Vital Signs

Volume 16, Issue 1
Vital
Signs
December EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
page 2
Staff Recognitions
page 4
December employee of the month
Vanessa Morelos
Short Work Bio
Vanessa has been with CBHA since 2013. She is a
Registered Nurse Care Manager. Her tasks include
assessing walk-ins, giving medications, starting IVs,
immunizations, and outreach to patients by phone.
Vanessa also does Patient Education and follow up
care. Vanessa also volunteers for CBHA’s events.
Why She Won
Vanessa was nominated for EOTM by the Nurse
Managers and Nieves Gomez. “Vanessa is a
teacher and mentor for MA nurses. She is a selfstarter, proactive, flexible and represents CBHA well.” She has provided
documentation to the Director of Quality highlighting 10 ways to improve our
UDS reporting that are all potential to use. Vanessa assists the Clinic Managers
with patient flow and sometimes covers as RN for provider teams. She is
consistent with AIDET and is always prepared in rounding with performance
improvement ideas.
The Scoop
Vanessa was surprised and excited when Nieves told her she had won
employee of the month. Her favorite part about her job is helping the
patients. She gets to see patients in different parts of their life and builds a
relationship with them.
Vanessa would like to thank the Nurse Managers and Nieves for nominating
her. “I am thankful that I get to work with such a great group of people.”
Nurse Managers and Nieves have been very supportive and available
whenever needed. “Their recognition inspires me to grow in my career.” She
really enjoys working at CBHA.
In her free time Vanessa enjoys spending time with her family, her husband
and 3 children. They like to travel as a family and visit other relatives that they
don’t get to see often.
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Karlee Kerr
Sharon Skorick
Dental Asst.
of the Month
Jennett Sanchez
Delia Barragan
Landa Antellia
Lyss Marroquin
Kent Mosbrucker
Arrieta Marcela
Karlee Kerr
Thalia Deleon
Juan Sandoval
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Kimberly Yerbich
Rosalia Avila
Maria Cardoso
Nathan Spinelli
Kelly Carlson
John Beauchamp
Mathew Garza
January
Congratulations,
Elisha Gomez
Dulcye Field Obtains National Certification!
Dulcye can now add the initials CMPE
after her name. What do they stand
for? Certified Medical Practice
Executive! Dulcye has been working
for some time to obtain this certification
by the American College of Medical
Practice Executives. She achieved
it by passing rigorous essay and
objective examinations that assessed
her knowledge of the broad scope of
medical practice management skill
sets which include business operations,
financial management, human
resource management, information
management, organizational
governance, patient care systems,
quality management, and risk
management. Dulcye was also
required to complete a minimum of 50
continuing education hours.
Staff Recognition!
Congratulations Dulcye! This is a big accomplishment!
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On Christmas Eve, I received a call from a patient with a laceration on his finger. He
was hurrying to get to the clinic and wanted to inform us that he might make it a few
minutes after 4pm when the doors would be closing. We began to prepare for the
patient’s arrival so I would like to thank the staff that assisted with this patient’s care.
John Beauchamp agreed to see the patient and he was patiently waiting for the
patient’s arrival with his nurse, Alma. Iris Pruneda assisted with the registration and
had taken care of most of the process when the patient arrived. The patient was
immediately attended to and he was very grateful of CBHA’s response to his injury.
-Carlos Ruiz, Clinic Manager
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Welcome Matthew Foster, MD
Dr. Foster graduated from Georgetown University School
of Medicine in 2008. He enjoys primary care involving full
clinic duties, surgical obstetrics and inpatient care. He’s
also interested in dermatology. He originally started out
at Cornell University in New York in engineering. However,
at the end of his first year he found his interests had
changed and he moved closer to home and graduated
from Southern Oregon University with triple degrees in
Biochemistry/Chemistry, Mathematics and Contemporary
American Drama and minors in Biology, Physics and
Psychology. “It was a lot of work but I enjoyed it. The
English and theater classes were fun. We read Chaucer
and other great stuff… I am a big Mark Twain fan”
Dr. Foster took a break from all of the above with an
Outdoor Survival Class where he learned the basics of
surviving in nature. “We were outside with the elements… sleeping in rainstorms, foraging
your own food, making your own fires, etc. “I also did a lot of traveling that year and
then worked for several years in Material Science; he also did several years of medical
research.
It was a personal medical issue with his heart that narrowed his focus and propelled him
into the medical profession – one that is a really good fit for him. After graduating from
medical school and residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Services, Dr. Foster
has worked as a rural family practice physician in Madras, OR; he also treated veterans
in Bend, OR. “It was fascinating to interact and take care of these men and women.”
he said. Dr. Foster is also very interested in emergency department work and had the
opportunity to work as a locum tenens physicians in several ERs. He is excited to join the
CBHA medical staff and looks forward to beginning his practice.
Personal interests include model rocketry. “I love to build model rockets with my kids,”
he said. He has two sons, age 4 and 7 and a little two year old daughter. He is also very
interested in WWII and Vietnam War history. “I also like to go fly fishing and hunt birds. I
hunted with my father in my growing up years.” He enjoys the martial arts and plans to
get back into it once he has settled into the community.
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Linda Simmons
12 years at cbha!
Linda graduated from high school in 1969. She began work on a full-time
basis for Dr. Richard Bunch and Dr. Kenneth Pershall. “Their clinic was on
Main Street at that time and remained in that location until 1981 when
the Fourteenth Avenue Medical Center opened,” she said. “I had several
short moves out of the area in those early times; the clinic hired me back
when I returned.” She worked as a receptionist – a position that gradually
drifted into billing. Linda likes people; she enjoyed the interaction with
patients and staff alike. “We were like a little family,” she recalls.
That ”family” expanded dramatically when 14th Avenue Medical Center
and CBHA merged in 2004. ”I remained in the billing department ,” she
said. Her experience in billing helped her out a lot. “The medical codes,
insurance companies, etc., were familiar to me.” The location for the
CBHA billing department has changed several times since she began. The
current location across the street from OFC has worked out well. “I am a
people person so I miss seeing everyone in the main building,” she said. “However, it is peaceful and quiet
with fewer interruptions so it has worked out well.”
Linda has enjoyed working in health care all these years. “I do really love it,” she said. Keeping up with all
of the changes in the commercial insurance accounts she manages has been and remains challenging.
“Right now I am dealing with the insurance companies’ changes in benefits…basically what is covered.
The companies are tightening up and many times reducing benefits to the patients.” She tries to intervene
for the patient and help out whenever she can.
She is amazed at the growth she has seen at CBHA since 2004. “It’s so great that we are able to offer so
many services to the Connell and Mattawa areas.” There are also constant updates to equipment and
training that has allowed her to keep up. Linda’s favorite part of working has always been her contact with
people.
Linda has many interests outside of work. She and husband, Ken, are actively involved in Othello’s Classic
Car Club. They have restored several old vehicles over the years and participate in classic car shows
around the state. She has also been a member of a Beta Sigma Phi Sorority group. “We have a lot of fun
plus our service projects benefit the community”. Linda and Ken are both involved in Othello’s Pet Rescue.
They have adopted some animals and also foster cats until permanent homes can be found. “Sometimes
it seems like we have a million,” she laughed. Linda also likes to work outdoors in her yard. “Time is limited
for that; however, I enjoy it.”
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HR CORNER
SPECIAL DATES
Birthdays
Shall We Play A Game?
If you haven’t logged into Relias
lately, when you do, you will see
a new gaming feature! Upon
login, it will take you through a
quick tour. The purpose is simply
to add a little fun to your learning
experience. Whether you choose
to use the gaming feature or
not is up to you; your required
courses will still be there under
“My Learning.” The departmental
leader board has also been
activated so that departments
can compete against each other
as well. For more information or
help, please contact Rebecca in
HR (Ext 8753).
y
l
n
o
f
f
a
t
s
benefits quiz!
1/21 - Luthene Manzo
1/22 - Rosalia Avila
1/22 - Irasema Pruneda
1/24 - Silvia Silva
1/25 - Christopher Garza
1/25 - Sally Voight
1/26 - Salvador Jauregui
1/27 - Maria Gonzalez
1/27 - Carlos Ruiz
1/28 - Yesenia Carriero
1/29 - Rebecca Locke
1/31 - Laura Garza
1/31 - Samantha Guerra
2/2 - Maria Vela
2/9 - David Hoffeins
2/9 - Zuleica Morfin
2/10 - Rodrigo Ozuna
2/12 - Grace Quinonez
2/14 - David Bass
2/14 - Mathew Garza
2/14 - Estella Perez
2/15 - Erizbehida Valencia
2/17 - Amelia Mungia
2/18 - Edna Hymas
2/18 - Daniela Tercero
2/18 - Maria Vazquez
2/19 - Emily Medina
2/19 - Kirk Morris
Events
2/2 - Ground Hogs Day
2/4 - Wear Red Day
2/14 - Valentine’s Day
2/15 - President ’s Day
What are the 9 Holidays that
staff 1.only
CBHA offers?
If you answer correctly you will get a
chance to win a gift card!
Email your answers to
Lori at LorenaB@cbha.org
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