First SUNSHINE Award recipients honored

The new SUNSHINE Award recognizes associates at Elkhart General Hospital who support nurses in caring for our patients and demonstrate SUNSHINE.

SUNSHINE stands for: Smiling, Understanding and Nurturing while Sharing a Helping hand In Nursing Excellence.

Karra Heggen, MSN, BSN, RN, Vice President of Nursing/Chief Nursing Officer, presents Jonathan Ginther with the first ever SUNSHINE Award.

The very first recipient of the SUNSHINE Award is Jonathan Ginther, who works in Nutrition Services at Elkhart General.

“Jonathan is always smiling, happy and cheerful. He cares about both the patients and the staff. He does such a great job interacting with each and every patient he comes into contact with. When he arrives on our unit with his food cart, Jonathan is a huge, bright, sunny presence and he has such a healing spirit that radiates from him. He truly deserves this award.”

-Recognition submitted by Karen Eggleston, RN, PSCU

More about Jonathan:
–He has outstanding customer service and work ethic
–Jonathan is a joy to be around
–He likes to make people laugh
–Even on the roughest days, he has a positive uplifting attitude for himself and his coworkers

Carl Risk, Karra Heggen, Cindie McPhie and Nutrition Services associates with Jonathan Ginther.

–His coworkers and patients have been treated to his singing, which puts a smile on their faces

–Excellent example of the Beacon Values
–Jonathan loves watching movies and binge watching Netflix shows

Congratulations, Jonathan!

Another SUNSHINE Award was recently presented to Melissa Schafer, who works as a Nursing Assistant for Resource Pool.

Karra Heggen presents Melissa Schafer with the SUNSHINE Award.

“I want to recognize Melissa for her kindness to patients and for how she makes sure their needs are met. She makes sure their beds and room are kept tidy and picked up. Also, she does a great job communicating patients’ needs to the nurses. Melissa’s kindness makes patients and staff enjoy being around her. I really want to thank her for helping me strip the beds and take trash out of the discharged patient rooms. This really helps expedite the cleaning process and I truly appreciate her dedication.”

-Recognition submitted by Ruby, Environmental Services

Front row, left to right: Karra Heggen, Melissa Schafer, Cindie McPhie. Back row: Carl Risk, Renee Miller, Heidi Kirkpatrick, Deanna Roberts

More about Melissa:
–She was hired in November 2015 at Elkhart General
–Melissa has been a CNA for 16 years
–She often precepts new hires in the Resource Pool
–Melissa says she always wanted to work in healthcare, ever since she was 7 or 8 years old
–Melissa is a newlywed
–She enjoys spending time with her son and camping
–She’s a great asset to Elkhart General and the Resource Pool.

Congratulations, Melissa!