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Simply Outstanding While Mr. Jefferson’s magnificent architecture is recognized around the world, the true and enduring character of the University is defined by the people who work within it,” wrote politics professor Larry J. Sabato, in support of one of this year’s 10 Outstanding Contribution Award-winners. After reading the nominations for this year’s recipients, Sabato’s statement holds true for each of them. They all play a role in improving the quality of U.Va. And for their contributions, each will receive $1,000 and be recognized on June 14 at a dinner at the Omni Hotel, along with those who have worked for U.Va. 25 years or more.
‘PATIENTS
ASK FOR HER’ THE ‘HEART
OF THE HEAT PLANT’ A ‘REAL LEADER’
For the past 10 years, Short has provided “outstanding leadership and management of Continuum Home Health Care, among other duties,” wrote Pamela F. Cipriano, chief clinical officer for the Health System. “This past fall, Continuum achieved a perfect evaluation by both the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. This achievement is practically unheard of in today’s regulatory environment,” Cipriano noted. How does Short respond when congratulated on this accomplishment? “‘It’s not me, it’s the staff. I’m so proud of them,’” recounted patient epresentative Sally Booker, adding, “In my book, [that] is what a real leader says.” For her work, Short also received a 2006 Governor’s Award for Public Service by State Employees. Gov. Tim Kaine presented the award to her on May 4 at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond. BIG SMILE, WARM HELLO,‘ CAN-DO ATTITUDE’ THE ‘GLUE’ OF STUDENT AFFAIRS “Tamara has raised the bar and set a standard of achievement for those who will follow her,” he said. “From her positive attitude, to her self-motivation, to her high degree of professionalism, Tamara is a true leader. She does an excellent job at balancing her duties, all while being actively involved in the campus community. Tamara has demonstrated a true commitment to U.Va.-Wise and is well respected by our students, faculty and staff alike. She gives 110 percent to everything she does.” Robinson
began her U.Va.-Wise career as a student worker in financial
aid, from
1989 until 1993 when she earned her
degree in business and public administration.
Immediately after graduation, she
accepted a part-time job in the housing
office. She has been a full-time member of
student affairs since 1995. “My favorite
part of the job is the interaction with students
and the team of people I work with,” Robinson said. “For
me, a good day at work is when I know that I made a difference
in a student’s life.” “I
have watched her … support this institution and its
people
with a passion that is reserved only for those places and things
which one truly loves.” She does what’s needed,
Sabato said,
regardless of her job title, which is currently manager
for finance
and administration in the Office of the President.
In fall 2003, for
example, Hurricane Isabel reaked havoc on the Lawn.
During
the storm, the basement of Pavilion IV was flooded. “I
was still
in the process of moving in,” wrote Sabato, “and
many of my personal It wouldn’t be the last time Birckhead battled the elements. On a Sunday this March, she arrived at her office in Madison Hall to catch up on some work. When she opened the door, a flood of water was rushing through the building; frozen pipes in the ceilings had burst. She single-handedly covered files and desks, moved furniture and mopped up gallons of water. “In
the course of a day, I have seen her effectively advise vice
presidents, field questions from distinguished alumni, respond
to a concerned parent and listen to employees in need of
advice,” chief of staff Nancy Rivers wrote. ‘INVENTING CREATIVE SOLUTIONS’ Kell “stepped forward to manage projects that were in jeopardy of being abandoned when two of our PIs advanced to other positions. Five years later, these projects form the cornerstone for our nationally and internationally recognized Eldercare Technologies program,” Felder wrote. Kell has also“ helped invent creative solutions” that have secured additional grants and patents — five in all, Felder said. “Steve is dedicated to all the [center’s] projects, but I know he has a passion for the eldercare work … [where] he has excelled at taking the concept of a ‘smart home’ from the researchers’ bench side to pre-commercialization,” wrote MARC business manager Margaret Margin. This “suite of technologies, designed to allow elders to age in their preferred living setting … could help solve the medical and social crises we are about to encounter as the baby boomers reach retirement age. … Steve will be instrumental in turning the research prototypes… into a product that can truly benefit the aging population,” Margin said. ‘SELFLESS, ENERGETIC, ORGANIZED … ’ “This could not have been accomplished without Mary Ann’s leadership and perseverance, commitment and effort that far exceeds the normal expectations of her position,” Janney wrote. One of the first tasks she undertook was to “establish tracking mechanisms to determine the impact her department and employees of the Health System as a whole, have on our community, the region and the state,” Janney said. Fields also developed the Health
Line Program, a toll-free telephone Fields also coordinates the Health System’s annual participation in the remote Area Medical Clinic, helping bring care to more than 2,500 patients in Southwest, Virginia. “She does not go to bed until every volunteer has been fed and all of their needs taken care of,” Janney wrote. Fields came up with a more efficient method for seeing patients that enabled the clinic to serve 25 percent more patients in 2005, Janney noted. COMPUTING SYSTEMS … PAYNE ‘FIGURES THEM OUT’ Throughout the school’s 10-year, three-phase wireless connectivity project, he took the lead in all areas. His work has been on the forefront of wireless access at the school and at U.Va. “Throughout the project, Payne had to solve many problems not yet solved in the industry,” said Gay Francis Banks, Law School chief technology officer. “His service makes the Law School the envy of other top law schools in career services, alumni services, student services, wireless networking services and in other areas.” Cary Bennett, assistant dean for academic services and registrar, praised Payne’s contributions to the development of an in-house course enrollment system that included management measurement tools. “George’s patience, insight, programming/systems knowledge, ability to predict problems and sensitivity to the end-user were invaluable,” Bennett said. When Laura Monroe, director of alumni relations, approached Payne about developing needed software in lieu of purchasing it, he created a “finished project that was above our expectations and it was much more tailored to our specific needs,” Monroe said. “Instead of saying we can’t, George is known around here for saying ‘I will figure it out.’” PATIENT CARE IS PARAMOUNT Described by her colleagues as an advocate, broker, mediator, counselor, facilitator and educator, she is praised and trusted by colleagues, patients and their families. “Wren often serves as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the general medicine service for our recently discharged patients. Patients and families alike recognize her abilities and trust her as their primary contact with U.Va.,” wrote Dr. Zachary M. Bush of internal medicine. For 25 years, Olivier has thrived in an area where job stress is common and turnover and burnout are the norm, approaching her job with tireless diligence and uncommon passion, noted Dr. Andrew E. Darby, also of internal medicine. Olivier is an advocate not only for patients but for others in need. Earlier in life, she was a Peace Corps volunteer and most recently returned to her home state of Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina to lend her knowledge and expertise to assisting in the rebuilding and reopening of several schools in the New Orleans area. |
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© Copyright
2006 by the Rector and Visitors |
“I
notice staff members looking out of a back window of the clinic.
There is an old man walking slowly on the
railroad tracks. He is disoriented and heading toward
the JPA overpass. When he gets there he will not be
able to escape if a train comes. Out of the corner of my
eye someone climbs through a hole in the fence,
escorts the man out of harms way, then to the hospital
for assistance. I am impressed but not surprised.
Kathy Morris does it again!” That’s what associate
professor
and chairman of the Department of Dentistry
Thomas E. Leinbach wrote about dental assistant Katherine
D. Morris in
nominating her for a 2006 Outstanding Contribution Award. She assists
faculty
and residents in delivery of dental services to more
than 50 patients a week. “Many of her exemplary
works appear nowhere in her job description,” Leinbach
noted. “She regularly calls patients to prepare
them for the appointments and to check on them
after procedures. She transports special needs
patients and performs wheelchair-to-dental chair
transfers on patients much larger than herself. She visits
our nursing home patients to cheer them up. … To
do all these good works, she has driven 54 miles round trip for 25 years with seldom a sick day,” he added. “No
wonder patients ask for her.”
Darlene Webb, office manager for the Facilities Management
Heat Plants Division, is often referred to as“
radar,” because she is “in tune with the unique heat
plant environment and anticipates operational and
administrative requirements before they are needed
or requested,” wrote Heat Plants Manager Anthony W.
Motto in nominating her for an Outstanding Contribution
Award. In addition to the expected duties of an
office manager — scheduling meetings, arranging
travel, answering correspondence, etc. — Webb’s work
in the Heat Plants is unique. For instance, she has the“ all-important
task of reviewing all fuel laboratory
analyses for compliance,” Motto noted. “If a fuel shipment
is not within specifications, she must refuse it to
avoid contamination of the existing inventory,” he
said. Motto also wrote that Webb, the only woman on
staff, was “instrumental in establishing the Heat
Plants’ air permitting filing system,” which has
received high marks from the DEQ. “Darlene singlehandedly
takes care of so many things at the plant …
In
her 29 years with the University, Maggie Short has held many
posts — nurse, manager, director and administrator.“ Maggie
loves patient care and in every interaction with a patient or
family … it is obvious that deep in
her core she is a bedside nurse,” wrote Mary Miller, nurse
liaison with Continuum Home Health, in nominating
Short for an Outstanding Contribution Award.“ I have worked
with and for Maggie for close to 10 years, and her dedication,
creativity and productivity are
astonishing to me. … She recognizes that health care
at
U.Va. is a complex web of bureaucracy that can be hard
to change, but she absolutely is not afraid to take it on.
Sometimes we joke that when something is important to
Maggie to change, she is like a dog with a bone — she
will
not let go until she gets it done, no matter what!” Miller
said.
Systems
Operations Technician Godfrey Branche has been “involved
with U.Va. for more than 15 years and has also been
an amazing asset in dealing with Pyxis (a
drug cabinet that’s a cross between a
vending machine and an automatic teller
machine) as well as other IT issues,” wrote
Inpatient Pharmacy Supervisor Virginia W.
Barton in nominating him for an Outstanding
Contribution Award. “Not only
does he assist the pharmacy personnel
with everything from e-mail to troubleshooting
the inner workings of the
robot, he takes the time to patiently guide
and instruct nursing units with Pyxis
issues,” she wrote. A few months ago, “several
floors were having difficulty charting
patient medications … Mr. Branche took
immediate action by questioning the
nursing staff, going through narcotic
sheets to see if the medication was documented,
looking through Pyxis records to
see what was given to the patient and then
notifying Pyxis support of the exact problem… The nurses and I were amazed by
his thoroughness … and skills to pinpoint
the exact problems,” wrote clinical staff
pharmacist Jean Conner. “I never fail to
see a smile on Godfrey’s face and a can-do
attitude in his heart,” wrote Kelly Robins,
patient care services manager. “I have
absolute confidence that whatever challenge
or concern I lay at his feet, there will
Tamara
Robinson, an administrative and office specialist III at the
University’s College
at Wise, is “the glue that holds our
many, diverse activities together in a
strong, cohesive and consistent manner,” Dean
of Students Jeff Howard wrote in his letter nominating Robinson
for the award.
For
38 years, Lynda
Birckhead has “honorably and brilliantly
served” the administrations of four University presidents:
Edgar
Shannon, Frank Hereford, Robert O’Neil and John
Casteen,
wrote politics professor Larry J. Sabato in nominating
her for an
Outstanding Contribution Award. Sabato first met Birckhead
when he was an undergrad and she was working for his
mentor,
President Shannon. “Then as now, her belief in,
and loyalty
to, the principles that define the University is inspiring,” he
said.
He
started as a temporary employee, “hired to provide technical support
to our research projects,” wrote Robin A. Felder,
director of the Medical Automation Research Center, in nominating
Steven W. Kell, MARC’s robotics laboratory
manager in the Department of Pathology, for an Outstanding Contribution
Award. That was July 2000. Felder now considers Kell the
center’s “key employee” and often asks him
to “oversee
operations in my absence.”
In
the short time she’s
been manager of community relations, outreach and service, Mary
Ann Himes Fields has advanced
the profile of the Health System “within our community
and
beyond,” wrote her supervisor, Shannon Janney,
administrator
of Health System Marketing. Since Feb.
2005, Fields’ office
has touched more than 26,000 individuals
through its activities.
From
avant-garde to mainstream, computer systems engineer
George Payne has been
a key leader in creating
and implementing
the Law School’s computing needs.
As
a clinical social worker
for the
general medicine
floors at
U.Va. Hospital,
where more
than 1,000
patients
are
admitted
each year,
Wren
Olivier orchestrates
a safe
plan of care
for discharge
from in-patient
to out-of-hospital
care.
The big picture
is always
in focus
as she
concentrates
on the
details
and coordinates
the needs
and concerns
of
all involved.
For her,
the