East Georgia Regional Medical Center recently honored three outstanding leaders for the 2023 year: Clinical Manager of the Year was awarded to Kelly Bruce, Director of Cardiopulmonary Services; Non-Clinical Manager of the Year was awarded to Allison Clark, Practice Administrator; and the Employee of the Year was awarded to Jennifer Thompson, LPN, Step Down unit.
Clinical Manager of the Year
Kelly Bruce, Director of Cardiopulmonary Services, began working at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in 2002. Kelly is responsible for the daily operations of the cardio pulmonary and sleep lab departments including all of the administrative, fiscal and technical activities to ensure efficient provision of high-quality health services.
She became the Director of Cardiopulmonary Services in August 2022. In less than 90 days she improved the efficiency of the department and was consistently meeting productivity at greater than 100%. Employee satisfaction scores for her department went from low to one of the highest in the company. She worked to have all non-contractual staff and has added students to the department mix and actively recruits new staff. During this time she has also completed her MBA.
A colleague said, “Additionally, Kelly successfully brought the Sleep Lab service in-house. She hired the staff, completed the scheduling process and purchased new equipment. She has worked with our community providers to make this seamless transition. She also assisted her team when our new pulmonologist successfully began performing navigational bronchoscopy procedures. This additional service has been a great asset for our community.”
Kelly is on the critical care,/and safety committees, the chest pain committee, and the shared governance committee. She was also recognized as the employee of the month in January 2022. Kelly’s coworkers and patients have said that she is “a source of guidance and wisdom for them since assuming her new leadership role this past year. Working alongside Kelly daily, we have seen firsthand her hard-working dedication to her team as well as the organization. Her passion for providing quality, patient care while simultaneously shaping and leading her team is evident each and every day. Her skills as a leader truly come naturally, and she has been such an inspiration for others. Anyone that is fortunate to know and work with her understands her dedication to her patients and her team. She never complains and is up for any challenge. She is the true definition of a leader.“
Non-Clinical Manager of the Year
Allison Clark, Practice Administrator, began working at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in 2018. Allison provides overall direction and professional business management to the physician offices which makes this individual exceptional. She is well respected by her peers at EGRMC and corporate clinic leadership. Allison and her team are often referred to as best practice on clinic leadership calls.
She makes sure that clinic schedules and hospital schedules for physician lines and works for all parties, which takes a great deal of coordination and is extremely important in order to balance resources and share patient and provider satisfaction. She has presented at EGRMC on growth initiatives, making sure regulatory assignments are completed, timely, which improves employee engagement.
Coworkers know Allison gets results and is very detail oriented, which is extremely important when adding physicians or providers to the Employee team. Colleagues have said, “She’s also an excellent communicator and plans ahead with her team so that deadlines are met. She goes above and beyond and is driven to get the job done and make sure resources are used efficiently.”
Hospital leaderships adds, “Overall Allison, with her leadership, has led her team to accomplish the rebuilding of three service lines, GI, general surgery, and bariatrics, the implementation of employed cardiology service line, the increase of primary care providers by 75% with efficient recruitment efforts, and the increase in retainment of clinical staff, which includes 80+ employees. Her and her team continue to focus on appropriate training and onboarding of new staff to provide the best quality of care for our patients.”
Employee of the Year
Jennifer Thompson, LPN, Step Down unit, began her tenure at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in 2016. Jennifer is known for her tenacity and getting the job done well and keeping her finger on the pulse of any issues that may arise in her unit.
Jennifer is responsible for the delivery of patient care by applying skills and techniques common to the practice of educational nursing. She is exceptional because she always has a smile on her face. She consistently provides whatever assistance is needed any she’s in without complaint or grievance she shows a consistent positive attitude, always friendly and outgoing and a pleasure to work with. Jennifer has a sense of ownership not only to her departments, but to the hospital and is proud to work here. Jennifer is on the critical care shared governance group in the hospital medication safety committee. She was also recognized as the employee of the month in April 2023 and her growth over the past years has been extraordinary.
Her coworkers say that “of all the nurses and ICU, I trust Jennifer. I wish I could work with someone like her every shift. When the most efficient, respectful nurses I’ve ever worked alongside. She made my transition to ICU enjoyable and I’m glad she’s part of the team. Jennifer is a very strong nurse and an excellent resource to the nurses. Jennifer is very helpful And she has stayed over her shift to help other nurses and staff. Jennifer is personable, compassionate, and relatable. She has a way of connecting with patients and families even in the most difficult of circumstances.”
Jennifer has single-handedly redesigned the rooms for both ICU and CCU to make it much easier to keep stocked and have what the team needs on hand. Jennifer is constantly trying to find ways to improve methods and processes to ensure better experiences for all patients.
“We are proud to have Kelly, Allison and Jennifer recognized as our 2023 Managers and Employee of the Year,” said Stephen Pennington, CEO of the hospital. “These ladies are valuable members of our team, and have been for many years. Their dedication, professionalism, hard work and commitment to our hospital are seen and appreciated by many. We congratulate Kelly, Allison and Jennifer, and thank them for all that they do for every patient, every time, always.”