At Greene County Medical Center’s employee recognition celebration on March 23, Jesus Valles was given the 2021 Van Zelderen Excellence award. The recognition celebration honored 10 Van Zelderen Excellence nominees, as well as 32 employees with milestone work anniversaries.
Valles’ nomination noted, “Jesus helps serve Ever Greene Ridge with enthusiasm and respect for the residents and addresses each individual’s needs or requests with courtesy. The residents enjoy having Jesus at Ever Greene Ridge as he is very friendly and timely with his work. Jesus is very kind to the elderly population, conversing with them in a professional manner while also making the resident feel very comfortable. The residents love the ‘extra’ conversations, as often times they experienced loneliness over the last couple years. Jesus’ work has been timely, he addresses the problem and provides the answer or fix, and we appreciate his team work. Jesus is very pleasant, always smiling and courteous, and the Ever Greene Ridge residents love him!”
Valles has been an employee at the Medical Center since 2019 where he started as an Environmental Services (EVS) tech and then in 2021 transferred to Facility Services as a maintenance worker.
The Van Zelderen Excellence award, previously known as the Employee Exemplifying Excellence award, is an honor that is given yearly to an employee who goes above and beyond to uphold the medical center’s Pride values of patient-centered care, respect, integrity, dedication and empathy.
A well-deserving team member is chosen by fellow co-workers who review the nominations and choose the award winner who they feel made an outstanding contribution in the last year to enhancing patients’ experiences. The medical center offers all employees the opportunity to nominate co-workers for the Van Zelderen Excellence award.
Other nominees for the 2021 Van Zelderen Excellence Award included Melissa Caraher, Greene County Family Medicine Clinic; Steve Hagen, facilities; Brandon Hayes, safety; Margaret McCoy, pharmacy; Anette Morlan and Kristy Ramirez, long term care; Lori Rasmussen, patient access; and Maddeline Smith and Amber Pope, business office.
This year the award was renamed to honor Cornelis “Case” Van Zelderen, who was named the 2019 Employee Exemplifying Excellence Award for upholding the medical center’s values and mission of being Always Here, Always Caring. Van Zelderen worked at the medical center from 2008 – 2021, first as an EVS tech and then as a patient transporter before passing away unexpectedly in early 2021. Van Zelderen portrayed the values of the medical center each and every day, and was well deserving of the honor, as were all award winners since the program began in 1979.
A total of 32 employees were recognized for milestone work anniversaries. Among them were Ann Wenthold, 25 years of service; Jodi Schroeder and Traci Wiggins, 30 years of service; and Becky Wolf and Susan Frahm, 40 years of service.
Greene County Medical Center will hold its nursing recognition awards in May starting with the DAISY Award Ceremony which will be held Friday, May 6, at 10:30 am in the medical center lobby. This event will be open to the public and will also be a Facebook Live event.
