The COVID-19 Exceptional and Exemplary Duties (COVETED) Awards recognize individuals within the department who have demonstrated exceptional service and performance during the pandemic.
This has been a difficult and challenging time for many people, and we want to celebrate and reward those who have gone above and beyond their normal duties.
Eligibility
All members of the Department of Anesthesiology were eligible for nomination based on what members considered to be exceptional and exemplary contributions. Staff members, clinicians, scientists, educators, or trainees who made outstanding contributions during the (ongoing) COVID-19 pandemic were all eligible for nominations.
Awardees
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Maureen Arends | Maureen took over the role of Executive Assistant at the height of the pandemic. When most non-clinicians were appropriately sheltering at home, Maureen was coming into the office in order to provide essential on the ground support to the many crucial activities that were being performed by the department. Maureen easily does the work of three people, without ever uttering any complaints. The executive leadership of the department depends heavily on Maureen’s support. We are very lucky to have a person of her capability and temperament in a critically important leadership role. |
| Melissa Bowman | Melissa is a very astute manager who represents excellent leadership qualities through positive motivation and exceptional communication skills. She is always available morning or night to answer questions. She promotes and appreciates a proactive/progressive work culture. She keeps subordinates advised through weekly zoom meetings and keeps our spirits high with her upbeat personality, which has been especially important in the last year. I am so proud to serve on such a harmonious team, which is largely due to her outstanding leadership. I cannot say how thankful I am to have her as my manager. —— Melissa, leading her team of credentialing and scheduling staff, was under an intense amount of scrutiny and pressure during the COVID pandemic. This was especially true for the first few months while our department needed to open new ICU locations or increase staffing in existing ICU locations, sometimes with less than 24 hours’ notice. Each time a new ICU location opened, it necessitated the generation of a new schedule, adding staffing to the ICU’s and removing them from the OR’s. Melissa (and Jean) were often producing new schedules on a daily, or in many cases, nightly basis. In addition, Melissa and her team needed to get emergency privileges for a large portion of our clinical staff so our existing ICU clinicians could be used in all of our ICU locations and so OR clinicians could also work in locations they had never worked in before, in order for all of our Anesthetizing locations could be covered. Melissa (and her team) worked an unprecedented amount of overtime for several months under extreme pressure, so our department could function as seamlessly as possible during the early stages of the pandemic. She and her team got a small break over the summer when things reverted back to relative normalcy, but were back under pressure as our COVID ICU patient volume increased in late fall and the ICU’s again necessitated additional coverage, requiring multiple schedule changes across the department. Melissa did an exemplary job leading, representing, and supporting her team during a highly stressful time for them during the pandemic. —— I can think of few people in the department who have seen such an increase in workload and have handled it with such grace. Melissa was key to the scheduling/staffing of our clinical operations across the ICUs and ORs, which was an ever-moving target. She also rolled up her sleeves and pushed a number of credentialing files through multiple BJC facilities to quickly obtain privileges for our faculty and staff. Melissa has worked around the clock, weekdays and weekends, many times with little sleep. I have never heard her utter a complaint. So much of what she does is “behind the scenes,” but yet so critical to our day-to-day operations. It’s often a thankless job and one that puts her on the receiving end of many complaints from our staff, but she maintains a level of professionalism and fairness that is unmatched. She is extremely deserving of a COVETED award. —— Melissa demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to the Department of Anesthesiology. Melissa takes it upon herself to provide exceptional support and service to new staff coming aboard. She discerns quickly their individual needs and moves efficiently to provide key information, recommendations, or direction. If she did not exist, we would try to invent her. She’s bright, articulate, and hard-working. Her enthusiasm for her job comes through in all she does. She motivates her employees to do their best. She’s a positive person and that makes her a pleasure to work with. Melissa is consistently pleasant and takes on obstacles with enthusiasm and dedication. Regardless of deadline or other pressure, Melissa always delivers. Her superior organizational skill makes her the consummate multi-tasker. As the pandemic transformed our workload and work environment, Melissa kept our team together and helped each of us every time we asked. Early on, there were schedule changes and disaster privileges that demanded urgent attention. We all worked some long hours with Melissa often working the longest. There were many demands on her time but she stayed connected with each of us. —— In all honesty, Melissa’s vision for our team prepared us to be flexible and innovative. Even before the pandemic hit, she had already implemented a strong paperless process which allowed us to continue to access our work remotely and she made sure we had the tools and technical knowledge needed to support that workflow. We were able to adjust fairly quickly to our new normal because of Melissa’s leadership pre-pandemic. Melissa has always made herself available to us for professional as well as personal support and during the pandemic, she offered her friendship even more generously. We still had birthday surprises and zoom chats to lift our spirits. We had funny team videos for the holidays. And when she saw us struggle, her first words are always, “What can I do to help?” Even the pandemic couldn’t slow down the department’s growth so we had some big projects that we had to work through. Melissa’s exceptional organizational skills helped us assign tasks and meet extremely tight deadlines. It’s a pleasure to work on Melissa’s team all the time, but we couldn’t have made it through this past year without her! —— I cannot even begin to define the amount of leadership that Melissa exhibited during the pandemic. The amount of scheduling changes, point allocations, credentialing packets completed, etc. was truly astonishing. She led her team with true servant leadership, grace, professionalism, calmness, and humor. I actually get a little emotional thinking back on everything she did for our department. She made our clinical operations effective, organized, and on point. She receives my highest recommendation for this award. —— Melissa exceeds at everything that she does and her success in managing the credentialing and scheduling team has been no exception. She is incredibly organized, logical, thoughtful, proactive, and responsive which has proven time and again to be extremely valuable qualities not only for her team but also for the department as a whole. Those that work with her know that she stores an incredible wealth of knowledge and throughout the entire pandemic she has been patient, calm, resourceful, and humble toward those asking for her assistance. Additionally, she made it a point to always be available, no matter what time of day (we have had Zoom meetings with division chiefs at midnight)! She has also been in constant communication with her team which has provided stability and comfort during this time of uncertainty. No matter how busy she may be, she always takes the time to ask what can I do to help to ensure that her team members are not feeling overwhelmed. She has been a rock for her team and has always provided the necessary tools, emotionally and physically, for us to be successful in what we do. —— Melissa has been invaluable during this last year. Her constant ability to make things happen is amazing. From credentialing to staffing she has been able to make miracles happen that have allowed our group to provide the best care we can. |
| Janice Goffstein-Davis | The daily scheduling team adapted and overcame many obstacles during the pandemic. The daily staffing demands in the OR and remote areas experienced extreme variability. Throughout this time period, the availability of clinicians varied widely as well. Without hesitation, the team worked diligently to meet the needs of the department and the hospital. This included working many early mornings, late nights, and throughout the weekend. Jan’s dedication to the Department of Anesthesiology was on display throughout the pandemic. She happily stepped up to help cover duties outside of her normal role. She leveraged her experience and deep relationships with many in the department to meet the needs of the OR schedule on a daily basis. There were many times that it seemed like this task would be impossible, but Jan remained determined and consistently found ways to make it happen. —— I am sure that Jan Davis has worked hard her entire career, but over the course of the last year, she has taken doing her job to a new level. During this pandemic the daily scheduling group has faced quite a bit of adversity Jan willingly stepped up to fill in as needed, she worked long hours, took on new tasks, and did it all without a complaint. She treats us like family and we are so very lucky to have her. I think her exceptional work deserves recognition. |
| Sandra Hawes | The daily scheduling team adapted and overcame many obstacles during the pandemic. The daily staffing demands in the OR and remote areas experienced extreme variability. Throughout this time period, the availability of clinicians varied widely as well. Without hesitation, the team worked diligently to meet the needs of the department and the hospital. This included working many early mornings, late nights, and throughout the weekend. Sandy has long been a vital member of the daily scheduling team. Due to personal reasons, Sandy needed to take an extended time away from work. Despite this, she eagerly got involved in any way she could to help the team. Numerous times throughout the pandemic, Sandy went above and beyond to ensure the daily schedule was completed. Sandy’s actions during the pandemic are some of the many ways she has shown her dedication to the Department of Anesthesiology. |
| Kathleen Hilmer-Kendall | Kathleen was indispensable during COVID surges. She worked with Melissa and Jean to makes sure all our sites were covered with APPs and intensivists. She navigated last-minute credentialing for our faculty/APPs at our community sites to broaden our ability to cover. She essentially was putting out administrative fires left and right. At the same time, she made sure our division was continuing to run our usual business smoothly. —— Kathleen worked tirelessly coordinating meetings and keeping everyone aware of what was going on across the different ICUs that we cover. She went above and beyond working nights and weekends to make sure there was always a provider in every ICU which ensured that a provider was present to deliver the care the patients needed. Without her, our group may have had the medical expertise to treat the patients but there would not have been a way to deliver that expertise to the bedside, or at a minimum, there would have been significant gaps and considerably more dissatisfaction in the group. —— Kathleen is an amazing individual who is able to keep the division of critical care performing at its best. There is not an area that Kathleen is not deeply involved with making sure not only the department is doing well but also our staff and providers. Kathleen is always available for support, more than likely can solve the problem, and if not won’t stop until she finds the person who can. |
| Jen Mahan | Over the past year, Jen has been intimately involved in maintaining the OR staffing for our department. She is in the day to day trenches ensuring our ORs were covered by the appropriate numbers of attendings and CRNAs to maintain stability, not only for our patients, but for our clinical providers. |
| Lisa Parks | Seamless transition to professional duties working through moving to a home, new boss, support for all things COVID related (infograph specialist), and new profession as a part-time teacher to grandchildren on Zoom. All with professionalism and good cheer. |
| Jean Shim | Jean has been an integral part of the ICU operations response to COVID-19. Many challenges faced the Critical Care Division during the past year of the pandemic, including last-minute needs for faculty coverage due to illness and an ever-changing landscape of ICU staffing needs as additional COVID ICUs were requested by the BJC system hospitals. Jean worked non-stop, including nights, weekends, and holidays, to assist with reacting to the needs that developed for ICU staffing. Along with balancing the requests that were still be asked of scheduling across other Anesthesiology divisions. The dedication to her work was also illustrated in the compassionate and caring manner that Jean approached the personal needs of our faculty as we all navigated the unprecedented times. Jean truly demonstrates what it looks like to provide exceptional and exemplary service. —— Jean worked literally 16hr days, 7 days/week to help Ivan, Anne, and myself during the height of the pandemic adjust our scheduling needs on the fly. Jean always had a positive attitude and exhibited a can-do attitude during this very trying time. To be honest, without Jean, our response and organization would have been less than ideal. I give Jean my highest recommendation for this award. —— Jean is an amazing person who meets every challenge with an incredible attitude. Her ability to handle the schedule for critical care during this time has been crucial for our successful response to the pandemic. She is available at any time and will always work until the problem is resolved. —— Jean has gone above and beyond since day one of the pandemic. She has put in countless hours, dealt with constant change, and consistently offered help to anyone who is in need regardless of what is already on her plate. She has been innovative and creative and managed to keep schedules running in sometimes impossible scenarios. Through all of this, she has maintained her kind and cheerful attitude. She is an incredible asset to our department and should be recognized as such. —— Tireless work on the scheduling and re-scheduling of staff! |
| Kara Weinzettel | The daily scheduling team adapted and overcame many obstacles during the pandemic. The daily staffing demands in the OR and remote areas experienced extreme variability. Throughout this time period, the availability of clinicians varied widely as well. Without hesitation, the team worked diligently to meet the needs of the department and the hospital. This included working many early mornings, late nights, and throughout the weekend. Not long before the pandemic, Kara began helping fill in for a role responsible for completing the daily schedule. This was already difficult enough before the pandemic as she was still accomplishing the necessary tasks of her normal role. Once the pandemic began, she went above and beyond to ensure everything was covered. |
| Patrick Yursik | Patrick has been responsible for developing and leading WUDA’s communications and marketing efforts, geared toward enhancing the department’s visibility and reputation across its clinical, education, and research program missions. He has made a tremendous impact on our department, especially during the pandemic, when communication has been critically important. Patrick has helped to bolster morale and overall has contributed substantially to the ongoing vibrancy and success of our department. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Don Francescon | Responsive, professional support of our anesthesia teams in spite of ongoing changes and supply chain issues. |
| Sherman Tomlin | Tireless reworking of equipment and personnel across all sites. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Tracey Wagner Stevens | While the pandemic was raging and her Division Chief was committed to leading a new clinical service at Missouri Baptist, Tracey was given the onerous task of taking on a major leadership role in CT Anesthesiology. Of all the surgical services, cardiothoracic surgery has been one of the few to continue apace despite the additional burdens imposed by COVID-19. Tracey provided critically important leadership to these efforts while also helping to care for some of the most vulnerable patients with COVID-19 requiring invasive procedures. For a new leader, this was a real Baptism of fire. Tracey responded with a cool head and exemplary dedication. She provided a much-needed boost to our department’s leadership team during the most challenging of times. |
Intensivists
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Amrita Aranake | Amrita was a trauma anesthesiology fellow in March during the first COVID surge. Given the need for additional ICU beds and intensivists to staff those beds, I asked Amrita to take a couple of weeks off her education to function as a critical care attending at Christian Hospital. She enthusiastically agreed and did a great job caring for the patients at Christian. She had never worked at Christian prior to that and did not get much orientation. Still, she performed excellently, and I am very grateful for her willingness to help in our time of need. |
| Rob Bowen | Rob was a cardiac anesthesiology fellow in March during the first COVID surge. With expansion of ICU beds and the need for more critical care physicians to cover these beds, I asked Rob to take a couple of weeks off from his education to work as an attending in the COVID units at BJH. He enthusiastically agreed and did a great job! Due to time constraints, he only received a short hours-long orientation (rather than the several day orientation given to most new attendings) before he was functioning as a full critical care intensivist. Also, Rob was active in helping to transition the PACU space to an ICU and did an excellent job researching our anesthesia machines and coming up with a protocol on how to manage those machines as ICU ventilators. |
| Mike Cuipa | Mike led the charge against COVID at Barnes St. Peters. He participated in the hospital ICC and worked to coordinate coverage models for possible expansion of ICU patients in the PACU and other non-traditional space. |
| Charl de Wet | Charl is a dedicated and hard-working clinician. He showed tremendous courage throughout the pandemic and made substantial contributions to the most vulnerable patients suffering from severe COVID-19. He also showed deep empathy and concern for the trainees (residents and fellows) and APPs working in the ICUs, especially in the 8200 COVID ICU. —— Charl stood up our BJH COVID unit. The logistics/staffing were complicated because the locations and number of beds changed frequently. The 8300 COVID unit moved several times to 8400 and back, before landing in 8200. Charl also really stepped up clinically, working during previously scheduled vacation and working well beyond his usual ICU commitments. |
| Anne Drewry | Exemplary handling of clinical, administrative, and personnel issues. The best example of professionalism. —— Stepped up, above and beyond, to meet unprecedented needs in the ICUs system-wide. —— I can’t imagine how the division of critical care would have navigated through this pandemic without the tireless efforts and leadership of Anne Drewry. She met the extreme staffing challenges at all of our ICUs across BJC head-on and found a way to flex up staffing to provide necessary coverage but yet avoid provider burnout. She was intimately involved in BJC command center discussions and operations on a daily basis and was a constant advocate for critical care and the EICU. She also added expertise to the covid critical care task force. Most importantly, Anne was there as a friend for me personally (and I’m sure all of our faculty) when times were stressful and I needed to talk. Her resourcefulness, leadership, compassion, intellect, and unwavering attitude deserve special recognition. She is most deserving of a COVETED award. —— Anne was our leader in critical care for the entire pandemic. She has been instrumental in our department’s success during this time. Anne has also been extremely attentive to the needs of the division and making sure the providers were as prepared as possible. Her work on scheduling, logistics, and surge planning has been virtually non-stop for an entire year —— Anne has many qualities in general that are deserving of an award. She is a tirelessly hard worker, extremely dedicated to the mission, participates in zero self-promotion, and is typically the smartest person in the room. With respect to the pandemic period…..where does one begin? It is challenging enough to be a new division leader, but to lead the Division of CCM at WashU is a big undertaking. And then to do that during the COVID-19 pandemic adds another layer of unprecedented challenge. Anne seamlessly oversaw staffing and operations, expanding the footprint as needed into new COVID units at the academic shop. The Division expanded coverage across the region’s community hospitals and tele-ICU. While doing so, Anne also protected and facilitated the other missions of the Division and Department, with respect to education and academic productivity. Said differently, operational expansion did not sacrifice the other aspects of the mission. One also recognizes that Anne does not ask others what she would not do herself, and that is a sign of great leadership. I’m sure the committee will pick a deserving winner(s), as there have to be several. Anne should be at the top of that list!! |
| Thomas Graetz | TJ was dealt a particularly tricky hand during the pandemic, but unsurprisingly he came up trumps. Despite all the pressures over the last year, TJ led our department’s efforts to partner with colleagues at MoBap in CT Anesthesiology and to provide critical care services in the cardiovascular ICU. In addition to this mammoth undertaking, he also assisted with the expansion of critical care services at MoBap to ensure that outstanding clinical care was offered not only to patients after major cardiac surgery, but also to those critically ill with COVID-19. Clinicians and leaders of TJ’s caliber are indispensable to WUSM and to BJC. —— TJ worked with MBMC hospital admin, nursing, and MBMC medicine intensivists to open an ICU in the cath lab at MoBap. He also worked many weeks in the COVID units at BJH and MBMC. |
| Omokhaye Higo | Clinically, Higo played a huge role in the critical care response to COVID. He worked tirelessly, mostly in the community COVID units and picked up last minute shifts wherever needed. We would not have been able to staff our COVID units in the community without Higo. |
| Jiggar Hindia | Jiggar led the Belleville Memorial team through the COVID crisis, working with our faculty, APPs, and hospital administration to ensure that COVID patients were cared for excellently. He was the ICU physician for their incident command center and coordinated logistics on his clinical days off. |
| Richard Hotchkiss | Besides his groundbreaking work on Sepsis and studies on COVID-19, Dr. Hotchkiss insisted on continuing in-person clinical work in the ICU despite the elevated risk to himself. He also gave a talk to West China Hospital and donated the proceeds of his 2 talks on COVID-19 to the hospital for a charitable cause, enabling a young boy to get a congenital heart surgery that he would not otherwise have had. Thanks Hotch!!! |
| Paul Kerby | Paul worked tirelessly to ensure adequate resources were available for all of our critical care patients. At times, this was a 24/7 job. I never heard him complain. He approached the situation with a creative, open mind and “can do” attitude. I always felt supported in my role and knew he was available any time of the day or night, even if it was just for moral support or to vent. Paul was open and honest and genuinely cared for the well-being of others. He truly displays exceptional and exemplary service in all he does! —— Paul worked tirelessly during the COVID surges to help coordinate critical care in ICUs across our system. Specifically, he revamped eICU workflows to provide assistance to those working in COVID units and minimize unnecessary provider exposer to COVID. He also worked closely with APP leaders to redeploy the workforce to COVID units in the community and at BJH. He helped to coordinate coverage at BJH with clinical leaders in the surgery, neurology, and medicine departments. He also assisted in forming the PAC-19 team to support critical care teams at BJH and worked on the effort to convert the PACU to an ICU. He participated in meetings (at the BJH and BJC-levels) to develop clinical management protocols and was a key member of the BJC Critical Care COVID Taskforce. In short, the critical care division would not have functioned as well as it did during COVID without Paul. —— Paul went above and beyond his normal duties to help out during the pandemic. He worked tirelessly to help set up multiple operations to facilitate the care of critically ill COVID patients and protect front-line staff. Examples include: – Leading the PAC-19 team – Representation on the COVID critical care taskforce – Daily operations meetings to figure out complex ICU staffing models with intensivists and APPs across BJC – Design and implementation of EICU APP virtual support of the bedside (including EICU training and workflow logistics) – Helping bring EICU software to the bedside for staff to connect virtually to patients and preserve PPE – Helping to design workflows to facilitate virtual family interactions using EICU software – Leading collaboration of the EICU with the BJC Transfer Center to facilitate patient movement across BJC ICUs due to capacity constraints. – Likely multiple other operations I’m not even aware of! Paul did all of this while working shifts in the ICU and OR. His commitment to critically ill patients and their families, tireless efforts, positive attitude, critical thinking skills, and passion for excellence should be recognized and applauded. He was a highly COVETED member of our department both before and certainly during the pandemic, and I’m honored to work alongside him. —— Oversight of transition teams for PAC 19 teams, alternate ICU spaces as well as coordination of clinical teams. |
| Justin Knittel | Justin did a phenomenal job in the ICUs and ORs, both clinically and organizationally. He participated in the PACU to ICU conversion project. He also helped coordinate resident coverage of the various COVID units at BJH, including in the medicine and neuro units. |
| Uche Ofoma | Uche played an important role, both clinically and administratively, in the COVID response at Christian Hospital. He worked extremely hard, taking several last minutes shifts and working beyond his commitment. He also took over the director role at Christian in the midst of the COVID pandemic and worked with hospital leadership to coordinate coverage and protocols. |
| Chris Palmer | Chris has such dedication to his profession, the university, and his patients. His free time quickly became flooded with phone calls, emails, back-to-back zoom meetings, and brainstorming. Chris tirelessly searched for ways to prepare for the inevitable day that COVID-19 would hit Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Chris saw the need for telemedicine in the ER setting. He helped make this a possibility from March through May of 2020. Because this was so successful, it was evident that a more permanent type of telemedicine through the ER setting would benefit the community. He worked diligently with colleagues to create Washington University Express Care, which opened in September of 2020. They initially provided COVID-19 testing and worked with occupational health serving employees and students of Washington University. They have since expanded to the community, providing care for minor illnesses and injuries, and also see post-surgical patients that would otherwise need to wait in a crowded Emergency Room for a (typically) simple solution. In the midst of working on the aforementioned tasks, Chris was physically working in the Emergency Department at Barnes-Jewish, Barnes West County, and Missouri Baptist. He also worked clinically in the various ICUs at Barnes-Jewish, the tele-ICU, and other various ICUs throughout the community. The most outstanding work that Chris accomplished during the COVID-19 surge is the multifaceted way he used the tele-ICU to bring positive light to patients and families during the pandemic. Visitors were not allowed in the hospital even for critically ill and terminal ICU patients. In addition, non-critical staff members such as chaplains were unable to enter COVID positive patient’s rooms. Chris created a tele-communication outlet for families to see and speak to their loved ones and allow spiritual and palliative care to evaluate patients and speak with families as well. Chris also led the COV-PICs research, which involves zoom meetings with patients who survived COVID-19 and have since been discharged from the ICU. Additional ways Chris was able to use the tele-ICU as a resource during the pandemic include providing e-care to bedside for nurses and doctors, partnering with the transfer center to streamline bed logistics, allowing Advanced Practice Providers to assist in COVID ICUs, and providing an ICU rotation for Emergency Medicine residents who were not allowed to participate in their ICU rotations on campus due to COVID-19. The amount of time Chris spent over the past year to ensure his colleagues had the support and his patients received the best care possible is immeasurable. He still works diligently every day to continue improving processes that help enhance critical care throughout the university and the community. —— Chris has been a leading protagonist in the telemedicine ICU and in the boots-on-the-ground ICUs. Despite contracting COVID-19 himself, his resolve was undiminished, and he was immediately back in the trenches caring for the sickest patients, doing everything possible to preserve their lives and promote their health. —— Chris worked extremely hard during the COVID surges to optimize the eICU response to the crisis. This included changing protocols and workflows to integrate more APP coverage of units and limit exposure, operationalizing ecarts to maximize intensivist/RN coverage of critically ill patients outside of ICUs, and utilizing telemedicine services for consulting physicians, pharmacists, and other members of the healthcare team. He was also a key member of the BJC Critical Care COVID Taskforce. —— Chris was instrumental in our community response by leading the eICU. He was also very clinically involved in the ER and in the COVID ECMO unit |
| Evan Roller | Evan helped to coordinate the critical care response to COVID surges in our community ICUs. This involved coming up with new staffing models as volumes changed and working with APP leaders in the community to deploy staff to the areas most needed. He also was active on the BJC Critical Care COVID Taskforce, participated in making COVID management guidelines with the BJH critical care group, and was involved with the ethics committee working on the appropriate distribution of resources. He also worked incredibly hard clinically during the COVID surges, often filling in last minute for sick faculty at a variety of community locations. —— During the pandemic, we were meeting with ICU leadership and making changes to schedules not just daily but sometimes hourly. Dr. Roller was always available to talk, ready with information, solutions, and willing to work wherever and whenever needed. He was an essential part of the team we created to keep things in constant motion. Dr. Roller acted as a true leader, always putting his patients and colleagues needs first, he should be recognized for his exceptional contributions during an exceptionally tough time. |
| Adnan Sadiq | Adnan is undoubtedly one of the most committed clinicians and educators in our department. During the pandemic, he worked courageously and tirelessly in the 8200 COVID-19 ICU, never complaining about the risks. Indeed, as is typical of Dr. Sadiq, his concerns in this regard were always for his clinician colleagues, whom he deeply values and respects. When one of his colleagues requested to swap duties with him to work in the COVID ICU, Dr. Sadiq refused, since he preferred to work in that challenging environment himself rather than have a colleague take on what he regarded as his responsibility. Adnan embodies many of the best qualities of a healer. His commitment is matched only by his magnanimity. |
| Pratik Sinha | Relocated to St. Louis during the COVID-19 pandemic, and without missing a heartbeat started to build a research program and to work tirelessly as a critical care physician, including the challenging and dangerous aspects of caring for those with severe COVID-19 disease. |
| Kendall Smith | Kendall worked anywhere she was needed, including at community hospitals where she had never worked before. She always had an upbeat attitude and never complained. She worked well over her clinical commitment and lost some of her research time due to the COVID clinical needs. She was a true team player. |
| Brian Wessman | In addition to working clinically in the COVID ICUs (including the medicine COVID units), Brian navigated the challenges of running a critical care fellowship during COVID. He quickly changed fellow workflows and responsibilities with the changing landscape of COVID. He also implemented a distance-learning didactic program, ensuring that the fellows’ education didn’t suffer due to the increased clinical demands and COVID patient population. |
APPs
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Joanne Arellano | Joanne is an extremely hard worker and always has a great work ethic. |
| Michelle Bloom | The Belleville IMCU was transformed into an ICU early during the first surge. Michelle worked extremely hard to make sure that her APP group was supported. Everyone was asked to do more (with little increase in resources) and Michelle had an amazing can-do attitude. |
| Kathleen Carlsen | Kathleen helped out tremendously during the COVID 19 pandemic at CHNE. She jumped right in to help take care of patients and was a great resource for the APP and nursing staff. She is an excellent team player, patient advocate, and passionate provider that was highlighted through the pandemic. We are fortunate to have her on our team! |
| Nicole Cassell | Christian was ground zero for our first COVID surge, and Nicole stepped up in a big way. She worked extremely hard taking care of the huge influx of patients. She also did a great job helping acclimate the attendings who were asked to work at Christian for the first time at short notice. —— Nicole is a true team player. She is knowledgeable, caring, and passionate about delivering high-quality care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this was no different. She stepped in to help without hesitation and was instrumental in leading our team through the pandemic. Nicole picked up many (and I mean many!) extra shifts to make sure we had enough staffing for patient care. She is an asset to our team and I am fortunate to work alongside her! —— Please accept this nomination for Nicole Cassell for the COVETED Award. Nicole is one of our APP leaders at Christian Hospital Northeast where the pandemic hit hard and fast in the early phase. Nicole helped our APP team weather the storm by providing leadership and stability through the consistent display of courage and strength. The day-to-day stress, anguish, and desire to perform her best I am sure were exhausting. Despite this, Nicole stepped up and staffed several additional open shifts to help meet the needs of our team and our patients. Nicole consistently displays exceptional and exemplary care and is a true asset to our team. |
| Mary Beth Funkhouser | Mary went above and beyond (both clinically and administratively) taking care of COVID patients at Christian Hospital. |
| Mike Havenar | I nominate Mike Havenar, ACNP, for the COVETED Award. Mike is our community liaison and is the “glue” that helps to maintain consistency and communication among our APPs across all of our critical care areas. He routinely staffs at Christian Hospital Northeast where the pandemic initially hit our area the hardest. His leadership, dedication, and commitment to see us through those challenging times were integral to his fellow APPs. Mike also stepped in and picked up several open shifts. He is always professional, open, honest, and truly cares about making a positive difference in all he does. Mike is always willing to help out where and when the need arises and goes the extra mile. A definite asset to our team and our patients. |
| Sarah Jaber | Sarah has worked hard to make sure the APP group has felt together during the pandemic as well as working hard in the many ICUs that we staff |
| Amber Lewis | Amber worked tirelessly during COVID leading her CTICU APP group through everything. They had to move multiple times and cover incredibly sick COVID patients and continue to do so now. She was instrumental in starting the COVID ECMO unit |
| Rebecca (Becki) Loveless | Becki has worked exclusively in the ED and in 82 since the pandemic began, even though this is a really tough assignment. I am not aware of anyone else exclusively working in a COVID rich domain…for a year. In the COVID unit, she always calls the family to update them when things are quiet at night, and her sense of duty and responsibility are highly valued. There was one husband who was really grieving, who said that Becki was the person who always called him and they formed a real bond of trust during his wife’s 3-month stay in the unit. Becki even volunteered to speak with him during her free time to deliver difficult news and offer emotional support to him. She has really gone above and beyond. |
| Kyle McLafferty | Kyle has always been a hard-working PA within our group and this became even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. He staffed the COVID unit without hesitation in the beginning when there were still many unknowns. He helped ensure we had adequate supplies and that the nurses were educated on proper care for the patients. He was eager to learn more about the disease pathology and ensured we had up-to-date information. When he saw areas for improvement, he spoke up to find solutions. I am honored to have Kyle on our team! |
| Megan Moseley | Megan has continued to work tirelessly throughout many critical care ICUs and has been very involved in the COVID ECMO unit. —— Meg has been amazing through the COVID-19 pandemic. She immediately stepped in to help at CHNE without hesitation during the first surge and still continues. She showed true compassion for her patients and played an integral role in educating the nursing staff in the COVID-19 unit at CHNE. Meg has helped pick up open shifts at CHNE to ensure we had adequate staffing. She advocates for her patients and helped find solutions in the quickly, changing environment! —— I am pleased to nominate Megan Moseley, PA, for the COVETED AWARD. Megan has been a consistent APP in our COVID ICU at BJ. During the height of the pandemic, Megan also picked up several open shifts to help meet the needs of our team and patients, some of which were at Christian Hospital Northeast, an environment in which she had never worked. Megan is the utmost professional; dedicated, dependable, caring, positive attitude. She has been a true asset to our team, particularly during these challenging times. |
| Paul Mrotek | It is my pleasure to nominate Paul Mrotek, PA, for the COVETED Award. Paul is one of our APPs who spent the majority of his clinical time in our COVID ICUs at BJ. In addition, he also stepped up and staffed several open shifts to help meet the needs of our team and our patients. This is a true sign of Paul’s dedication, commitment, and teamwork even during the most challenging times. He always displays a professional, positive attitude. For these reasons, he is a very well respected and beloved member of our APP team. |
| Shawn Reynolds | Shawn led by example during the pandemic. He helped staff and train APPs to cover many different areas and patients. He also helped navigate the huge staffing burden for our critical care APP group. —— Not only did Shawn work hard to provide patient care in multiple hospitals and settings within BJC, but he also helped coordinate challenging schedules and coverage for all places in need. He is a definition of a true leader. Always eager to help, tirelessly working to improve workplace safety and worker satisfaction, constructive and cordial. Shawn juggles tremendous responsibility and workload with his duties as a US Army national guard while raising a young family. I would say he is excelling in all areas and deserves recognition, though he never seeks it. —— Shawn is one of our lead critical care APP’s in the surgical ICU group. As a leader in 44ICU and 78 ICU, when CHNE was inundated with covid-19 patients and we started shifting the academic APP’s to the community hospital, he was one of the first to volunteer to go. As the majority of our APP group, he had never worked or even been to CHNE when he was tasked to the third floor to care for the covid-19 ICU patients. Shawn’s extraordinary service to this patient population continued as we transitioned back to BJH and began staffing the 82 ICU. He assisted and worked with the CTICU APP group to arrange ECMO classes for all of the SICU APP’s to have the training to care for the COVID-19 ECMO patients. He continues to be instrumental in the care of covid patients and in the ongoing education of the APP’s to be able to care for this unique patient population. Shawn has shown exemplary performance from the first covid patient we cared for and continues to exhibit this behavior on a daily basis. |
| Katie Seckinger | Katie is one of our dedicated and impressive APPs, all of whom have been at the epicenter of our clinician workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each and every APP is entirely deserving of a COVETED award. In all the times I have encountered Katie, she has always been rallying the troops and giving her all to our patients. We are deeply indebted to Katie and all her fellow APPs. |
| Ellen Stemmler | As COVID-19 affected our region, and the CTICU was asked to start covering these patients, Ellen has been able to provide excellent care. She wears several hats by being a nurse and a nurse practitioner, but Ellen is also a respiratory therapist which has put her in a unique position to provide the best care for this patient population. She spent several months in a row in both 8300 then 8200 as the department established this ICU. She helps train new employees, nurses, respiratory therapists, fellows, and attendings, especially when it came to ECMO or advanced ventilator settings that our unit does not often see. This skill set has saved or improved the lives of so many of our patients and has made a big impact for our department. |
| Patricia (Trish) Wilkinson | Trish has been a phenomenal asset to our group in a multitude of ways! She was instrumental in the planning and operations of patient care and APP staffing during the COVID 19 pandemic. When we needed immediate help at CHNE during the surge, she did not hesitate to jump in and take action. Trish has always been a solid resource and mentor for me in my role as an advanced practice provider. I am more than proud to have her as a colleague! —— It is with great enthusiasm that I nominate Trish Wilkinson ACNP-BC for the COVETED Award. The pandemic has challenged us in ways that we’ve never seen. Trish rose to the occasion from the very beginning and played an integral role in the care of our critical care patients. Together with critical care leadership, Trish was intimately involved in the staffing of our 60+ APPs across all of our 8 critical care areas (BJ, Belleville Memorial, Christian Hospital Northeast, MoBap, eICU). Under normal circumstances, this role is very challenging. The pandemic created very dynamic and fluid situations that required a finger on the pulse at all times. Trish provided this constant support in a very professional, methodical, fair manner. She also staffed in the COVID ICUs frequently and often picked up open shifts. Trish always has a “can-do” attitude and is exceptional and exemplary in every way. —— Trish was instrumental in helping the APP navigate through the difficulties of staffing, training, and patient care during all phases of our response to the pandemic. She was also crucial in her support of her fellow APPs and making sure their needs were cared for. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Gosia Borchardt | As usual, Gosia Borchardt was steady and dependable during the unpredictable beginning of the pandemic. One of the most challenging things our staff had to deal with was the continual changing of our schedules, including the incorporation of nights and weekends. Gosia typically does longer shifts so when the schedule was changed she did the majority of her clinical time as an airway call person. Not only did that mean her day would be unpredictable, but also that there would be no “early days.” Like most, Gosia has young children at home which came with its own challenges, but our team could always rely on Gosia. |
| David Eisenbath | Dave showed tremendous leadership during the pandemic. He was a true partner in accomplishing our challenging missions during the pandemic. What a true servant leader. —— David should be commended for working very hard to keep the CRNAs positive despite being nervous and scared about the pandemic. The CRNAs were concerned about their job security, their pay, their retirement, and most of all, their health. David did a wonderful job of keeping the CRNAs informed. He communicated with the group at intervals and helped us through the tough times. I know it was not easy for him, and he did a great job with 150+ CRNAs! This included those from not only Barnes-Jewish Hospital, but also Children’s, Shriner’s, Barnes West County, and Progress West. He is a true leader, not only during the good times but also during the tough times and he needs to be acknowledged! |
| Tracy Elbert | Early in the pandemic when schools were being shut down and childcare was on the front of everyone’s mind, Tracy sent an email to the CRNA group saying he and his wife could help watch people’s children. In my opinion, that was a really big and selfless offer. Besides the virus itself, childcare was the most important and the biggest stressor among our staff. The offer to watch other people’s children and keep them safe during this time of extreme uncertainty was extremely generous and thoughtful. |
| Geoffrey Floro | When South County CAM shut down during COVID, Geoff was asked to come work at south campus. Geoff not only showed up to south campus every day with a smile on his face and a great attitude but then volunteered to be a member of the PAC 19 team. Geoff worked in all pods, day shifts, night shifts, PAC 19 shifts, all of it with no complaint. He repeatedly demonstrated his versatile skill set and was the epitome of a team player! Geoff exemplified the versatility and importance of our community CRNAs within the department. |
| Jason Frantz | Jason excelled as a leader during the pandemic. Not only did he work to keep all the pediatric CRNAs aware of the constantly changing procedures and schedules in our department, but he also volunteered to work over at BJH and Progress West. He remained in constant communication with us, even after hours. He demonstrated a great work ethic and service to the anesthesia department, all while trying to help everyone remain positive and safe. —— Jason Frantz’s primary location is in pediatrics, but he often floats to South campus for an occasional call or extra shift. During the pandemic, SLCH was essentially shut down. Without a blink, Jason staffed adult ORs on the weekdays and weekends and joined the PAC-19 teams. Like many, Jason has children and was uncertain about the health and future of those around him yet, he stepped forward and stood front and center joining in the support of the ORs and ICUs in any way possible. |
| Bernadette Henrichs | Dr. Henrichs led the education and clinical training of our SRNAs through an ever-changing landscape as COVID-19 and our partnering institution’s set the stage. At one point clinical operations and lack of PPE supply led to the suspension of two cohorts of our SRNA’s clinical training. Her ability to adapt to such challenges led to program adaptations that accomplished the needed requirements for both cohorts. Not only did they complete their training program on time, despite the loss of more than 2 months, in some instances those in the junior cohort ended up ahead of schedule. Dr. Henrichs demonstrated a steadfast focus on her program during a chaotic time. She arranged frequent meetings to keep our trainees informed of all departmental adaptations ensuring their preparedness upon their return. I believe her transparent and active approach kept our trainees on track and ultimately successful. Her years of experience and endless dedication to her students shown through during this time. As a partner of hers in these pursuits, I believe she lived up to my expectations, which for Dr. Henrichs, equates to exceeding expectations. |
| Erin Herrera | The CRNAs have been dedicated and unflappable throughout the pandemic. Erin represents their indomitable and optimistic spirit. She is talented, hard-working, and incredibly committed. We are lucky to have such a polished and professional leader. Erin leads by example and inspires us all to be the best that we can be. |
| Gib Jones | In the days before the surge, we had no idea what was in store for our group. To best support the hospital and the ICU’s, the PAC-19 was formed. As a senior CRNA in the group, Gib Jones spent about half his time in the hospital on those PAC teams, often overnight. Overnight was difficult at that time as it was unsure if call rooms were “safe” so any downtime was spent resting in a chair. Gib spent many long nights on the PAC-19 team and during this time it was truly unknown what we were in for. His superior skillset put him on the potential front line and Gib knew that to serve his community and department his best role was as a member of the PAC-19 team. |
| Victoria Koke | Victoria has contributed substantially to the care of vulnerable patients during the pandemic both in New York City and here in St. Louis. Victoria made the tough transition to work at Washington University / BJC at the height of COVID-19. She brought a wealth of experience from New York with her, as well as an impressive can-do attitude. She has rapidly become one of the most hard-working, talented, and dedicated members of our incredible CRNA workforce. We are fortunate to have attracted a clinician of Victoria’s caliber to our department. |
| David Potter | David Potter could have easily opted out of joining the pool of PAC-19 CRNAs, yet he did not. David understood the task at hand and that he has valuable skills to offer. As usual, he led by example, only to take a day off when his mother needed to see the doctor. Like others, he was available and ready on nights and weekends, for either PAC-19 or the OR needs. Always ready, always steady, always encouraging to others. |
| Diana Prichard | Diana was immediately put into a difficult situation with West County closing during the first surge. She worked closely with Erin and I to get up to speed on issues the department and specifically the CRNAs were facing. She had to rework the CRNA schedule, including initiating a call shift and starting the process of West division CRNAs rotating to BJH. Diana spent countless hours on Zoom meetings gaining information and planning for the next steps. I appreciate Diana’s leadership and dedication, both during the initial surge and still today. |
| Elizabeth Schappe | Elizabeth was truly our right-hand woman during COVID. Elizabeth was a member of the department COVID task force and was designated as our backup leader. She took the initiative to stay up to date on all department policies and was a great resource for colleagues as questions arose. She had a tremendous attitude and was willing to work wherever the greatest need was. She helped boost morale for the whole department and showed up every day with a smile on her face and determined to do the most that she could for our staff and the patients. She is a tremendous team player and did everything in her power to help our department navigate the COVID pandemic as best as possible. |
| Kim Shelton | Kim was asked to rotate to BJH during the spring while West County was closed. She was enthusiastic and up to the challenge. I can recall one ENT case she was doing that ended up turning into a sternotomy with bleeding, but of course, she handled the case well and kept her chipper and upbeat attitude. Kim’s outstanding contribution was (and continues to be) her friendly and positive frame of mind. I REALLY appreciated it then, and I still appreciate it now. |
| Mel Somercik | As cases began to rise and PPE was in short supply, Mel volunteered for the PPE committee to invent innovative PPE options should there be a PPE (specifically N95) shortage. Multiple times per week Mel would have a new invention or was 3D printing adapters, or bringing in new materials to be tested. She sewed masks. She made the contacts and followed up on the mobile device disinfection station. Mel did all of this to help protect her colleagues. Fortunately, we didn’t have to utilize many of these inventions, but it was not for Mel’s lack of effort or thoughtfulness. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Lauren Gibson | Education during the pandemic has been especially challenging. Lauren has been an exemplary educational leader during COVID-19 and has helped to ensure that WUDA continues to provide an outstanding education to all its trainees. |
| Allison Mitchell | Allison has been a model clinician. More importantly, she has actively set up and been involved in initiatives aimed at the health and well-being of our residents and their families. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Zek Alanoglu | Scheduling throughout the pandemic has been challenging especially for our limited pool of ICU and Trauma providers; however, despite challenges, Dr. Alanoglu has always been the first to volunteer and has reached out to me many times expressing that he is willing and happy to help out wherever and whenever necessary. He has maintained a positive attitude, which has personally been a light during these dark months. Dr. Alanoglu is always willing and most often than not, the first person to jump in and volunteer to help whenever and wherever needed. There is no doubt in my mind that all of our providers have gone above and beyond throughout the pandemic; however, Dr. Alanoglu has agreed to give up his days off and non-clinical days to work when needed, despite how many Trauma PM shifts he may have! 🙂 I feel that Dr. Alanoglu has consciously tried to make my life easier and I will always appreciate his generosity and overall friendly nature. |
| Ryan King | Ryan was one of the Anesthesiologists who was on the team of people doing the PAC-19 shifts. On multiple occasions, he voluntarily took the PAC-19 call shifts for his fellow liver transplant team members. He is the only person I know who volunteered to take extra PAC-19 shifts so his colleagues did not need to go in the COVID units. |
| Leon du Toit | Leon has had the unique challenge of treating patients during the pandemic in two countries most heavily impacted by COVID-19: South Africa and the United States. He took the transition in his stride, and immediately showed himself committed to patients, trainees, and all members of the team. In addition to his clinical and educational contributions, Leon has immediately taken the research bull by the horns and is playing a leading role in a trial assessing innate immunity. We are fortunate to have clinicians of Leon’s caliber and temperament in our department. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Nic Labbee | Nic has looked for ways to make using technology better and easier for our clinicians. His goal is to provide better tools for our frontline clinicians. He enhanced our Contacts application to include both an IOS (iPhone) and Android platform. He also worked on our Intranet to make finding applications and shortcuts easier. Last – but not least – he has worked with the “Workday” team to develop application interfaces that will make the conversion from our current HR system as painless as possible. He does this with a smile and no complaints. He is a self-starter who requires little management overhead. He now has to support two departments instead of one due to employee departures. He understands our legacy code as well as being at the forefront of new technology. In my view, he embodies the Washington University spirit and can-do attitude. He is humble and a great teammate. He has stepped up and done everything asked of him and more. |
| Karen Moore | Karen has stepped up and managed projects for WUDA during the last year. She is our EPIC Role expert and uses the Validation Portal every day to set up new and transitioning employees. During the pandemic, she worked with EPIC1 to ensure that our providers (usually CRNAs) would have the ability to work in the ICUs. She also has worked on the Workday project, interfaces with WUIT, and helped our IT transition people to work from home. She is super-organized and committed to add value and improve processes. She is a valued teammate and an integral part of WUDA. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Courtney Hardy | Courtney has been at the eye of the storm since COVID-19 unleashed its wrath on our community. The pandemic has brought one of the most sustained and grueling leadership challenges imaginable, and Courtney has responded with clarity of thought and purpose throughout. He is widely regarded as an inspiring leader and typically steps up when the need is greatest. We are extremely fortunate to have such a collaborative and optimistic Vice Chair for Clinical Operations. Thanks to Courtney, as well as many other leaders and departmental members, we have played a major role in combating the pandemic and ensuring that the care for all patients has been exemplary at all times. —— I would like to nominate Dr. Hardy for exemplary clinical operations leadership during our department’s response to COVID-19. During our most challenging moments, Dr. Hardy led by example in our adaptations to clinical practice and clinical training. He was approachable and seemingly in possession of an endless ability to communicate promptly and clearly to all of those seeking his advice. I imagined things coming his way from all directions and he provided the necessary bandwidth to help see us all through some of the most challenging obstacles. I am grateful for his leadership and believe we all benefit from his hard work and dedication in these times. |
| Ellen Lockhart | Ellen is like the Rock of Gibraltar in our department. We are very fortunate that Ellen took on the critically important leadership role of Vice Chair for Faculty Development. In general, Ellen has been highly effective and innovative in this position, but her impact has been especially beneficial and marked during the pandemic. Thanks to Ellen and other members of our team, the well-being, and growth of departmental members have been continuously prioritized, despite the unprecedented obstacles imposed by COVID-19. We are deeply indebted to Ellen for her many contributions! |
| Audrey Vincent | Audrey took up the gauntlet and accepted the role as Executive Director of our Department during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. There could not have been a more stressful time to take on this role, and the prospect of economic devastation loomed large. Audrey never flinched once and helped us successfully to negotiate tremendous difficulties. She rapidly won the admiration and trust of the whole administrative team, the faculty leaders within the department, and the financial executives in the medical school. We are fortunate to have Audrey in this critically important role during this, the most treacherous of times! |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Thaddeus Budelier | Thaddeus is a true team leader in the ACT. He ensures that our ACT team – attending faculty, CRNA, resident, SRNA – can navigate the system with ease, making the experience non-threatening. He is actively involved in the nitty-gritty of the hospital telemetry system – working with BJH/ WU perioperative representatives to ensure optimization of telemetry use in our PACUs and OR. —— Thaddeus played a major role in running the ACT during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, he played a leading role in advancing preoperative telemedicine, especially the innovative telemedicine PACU project. |
| Melissa Clary | Melissa hit the ground running from the moment she joined our department. She already demonstrates impressive leadership and vision. In particular, Melissa has helped to advance our perioperative telemedicine programs, despite the major obstacles that have arisen with the pandemic. Melissa treats adversity with disdain and has a keen and strategic eye for the future. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Mitchell Fingerman | Dr. Fingerman has always been an Anesthesiology workhorse, but he went above and beyond over the course of the last year. He was always willing to meet with the team to help us find solutions to the constant scheduling issues we were facing. He worked anywhere and anytime, and if he was truly unavailable he would reach out to other providers to find us an alternative. He also worked to make sure that our mission of education was upheld. He made sure that fellows and residents were being considered and continued to be taught despite the pandemic chaos. Dr. Fingerman is a team player who has a real dedication to the University and to the Department he deserves to be recognized and celebrated. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| Baron Chanda | Just as we were plunging into COVID-19 pandemonium, Baron joined Washington University School of Medicine as Professor of Anesthesiology with secondary appointments in the Departments of Biochemistry and Neuroscience. Despite all the challenges, he established a vibrant laboratory and research program and immediately established himself as a key thought leader and dynamic scientist at WUSM. |
| Tao Che | Tao is a new faculty investigator in Anesthesiology. He joined the anesthesiology department and the Center for Clinical Pharmacology from the laboratory of Bryan Roth at UNC just as the COVID-19 pandemic was erupting. Despite the challenges, he was able to establish his research program and published 10 research papers in 2020! |
| Anne DeSchryver | With the transition of almost the entire WUDA research enterprise to remote work, Anne has done an exceptional (I would say extraordinary) job to ensure that both basic research and clinical research operations transition smoothly. As WUSM research limitations transitioned between red-orange-yellow phases, Anne navigated the transitions, with appropriate communication to all research division members, to perform these smoothly. She has shown exemplary leadership and a pro-active approach, trying to anticipate problems in the uncharted COVID-19 territory, and address challenges in a timely manner, resulting in a series of safe and often seamless transitions of a large research enterprise at WUDA. In parallel, her grants management team moved to an entirely WFH operation. Despite challenges with staff turnover, and an increased volume of grant applications from DBR, DoCTR, WUPC, and PCC – Anne orchestrated the grants operations for her team to operate smoothly. Although the team was stretched, the department did not miss a single grant submission. In parallel, Anne has taken additional temporary admin roles with helping manage DoCTR, due to the sick leave of staff members and the departure of the Manager of Clinical Trials and Operations. She has handled multiple budget revisions, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination scheduling logistics, MyDay transition for research, furlough logistics, new hires, and personnel orientation, establishing the ASSURE research fellowship for underrepresented minorities, and many many more… Anne has worked around the clock, including almost every weekend, while dealing with considerable additional issues unrelated to work. She has performed with dignity, respect, without complaints, and to the highest possible level of professionalism. I honestly believe that Anne is one of the hardest working individuals in the department, she really cares about the Department of Anesthesiology and the people in the department and strives to go above and beyond to improve every aspect of departmental activity she is involved in. I nominate her without reservations. —— There are too many reasons to elaborate. Anne has been totally dedicated to the department and has worked tirelessly to support faculty and staff in the department. She has kept the research machinery well-oiled and running despite substantial challenges. We are very fortunate to have her. —— Anne showed great leadership and flexibility in the face of the adversity brought about by COVID. First – she immediately moved her entire research administrative team to a 100% virtual environment and did so in a way that resulted in zero reduction in the service provided by her team. This required an “all hands on deck” approach that she has instilled in the culture of her team, and a new management approach to make sure nothing fell through the cracks. In addition, Anne took on an immense role in helping Dr. Avidan to set up and launch the CROWN collaborative and CROWN CORONATION trials – on top of her normal workload. Anne demonstrated such poise and dedication in the face of immense professional and personal adversity. She is truly deserving of a COVETED award! |
| Karen Frey | Karen has consistently gone into the office to make sure that equipment is checked for regulatory requirements, alleviating the need for other DoCTR staff to make a trip to the office. This is in addition to taking the time to check on staff individually to make sure they still feel engaged and appreciated. Karen is a true gem, who understands that people need to feel like they are making a difference. She is always willing to help out and that additional commitment was evident during this difficult pandemic period when the entire office knew they could count on her for help and support. |
| Katie Holzer | During the COVID-19 pandemic, Katie led the charge in submitting two incredibly complex grant applications, one to the NIMH and one to PCORI. She also helped to launch the exciting new Center for Biological Rhythms And Sleep (COBRAS). Indeed, one might think that Katie never sleeps. |
| Sherry McKinnon | Sherry has grown into her senior leadership role in our department. During the COVID-19 crisis, Sherry displayed initiative and tremendous skill in navigating challenging regulatory waters and in providing oversight to a complex international trial. |
| Ben Swan | Ben is positive, hard-working, and indefatigable. His role in the CROWN CORONATION trial has been exemplary. We need to clone Ben. |
| Linda Yun | Linda showed initiative, positivity, leadership, and incredible work ethic during this challenging pandemic. |
| Awardee | Reason for Award |
| ’19-’20 Chief Residents: Hawa Abubakar, Bruno Maranhao, and Dean Thorsen | The chief residents completing their residency in June 2020 were essential in our department’s procurement and distribution of PPE when PPE was at an all-time low level. During this time, these individuals provided our entire department with additional access to these essential items. It is not hyperbole to suggest that their time spent increasing our department’s par of supplies may have saved a life among our team. |
| ’20-’21 Chief Residents: Ben French, Jason Han, and Megan Dewey | Jason, Megan, and Ben became chief residents at the most difficult time when the pandemic was raging. It has truly been a baptism of fire for them, and they have confronted incredible challenges. They have been such stalwarts, and have helped their co-residents to confront the loneliness and isolation that we have all experienced during COVID-19. They have been thrust into difficult conflict management situations, such as the vaccine roll-out. Their leadership qualities and maturity have been beyond reproach. Altogether, they have been wonderful chief residents. —— All the Chiefs have done an amazing job this year! |