For Immediate Release:
February 1, 2013

Southcoast Hospitals announces 2012 President's Award winners

Download hi-res images of President's Award winners (ZIP file)

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Southcoast™ Hospitals Group announces recipients of the 2012 Southcoast President's Award for Excellence. Nominated by their co-workers, the President's Award recognizes 12 individuals and one team for outstanding performance, integrity and overall quality of services provided.

This year's recipients were announced at the combined annual meetings of Southcoast Health System and Southcoast Hospitals Group by Keith A. Hovan, President & CEO of Southcoast Health System and Southcoast Hospitals Group. The event was held December 11, 2012, at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

"I am honored to continue Southcoast's long tradition of recognizing the dedicated individuals who exemplify the outstanding cultural elements of Southcoast Health System," said Hovan. "Southcoast is built upon the dedicated service and commitment of more than 7,000 employees. By receiving this award, these recipients are recognized for standing out among the best."

All Southcoast employees, including members of leadership and physicians who are employees of Southcoast, are eligible. There is no limit on the number of times an employee can be nominated. Winners are selected on how well they meet the selection criteria that is based on excellent performance and demonstration of our cultural elements and service priorities.

2012 Southcoast President's Award for Excellence winners:
Listed by home town and in alphabetical order.

Acushnet
Grace Hebert
Senior Technologist
Southcoast Center for Women's Health

Dartmouth (2)
Tiajuana Carey
Director of Business Operations & Information
Southcoast Visiting Nurse Association

Linda Ladino
Registered Nurse
Southcoast Radiology Services

Fairhaven
Nichole Barriteau
Staff Nurse
Southcoast Physicians Group

Fall River
Ana Sousa
Food Service Worker
Southcoast Food & Nutrition

Middleboro
Kevin Solomon
IS Coordinator
Southcoast Physicians Group

New Bedford (2)
Susan Jesus
Administrative Secretary
Southcoast Wound Care Center

Alda Vieira
Rehab Aide
Southcoast Rehabilitation Services & Southcoast Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab

Rochester
Lisa Holden
Resource Nurse
Charlton Memorial Hospital

Somerset
Susan Domingue
Clinical Social Worker
Southcoast Centers for Cancer Care

Westport
Christian DaSilva
Computer Technician
Southcoast Health System

Bristol, R.I.
Stacey Medeiros
Lead Dietician
Southcoast Food & Nutrition

The President's Award winning Team Awards were presented to the Master Patient Index Integrity Team.

The Master Patient Index Integrity Team was created to ensure that patients are properly identified in the electronic medical record. The team's goal is patient safety and the minimization of risk by identifying duplicate patient records within the Meditech Master Patient Index. The team worked to develop a unit identifier when the patient presents for care. This allows the correct medical information for the patient to be retrieved during the course of care and eliminates the duplication of orders and tests. The team has been able to reduce the duplicate patient Medical Records from 1.24 percent to 0.69 percent, which is well below the industry standard of two percent and is a benchmark that is in the top quartile of all multi-hospital systems. The team has corrected 83,151 duplicate records, which has produced significant financial savings.

The Master Patient Index Integrity Team is comprised of:

• Bettyann Carroll of Lincoln, R.I.
• Deborah Carvalho of Rochester.
• Mary Crowley of New Bedford.
• Kathleen Estrella of Swansea.
• Millicent Fortes of Fall River.
• Michael Girard of West Warwick, R.I.
• Jennifer Heys of Dartmouth.
• Paul Labonte of Bristol, R.I.
• Ronald LaFleur of Marion.
• Mary Ann Rogers of New Bedford.
• Cheryl Sowden of Swansea.
• Beth Sylvia of New Bedford.
• Joanna Wheeler of Marion.