Every month, PPMC staff members who embody Service, Teamwork, Achievement, and Respect, are named Presby STARs. In addition to earning recognition from their colleagues, these outstanding all-stars also receive a certificate from CEO Michele Volpe and a $100 award.
Though 2020 has been a year of curveballs so far, clinical and non-clinical staff alike have done their best to ensure that every PPMC patient and visitor receives the care, attention, and empathy they need. When a flustered patient broke her cane en route to the hospital, Patricia Velez, an administrative assistant for the Heart & Vascular Intensive Care Unit, provided her with coffee, cookies, and red duct tape to repair the cane, as well as a listening ear. NeuroIntensive Care nurse Tatyana Gumenyuk, RN, also showed extraordinary compassion and support when she stationed herself at the bedside of a patient dying from COVID-19. For hours, Gumenyuk held his hand and played music, offering comfort and reassuring him that he was not alone.
Patient care associate Ryan Guinup received two separate nominations, demonstrating how Presby’s STAR staff consistently go above and beyond. When a patient with challenging behavior was waiting for a bed in the psychiatric unit, Guinup took him on walks around the unit and redirected his behavior. His colleagues noted that he was “a true professional” and did an outstanding job “keeping the patient safe while simultaneously setting healthy boundaries.” Guinup was also commended for his caring attitude after helping a patient’s family member who was unfamiliar with public transportation. He walked them to the entrance, personally ordered an Uber ride, and gave them instructions on how to safely make it to the train station.
Thank you to all of our STARs for demonstrating kindness, compassion, and courage each day. You are an inspiration to your patients, colleagues, and community!
JUNE 2020
- Latora Brown — Film Room, Radiology
- Nyesha Greer, BSHA/HM — Phlebotomy
- Renee Ruffin — 5 East
- Sheena Williams, RN — Emergency Department
JULY 2020
- Myra Cain-Houston, MSN, RN, CAPA — Gastroenterology
- Roselle Carlos — Environmental Services
- Elizabeth Haemmerle, RN — Heart & Vascular Intensive Care Unit
- Tan’Nette Grandberry — Gastroenterology
- Tatyana Gumenyuk, RN — NeuroIntensive Care Unit
AUGUST 2020
- Christina D’Alessandro, BSN, RN — Nursing Administration
- Allison-Hayley DiGiacinto, BSN, RN — Perioperative
- Ryan Guinup — Trauma Surgical Intensive Care Unit
- Patricia Velez — Heart & Vascular Intensive Care Unit
- Malikah Wilson-Morrison — Food & Nutrition Services