Healthy Connections, Inc., held a special event on Tuesday to celebrate the retirement of Director of Nursing Phyllis Cunningham.
She has spent the past 14 years with Healthy Connections and the past 32 years in nursing. She has been an amazing leader to us all and we wish her the best in the next chapter of her life.
“Kindness is so critical to our success and to making our workplace happy. I love Maya Angelou’s quote: ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ I’ve always tried to live by that,” Cunningham said. “I don’t know that I bring a lot of skill but I do try to bring that. Being kind and loving people and caring about people makes all of our work every day so much easier.”
Cunningham has been a part of tremendous growth for Healthy Connections in her 14 years with the organization. When she started, Healthy Connections had just two clinics – Mena and Mt. Ida. There are now 13 clinics in nine communities stretched from Little Rock to De Queen.
“From the staff and everyone at Healthy Connections, we want to let Phyllis know how much we appreciate you,” said Tony Calandro, CEO of Healthy Connections, Inc. “I think everyone is aware of how large we have gotten and Phyllis has gone along with the paces the entire time. In everything we have done, she has stepped up.”
Cunningham is known for her sense of humor and sayings that bring smiles to the faces of her co-workers. One of her favorites is, “We choose our attitude every single day.”
“This has been a great place. There are so many opportunities here,” Cunningham said.
Thanks, Phyllis for all you’ve done for our patients, co-workers, and communities.
It was cold in January but our January 2023 Healthy Connections Employees of the Month kept things warm and toasty throughout our Community Health Network. These Shining Stars went above and beyond this month. Congratulations to:
(DRUMROLL)
WEST: Shona Palmer
EAST: Cindy Dillavou
Each month across the Healthy Connections Community Health Network, exemplary employees are nominated for this award for representing our Three Pillars: Excellence, Compassion, and Community. These pillars are considered heavily when choosing winners.
As winners of this Shining STAR award, Shona and Cindy are winners of a $50 gift card to the HC Hub Company Store.
Shona is a nurse at the Mena Clinic. Cindy is a patient care coordinator in Arkadelphia. Check out these amazing comments left by their coworkers when nominating them for this award:
- “Shona has shown so much initiative, knowledge, and compassion for her patients and to us coworkers. She makes my day go by so much better.”
- “Shona is amazing with her patients. She helps her team. She is very knowledgeable and shares her knowledge with others. She has become a very crucial part of the nursing team at Mena.”
- “Shona exemplifies the Healthy Connections pillars consistently on a daily basis. She is an excellent nurse, knowledgeable, trustworthy, and dedicated to doing her best always. Shona is great with our patients and has such a heart for those in need. She never shies away from a challenge, remains positive even on the hard days, and always puts her best foot forward.”
- “Cindy is an amazing asset to our company. She is dependable, loyal, hardworking, and caring. She truly cares about all our patients and every patient she comes into contact with can feel her love. You know the saying: “They have a heart of gold.” That is Cindy. She is truly meant to be in healthcare, and I am so thankful that I have her as a coworker and that our patients have her on their healthcare team.”
- “I nominate Cindy for this award because she is dependable, kind, task-oriented, and compassionate about what she does. She has been extremely helpful in picking up an extra day every week at Hot Springs just to help out. She makes the day go by smoothly and also keeps the work day fun. I am so thankful to have her as a co-worker and believe she deserves this award!”
- “Cindy is a breath of fresh air. She is always looking out for the staff, patients, and clinic. She goes above and beyond to decorate the clinic for the holidays and makes sure the outside of the clinic is clean and has even planted flowers on her own. She helps out in other clinics when and where needed. She always has a smile on her face, and always has a pleasant attitude.”
Congratulations to both Shona and Cindy.
Thanks again this month to everyone who nominated an employee. There were a lot of great nominations. Do you know who should be our next employees to be recognized? You can nominate them by visiting https://www.healthy-connections.org/nominate.
Healthy Connections, Inc., is proud to announce the winner of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award is Phyllis Cunningham.
Cunningham is the Director of Nursing for Healthy Connections, Inc., and has been with the organization since 2009. She is set to retire in 2023.
“Several years ago we began recognizing those members of the Healthy Connections team who have dedicated their efforts to the improvement and advancement of our company. Phyllis is an advocate for Healthy Connections and delivers our Mission and Vision on a daily basis,” said Tony Calandro, CEO of Healthy Connections. “She has been an inspiration to others and helped to shape Healthy Connections.”
See the complete list of 2022 Healthy Connections award winners at: www.healthy-connections.org/awards22.
Healthy Connections, Inc., is proud to announce the winner of the 2022 Distinguished Leadership Award is Susan Singleton.
Singleton is the Chief Financial Officer of Healthy Connections and joined the organization in 2019. Since then, she has been heavily involved in many areas and has proven to be a prominent leader.
“Susan is someone who has made an impact from the start and continues to make and influence every day,” said Tony Calandro, CEO of Healthy Connections. “She has stepped in where assistance and help is needed and provided guidance and direction for staff, managers, and the entire company. She has been instrumental in the continued development of Healthy Connections.”
See the complete list of 2022 Healthy Connections award winners at: www.healthy-connections.org/awards22.
Healthy Connections, Inc. is proud to announce the winner of the 2022 Employee of the Year award is Jeffrey Slatton.
Slatton is the Business Communications and Marketing Manager for the Healthy Connections Community Health Network. He is based in Hot Springs but covers the entire network.
Slatton is been with Healthy Connections, Inc., since 2018 after joining the organization from Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
See the complete list of 2022 Healthy Connections award winners at: www.healthy-connections.org/awards22.
Healthy Connections Community Health Network is excited to announce our 2022 Employee Award winners.
