HARI recognizes employees of the year from member hospitals

THE HOSPITAL Association of Rhode Island honored individuals from throughout the state  at an awards ceremony recently.
THE HOSPITAL Association of Rhode Island honored individuals from throughout the state at an awards ceremony recently.

WARWICK – An annual awards ceremony held recently by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island honored individuals from throughout the state.
The event, “Celebration of Excellence in Hospital Care,” recognized employees of the year from HARI’s member hospitals by the HARI Board of Trustees for exemplary performance and dedication to health care.
Recipients of the Benjamin R. Sturges Distinguished Service Award, Francis R. Dietz Award for Public Service and Edward J. Quinlan Award for Patient Safety Excellence were honored.

Recipients of the Award for Excellence in Hospital Care include:

  • Diane Ferreira, director of social services, Butler Hospital.
  • Antonio Andrade, nuclear medicine technologist, Kent Hospital.
  • Gino Olaes, public safety/security manager, Landmark Medical Center.
  • Judith Shorter, clerk/receptionist-pulmonary medicine, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island
  • Kenneth Cotter, general/boiler mechanic, St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island
  • James Sharkey, general/boiler mechanic, St. Joseph Health Services of Rhode Island
  • Karen Ryan, supervisory medical supply technician, Providence VA Medical Center
  • Dawn Freeman, distribution technician, Roger Williams Medical Center
  • Lisa Kanakry, registered nurse, South County Hospital
  • Wendy Tucker, remote coder, Westerly Hospital
  • Iris Sian, NICU care assistant and certified nursing assistant, Women & Infants Hospital

The inpatient obstetrics team at Women & Infants Hospital, led by Dr. James O’Brien, was the recipient of the Edward J. Quinlan Award for Patient Safety Excellence.

The team was honored for successfully implementing a policy that has eliminated elective delivery at less than 39-weeks gestation. The award is a tribute to Edward Quinlan, who championed quality improvement and patient-safety initiatives while he served as president of HARI for two decades.

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Kenneth Belcher and Dr. Albert Puerini were the recipients of the 2014 Benjamin R. Sturges Distinguished Service Award.

Belcher was honored for dedicated service to CharterCARE Health Partners where he previously served as CEO.

Puerini was recognized for his work as president of Rhode Island Primary Care Physician Corp. The Distinguished Service Award is given in honor of Benjamin Sturges, a community leader who devoted his life to health care and to bettering the community.

Gerard Goulet and Dr. Pamela Steadman-Wood were the recipients of the Francis R. Dietz Award for Public Service.

Goulet was recognized for his impact on the state’s health care industry through his roles as regulator, attorney and educator. Steadman-Wood was honored for her work in providing home-based care to veterans with complex medical, social and behavioral conditions. The Francis R. Dietz Award for Public Service honors individuals for remarkable contributions to health care issues. HARI dedicates this public-service award to the legacy of Francis Dietz, a longtime CEO of Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island.

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