About UI Health

ICARE Award

The ICARE Award is for employees and physicians who demonstrate the core values of UI Health, display a job performance that goes above and beyond expected performance, exhibit a patient-first mentality, are motivated and strive for excellence, contribute to the positive culture in the department and organization, and have made a difference in the life of a patient, visitor, or peer. Click here to submit a CARE Award nomination.

June 2024

Nexhip Cuca

Submitted by: Hannah Colias and Cara Karaomocski  
A few weeks ago, we had a patient admitted to 7SE who had an extremely complex discharge situation; one of his major deficits/barriers has been finding an appropriate modification to an adaptive device, given his niche limitations. This patient did not have R grip strength and a lot of shoulder pain/UE weakness, making him inappropriate for an RW and unsafe using a cane. Given his other issues with his RUE, a modified platform/splint adaptation to the RW was inappropriate for him. We contacted Nex to see if he had any ideas about using his 3D printer, and he immediately had a solution for us. The printing took ~9hr, and the team wanted to send him home yesterday/today; Nex went above and beyond and got here early today to drill the attachment into the walker and have it ready for us first thing so as not to delay discharge. He collaborated/communicated with us throughout the course of 2-3 days to make sure it was fit for the patient and adapted to his needs – we could NOT be more grateful or impressed by his insight and efforts with this situation. The patient was so excited and appreciative, as were we. He gave us so many ideas on how we can use this resource for future patient needs and we learned so much about what we can do to enhance our future patients’ safety. This is just one example of how "above and beyond" Nex goes for not only his outpatient caseload but for the inpatient side as well.

April 2024

Evelyn Dejesus

Submitted by: Sunita Prabhakar  
Evelyn Dejesus is a customer service specialist in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic. Ms. Dejesus has stepped up during her colleague’s extended absence in the clinic for the last 8 months and ensured that the clinic is staffed to take care of the patients. Evelyn has been flexible with her schedule and has mutually agreed with another fellow colleague to make sure there is front-line customer service for the patients. Evelyn is committed to taking care of patients with care, compassion, and respect. Evelyn is dependable and has been a long-standing employee in the department for 25+ years and does her work with passion. Evelyn upholds the core ICARE values of the organization.

Luz Martinez

Submitted by: Sunita Prabhakar  
Luz Martinez is a customer service specialist in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinic. Ms. Martinez has stepped up during her colleague's extended absence from the clinic for the last 8 months and ensured that the clinic is staffed to take care of the patients. Luz has been flexible with her schedule and has mutually agreed with another fellow colleague to make sure there is front-line customer service for the patients. Luz is committed to taking care of patients with care, compassion, and respect. Luz is dependable and has been a long-standing employee in the department for 25+ years and does her work with passion. Luz Martinez upholds the core ICARE values of the organization.

Katya Borja

Submitted by: Judy Cruz  
I would like to nominate Katya for the Employee Recognition Award in acknowledgment of her outstanding dedication and selflessness during a particularly challenging shift. Our team faced an exceptionally chaotic and short-staffed situation. Despite the overwhelming workload, Katya demonstrated remarkable initiative and compassion by going above and beyond her regular duties to ensure the well-being of our pediatric patients. In the chaos, Katya volunteered to cover for the sitter for a psychiatric case, a task many would hesitate to take on due to its complexity and demands. Without hesitation, she stepped up to the plate, providing attentive care and support to the patient in need. Furthermore, when confronted with an escalating and emergent situation involving this psychiatric patient, Katya's quick thinking and decisive actions were instrumental. She administered IM Ativan with professionalism and compassion, effectively managing the situation and ensuring the safety of the patient and those around them. Despite the demands of her own patient load, Katya also found the time to assist another nurse with hanging TPN for their patient. This task is not only time-consuming but also requires meticulous attention to detail and adherence to sterile procedures. Katya's willingness to lend a hand in this regard speaks volumes about her commitment to the well-being of our patients and the strength of our teamwork. The team is incredibly grateful for Katya's unwavering dedication and support during this challenging shift. Her willingness to go above and beyond to ensure that her colleagues and our patients were cared for is truly commendable. Recognizing her exceptional contributions and selfless spirit, I wholeheartedly recommend Katya for the Employee Recognition Award. Her actions embody the values of compassion, teamwork, and excellence that we strive to uphold within our organization. Thank you for considering Katya for this well-deserved recognition.

Sarah O’Keefe

Submitted by: Stephanie Vodopic  
Sarah O'Keefe is an exemplary Physical Therapist, a wonderful and supportive colleague, and an inspirational mentor to students and new staff. Sarah provides the highest-level care to her patients, frequently going above and beyond to meet patient needs in complex situations. Sarah works tirelessly to coordinate care in the cases of patients with limited resources including those unhoused, uninsured, or with limited or no social support. She is proactive in communicating patient needs to the interdisciplinary team, quick to change or modify a plan of care to optimize patient outcomes, and creative in her problem-solving and patient interventions. Recently when faced with a situation in which a patient was forced to discharge home at a decreased functional level due to lack of access to Acute Rehab or Subacute Rehab, Sarah took the initiative to fully investigate the patient's social support and home environment (as the patient was not able to communicate this), locate and call the patient's sister and arrange for her to come to hospital to receive training and education from the therapy staff to facilitate a safe discharge. Sarah approaches her patients with compassion and respect. She demonstrates a sense of responsibility and ownership over their functional outcomes, goes above and beyond her job to help coordinate the next level of care, and works endlessly and efficiently to ensure safe and timely discharges. Sarah is a great example of what it means to serve our patients and the community with Inclusion, Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence.

Kentrayle Adams

Submitted by: Mary Cozzens  
I would like to recognize Kentrayle, the Program Specialist on 8E. His title as a Program Specialist does not accurately convey the scope of the many wonderful things that Kentrayle does each and every day on our unit. In addition to planning and providing programming for our patients, including leading a variety of groups, he is the calming presence who shows up to provide emotional support to patients who are experiencing extreme distress. I have personally witnessed Kentrayle show up to provide active listening, affirmation, genuine warmth and kindness to all our patients on 8E, but especially to those who are frightened, agitated, and at risk of becoming aggressive. His calm demeanor and intuitive skills are his superpower.

In addition, Kentrayle has been instrumental in planning and creating a very innovative incentive program for our unit, which will be rolled out soon. Because some of our patients are not stable enough to attend many of the usual therapeutic groups on our unit, Kentrayle has created this innovative treatment to engage patients in positive self-care and social activities, that will help their recovery, likely reduce instances of aggressive behavior, and instill some skills that will continue to benefit them once they are back in the community.

Kentrayle is a valued and crucial member of the treatment team on 8E and deserves this recognition!

Erin Tank

Submitted by: Michelle Kanter  
Erin has been with UIH for close to 20 years and has established herself as an extremely valuable asset to the Department of Cytology and UIH. Not only does Erin exemplify all the core values of UI Health, but she consistently goes above and beyond what is expected of her.

Erin Tank is a role-model for excellence and encourages others to do the same through leading by example. She is open-minded and welcome to challenges and opportunities for growth. Erin performs all her duties to the highest standards. Erin collaborates with others across departments to provide excellent patient care and service delivery. Erin maintains high standards of integrity and strict confidentiality with patient information and rights, as well as with any contact with hospital staff. Erin treats everyone with courtesy, respect and dignity. It is apparent that Erin takes pride in her work and takes her job seriously. Erin presents a positive image of the Hospital at all times and always utilizes excellent communication skills when interacting with co-workers and other hospital staff. Although Erin has no contact with patients, quality patient care is the expectation and Erin fulfills these expectations. When there are discrepancies in any type of specimen information or clinical history, Erin brings these discrepancies to her supervisor so that they can be resolved in a timely manner. In this way, quality patient care is assured. On most occasions, however, Erin has personally resolved these types of discrepancies by effectively communicating with the physicians and hospital personnel directly. Erin has consistently increased her knowledge of all aspects of the laboratory and, in so doing, has, not only, triaged or resolved many customer inquiries, but has provided appropriate back-up coverage in the laboratory when needed.

Erin obtains feedback from co-workers on difficult cases and is open to and encourages constructive criticism. She is open to learn more about quality control and quality assurance and is eager to accept more responsibilities in this area. Because of this, Erin currently performs QC screening as part of QA standards and continues to monitor all of the CAP- mandated educational programs (GYN, NG, and FNA). She maintains the files for these programs and communicates with the Quality Assurance Manager to make sure all of the appropriate documents are complete. Erin also performs QC on the resulting of HPV reports. Erin has maintained several of the CAP mandated statistics and logs for cytology including all HPV counts and statistics, 5-year HSIL reviews, and Intra/Extra Departmental Consultations. In addition, Erin has been a Safety Officer for Cytology for the past 10 years and continues to make sure the department is in compliance with all safety rules and regulations, keeps all required documentation, and promotes ergonomic safety for all staff. As Erin's supervisor, I am confident and assured that when Erin is at work, excellence in patient care is her prime motivation and it shows not only in her work but in her demeanor and character as well. It is truly a pleasure to work with Erin on a daily basis and feel very strongly the Erin contributes to the overall positivity and excellence of the Cytology Department at UIH.

Laruen Fergus

Submitted by: Erin Tobin  
Below is a letter the Dept of Health Social Work received directly from the writer about Lauren Fergus, LCSW on the Adult Inpatient Psychiatric Unit. This letter clearly demonstrates the excellent care Lauren provides for her patients every day and also the positive impact this has on our image in the community. He refers to excellence in communication, a value we are reminded of often here at UI Health. Lauren's standard of care is outstanding.

Dear Director,

I am writing to acknowledge the exemplary work of Lauren Fergus, LCSW. Ms. Fergus cared for my patient during his late November admission to UIC hospital. Her availability and professionalism in communication stands above any clinical dialogues I've had since finishing my internal medicine residence at UIC in 1991. Ms. Fergus still understands the least expensive and most undervalued, but paradoxically most precious of 'technologies', viz: human communication. Largely due to her vigilance and oversight, this patient is doing very well and improving in the therapeutic community, admission to which Ms. Fergus was instrumental in coordinating.

Sincerely, Kevin Carney, MD

Mary Cozzens

Submitted by: Erin Tobin  
Mary is a Social Worker on the adult inpatient psychiatric unit and she works with individuals who do not have stable housing or warm clothes. A few weeks ago, to prepare for cold Chicago weather, she went to her local thrift store and bought 12 winter coats and 6 sweatshirts with her own money, to share with the adults she works with on 8E. She went above and beyond, driven by the strong sense of kindness, compassion and respect she has for the patients she serves every day. But Mary does this sort of thing regularly (you will see this is not her first recognition!). At least twice a year she organizes some kind of drive to help her patients: she has organized department-wide coat drives and book drives, and a collection for self-care products! And she works tirelessly to keep everything she collects and donates organized, so they reach as many patients as possible. Mary does not seek recognition or praise for her generosity, she is incredibly humble and simply sees her actions as part of her responsibility to her community. I am so grateful to work with Mary, she regularly inspires all her colleagues to go the extra mile to show those less fortunate human kindness and compassion.