Riley safety awards honor those who lead the way every day.
By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org
Safety is always top-of-mind at Riley Children’s Health, but Monday morning was an opportunity to spotlight several team members who have walked the walk in the past year.
To kick off Safety Week at Riley, members of the Safety Advocate Council gathered to recognize individuals in different departments for their leadership in the safety space.
Dr. Mara Nitu, chief medical officer, thanked the group for its work, noting that interdisciplinary cooperation and passion for taking care of kids make Riley stand apart.
“You make a huge impact, not simply by preventing harm and designing all the structures that help us keep our patients safe, but most importantly through the influence you all have on the culture of safety,” she said. “I’m so proud and so thankful for all your work.”
Monday’s award winners included: Ronin St James, a nurse in the PICU, for error prevention; Michelle Kussin, pharmacist on the infectious disease team, medication safety; Vannessa Taylor, labor and delivery nurse, team member safety; and Lindsey Biggs, project manager-education, safety leader award.
Taylor, who said she was completely caught off-guard by the award, was nonetheless grateful.
"It felt good to be recognized and honored for orchestrating the psychological debriefing platform," she said. "I spent hours researching different patient cases and providing my team a safe space to debrief traumatic cases. I am very thankful for being nominated and awarded the Team Member Safety Award."
The Safety HeRO Award, presented by the High Reliability Organization Workgroup, recognizes teams and individuals who promote a culture where it is easy to do the right thing and impossible to do the wrong thing. This year’s award went to the 5W and 5EA virtual mentors assigned to support new nurses on the hematology-oncology and stem cell units. Mentors recognized were Erika Pierce, Allison Scott, Carol Hayden, Carly Cason, Nicole Wilson, Megan Thompson, Melanie Toledo and Jake Harmon.
All nominees also were honored at the event.
David Biggerstaff, Riley’s new president, dropped in to congratulate the nominees and winners and encourage them to keep moving forward.
“Hearing about the work that happens in this organization every day is just exceptional,” he said.
“I want to thank all of you for that commitment. I want to thank you for your commitment to our kids. I just could not be more impressed with the work of this organization, and I look forward to continuing to work with you as we build on that foundation.”
The Riley Safety Fair will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Maternity Tower atrium.
Photos by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org
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