May Employees of the Month

Congratulations to our Healthy Connections Shining STAR Employees of the Month for May:

(DRUMROLL)

WEST: megan neer

EAST: ashley steadham

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, Megan and Ashley are winners of a $50 gift card to the HC Hub Company Store.

Megan is a previous winner of this award. She is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) in Mena and works with Centralized Scheduling to answer nurse-related questions from patients. She has been with Healthy Connections since 2021. Ashley is the lead Patient Care Coordinator (PCC) at the Malvern Pinnacle clinic. She joined Healthy Connections when the clinic came on board earlier this year.

  • Megan is simply the best. You can always count on her to get done what she says she will, and you can 100 percent guarantee if she misses your phone call she will call you back, and I am saying this as a patient and coworker. She is excellent with patients. There are too many great things to say. She is kind, hard-working, prompt, and consistent. Healthy Connections is truly privileged to have her on our team.”
  • Ashley is a Patient Care Coordinator at our location and never ceases to go above and beyond for our patients and staff. She is so kind and has a true passion for what she does. Our patients and staff adore her very much.”

Congratulations to both Megan and Ashley.

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.

HCI Participates in Go Red For Women

Healthy Connections’ Sarah Thomas and Ann Calandro participated in the 2023 Go Red For Women Health Expo and Luncheon on May 10 in Benton.

Ann Calandro, Director of Pharmacy Services, and Sarah Thomas, Community Relations Specialist, at the Go Red For Women event.

This year’s theme was “Be the Beat For Someone You Love.”

The event spotlights the fight against heart disease and stroke and celebrates the passion and power of women in their fight against these silent and deadly diseases. More than 44 percent of women ages 20 and over are living with some form of cardiovascular disease which remains the leading cause of death in women.

Thomas is part of the 2023 Circle of Red, which makes commitments annually to support the Go Red For Women movement and serve as an ambassador for the cause.

The American Heart Association is committed to advancing its mission to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Together, we can encourage women to make life-saving lifestyle choices and learn how their family history plays a role in their ongoing health. Education and action can save mothers, best friends, and sisters everywhere. For more information on becoming a Circle of Red member, contact carmen.parks@heart.org.

April Employees of the Month

Congratulations to our Healthy Connections Shining STAR Employees of the Month for April:

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WEST: LISA SQUIER

EAST: KENDALL BAILEY

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, Lisa and Kendall are winners of a $50 gift card to the HC Hub Company Store.

Lisa is an inventory assistant who works remotely for Healthy Connections.  She rejoined the organization in 2022. Kendall is a Medical Assistant at the Malvern Pinnacle Clinic. She joined Healthy Connections in 2023 when the Pinnacle clinic joined our Community Health Network. In their nominations, this is some of what their co-workers said about them:

  • “Since I started working here, I am always trying to locate receipts and Purchase Orders. Lisa has made my job significantly easier. The way she organizes the files, I no longer have to reach out to her. She has them so organized and easy to find that there are no longer hours of searching for receipts. When I send her an email, she replies within the same time I am working on it. She is just awesome.”
  • “Kendall is hard-working and eager to learn new things. She is very sweet and shows compassion to our patients, some of whom we have had for 20 years. She takes her time and goes above and beyond to resolve any issues that may arise.”

Congratulations to both Lisa and Kendall.

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.

Pediatrician Porter Speaks with Lake Hamilton ESOL

Dr. Jeremy Porter of My Kids Pediatric Clinic in Hot Springs participated in the Lake Hamilton ESOL Family Night on Monday, Feb. 27, in Pearcy.

Porter, who sees patients for My Kids Pediatric Clinic in Hot Springs, speaks Spanish. ESOL stands for English Speakers of Other Languages.At ESOL Family Night, students and their families enjoyed fellowship and leanred about the cultures and tradition of other families.

Dr. Porter sees patients in Hot Springs at 3604 Central Ave., Suite D, and Malvern at 900 MLK Blvd. Call 888-710-8220 for appointments. Visit www.mykidspediatric.com for more information.

Celebrating Phyllis Cuningham

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.

2022 Employee Awards

Healthy Connections Community Health Network is excited to announce our 2022 Employee Award winners.

These employees exemplified our three pillars of Community, Compassion, and Excellence throughout the year. Check back each day as we announce the winners in all 10 categories.

Rookies of the Year
  • Linda Lee, Assistant Director of Nursing
  • Tyrontala Walker, Medical Assistant at the Malvern Teeter Plaza Clinic
  • Eric Luster, APRN PMHNP, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner based at the Little Rock Midtown, West Central Health Clinic, and Malvern Teeter Plaza clinic.
Customer Service Award
  • Tracey Price, Dental, Mena
  • Grace Hill, Patient Care Coordinator, Little Rock Midtown
Rising Star Award
  • Christi Martin, Patient Care Coordinator, Mena
  • Erica Manley, Lead in Medical Records in Mena
  • Kim Carson, Lead Patient Care Coordinator at Mena
  • Allie Anderson, 340B coordinator
 Support Staff Super Star Award
  • Andrea Pilcher, Lead Nurse at Hot Springs Central/My Kids Pediatric Clinic
  • Misty Morris, Medical Assistant at Little Rock Midtown clinic
  • Krystal Lenard, Referral Coordinator, remote
  • Connie Case, Lab Manager in Mena
Game Changer Award
  • Tina Allison, Director of Ancillary Services
  • Janet Dean, Human Resources Generalist, Mena
  • Chris Masters, Network Administrator, Mena
Monday, December 19 – Behind the Scenes Hero Award
  • Debbie Welch, Billing Clerk, Remote
  • Amanda Dunn, Accounting Manager, Remote
  • Misty Surber, Program Manager Healthy Families Arkansas Polk and Garland Counties.
Providers of the Year
  • Melanie Newman, APRN, Hot Springs Central and My Kids Pediatric Clinic
  • Terri Barrada, APRN, Mena
Distinguished Leadership Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Employee of the Year

 

2022 Healthy Connections Employee Award Winners

Game Changer Award