treating it.
Business Street nominees for Heroes in Health Care Awards include:
- Innovation – UMC trauma team, Karen Esajian (Update on Health) and Jim Lanas (HealthCare Resource Center)
- Organization – MedWatch, Cancer Care Associates and Adventist Health
- Health Care Professional – Bruce Kinder (Community), Bryan Garcia (Walgreens Pharmacy) and Nancy Hinds (Hinds Hospice)
- Physician – Dr. Judy Champaign (Community Medical Imaging), Dr. Rene Charles (Adventist Health) and Dr. Jack Tookoian (Physicians Imaging)
- Nurse – Mary Burke (Community), Nikky Singh (Madera Community Center) and Debbie Peck (Family First Healthcare)
- Volunteer – Haig Nishkian (Children’s Hospital Central California), Maria Husak (Kings Regional Health Foundation) and Teresa Santoya (Saint Agnes Medical Center)
- Emergency Response – Robyn Husler (Clovis Police Department), Shannon White (Madera County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue) and Scott Sanders (Selma Fire Department)
UMC’s trauma team was nominated for its innovation and caring after stepping swiftly into the void created when Children’s Hospital of Central California’s Level II trauma certification was suspended. Within hours of the announcement, UMC’s trauma and emergency room clinicians organized a leading-edge pediatric team and began receiving the Valley’s smallest patients needing the most critical care.
MedWatch television program was similarly born out of Community’s innovation when faced in 2003 with drastic cuts to the advertising and outreach budget. To continue to promote health and wellness in the Valley, a weekly TV program was created. MedWatch reaches millions of potential viewers in a 15,000 square-mile viewing area and delivers news on life-saving procedures, innovative technology and safety education.
Bruce Kinder’s work over the last three decades – rising from a burn center nurse to a chief officer of Community – has been one of serving the most injured, the most needy, with the highest integrity. Most recently, Kinder, registered nurse and vice president of academic affairs, has been charged with directing the transition of Level 1 trauma, burn and acute inpatient services from UMC to Community Regional. Kinder’s staff said he’s one of those rare people that “If he walked off a cliff, we’d follow him, no question.”
Nurse Mary Burke also leads by example, helping hundreds of women bring life into the world in the most natural and peaceful way possible. Her colleagues say when there is a complex question about labor or delivery, everyone turns to Burke. But she has left her most indelible mark by finding a tangible way for parents to remember the babies they lose through “memory boxes” that contain the stamp of a tiny foot print, a lock of hair, baby clothes and a condolence card signed by hospital staff.
Dr. Judy Champaign has devoted her life to caring for women. She came to Fresno after serving as an adviser at the world-renowned Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, where she trained residents on breast cancer diagnostics. The staff at the Marjorie E. Radin Breast Care Center credit her passion, dedication and patient advocacy for making the center the first in the Valley to offer a holistic and comprehensive approach from screening mammography to cancer care.
Nominees were chosen based on 250-word essays submitted by others describing their professional accomplishments and caring. Winners will be selected by last year’s Heroes in Health Care winners and Business Street editorial board members.
This story was reported by Erin Kennedy. She can be reached at ekennedy@communitymedical.org.