Valeria Davis, RN
Congratulations to Intermountain nurses Valeria Davis, Carol Ann Hammond, Tammy Brown Hinterman, Shirsten Loomis, and Ethal Tovar Christensen who were honored as “Utah Top Nurses” by The Salt Lake Tribune.
Valeria Davis, RN, a cardiovascular nurse at Intermountain Medical Center, was nominated by a patient who went through a hard time as she was recovering from a heart valve replacement. “Valeria made sure I was doing okay at least 10 times a day. She was so sweet and helpful. I’ll never forget her. She made me feel like I was at the Ritz Carlton and I was her only customer!” the patient wrote when nominating her.
Carol Ann Hammond, RN
Carol Ann Hammond, RN, from the Alta View Hospital Emergency Department, was nominated by a coworker who wrote in her nomination, “Following Carol Ann throughout her shift, one sees her sitting bedside at the patient’s and family level and genuinely listening to all with compassion and empathy. Carol Ann’s quiet and unflappable efficiency belies the fact that she’s busy with multiple tasks, but never too busy not to give 100% to the
task at hand.”
Tammy Brown Hinterman, RN
Tammy Brown Hinterman, RN, trauma program manager at McKay-Dee Hospital, was nominated by Michael Brunson, PhD, clinical psychologist. “She’s an outstanding member of our team, providing critical incident trauma debriefing services to first responders. She’s professional, knowledgeable, and empathetic,” he wrote. Tammy now also participates debriefing as part of her volunteer work with Utah’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team.
Shirsten Ann Loomis, RN
Shirsten Ann Loomis, RN, with Intermountain Homecare and Hospice, was nominated by a patient. The patient wrote, “Shirsten comes to my home once a week to draw labs, and to deaccess a port. During each visit she always has positive words and a wonderful attitude she brings into my home.”
Ethel Tovar Christensen, RN
When Ethel Tovar Christensen, RN, was recognized, she was an educator in the NICU at Primary Children’s Hospital. She’s now a heart transplant nurse coordinator at Primary Children’s. The person who nominated her said of Ethel, “Her dedication to the role of educator is to help other nurses achieve their best possible performance. Ethel is an accomplished nurse, very well trained, and a dedicated professional."
Lori Weston, administrator at Park City Hospital
Hats off to Lori Weston, administrator at Park City Hospital, for recently graduating from The Academy GE Administrative Fellows, Class of 2022. She's worked tirelessly during the past two years to hone the essential knowledge, leadership skills, and business acumen needed to lead within a top 100 U.S.healthcare system like Intermountain.
“While her administrative and interpersonal skills are noteworthy, her compassion may be her greatest strength—although this plays into her other strengths,” says Austin Smith, MD, Emergency Department medical director. “While COVID cases were ramping up, most people steered clear of the ER. Lori would stop by daily to check-in and make sure we had plenty of PPE and wanted to know if she could help us in any way.”
As part of her GE Administrative Fellows work, Lori was asked to focus on a passion project. This project needed to be something that would impact the hospital, the community, and the system.
Lori’s project, “Transforming Healthcare Culture to Support Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion,” focuses on creating policies and priorities to support a more inclusive culture by confronting systems of inequity, demonstrating accountable change, and promoting advancements in sustained efforts.
This wasn’t just a project in the sense of a discussion and presentation. Lori really built a new culture around equity, diversity, and inclusion.
“When organizations embrace diversity, they improve their functionality and outcomes,” Lori says.
Nate Rowley, RN, Emergency Department manager, leads Park City Hospital’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
“Having the administrative support for our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts makes all the difference,” Nate says. “She has helped get initiatives off the ground, created engagement in our efforts, and has held people accountable to the guidelines we’ve established.”
Lori is exactly the type of leader healthcare needs, Dr. Smith says.
“She’s patient-centric yet equally concerned about caregivers and ensuring they have the tools needed to provide outstanding care,” Dr. Smith says. “During the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, when most hospitals were cutting staff, Lori, being patient-centric, began mobilizing resources for the most vulnerable populations. Despite working in an affluent community, Lori’s outreach and support doesn’t see boundaries across socioeconomic lines.”
“Lori has always worked tirelessly with community partners to ensure we are reaching the different demographics in the community,” says Wing Province, Park City Hospital’s medical director.
Because of her dedication to the community, caregivers, and patients, Lori has received numerous awards for her service. She was ranked by LinkedIn as #2 of the Top Five Hospital Administrators During the COVID-19 Pandemic as determined by the emergency physicians who staff their emergency departments; Named in the Utah Business Magazine 2021 CEOs of the Year; and received the Community Benefit Engagement Award by the Utah Department of Health.
“It’s hard for me to put in words how much she has impacted me personally and professionally,” Dr. Province says. “She’s the type of leader who is inspiring and brings the most out of those around her. Her work ethic is legendary. She has been seen plowing sidewalks and checking in with caregivers at all hours of the night. After a tragic incident in the community, she came to the hospital and stayed the entire night ensuring caregivers were supported. The following day, she went to work as usual. When I commented on her working nearly 36 hours straight, her response was, ‘Well you physicians do it, so it’s the least I can do.’ In short, Lori is inspirational, incredibly hard working, and an absolute joy to work with.”
Angelo Giardino, MD, PhD
Angelo Giardino, MD, PhD, chair of the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and chief medical officer at Primary Children’s Hospital, who’s been appointed to the national Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission.
The non-partisan agency provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide array of issues affecting Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Dr. Giardino has spent more than 30 years working with Medicaid, and says he looks forward to using his academic skills to illuminate issues that have no easy solutions.
The U.S. Comptroller General appoints the Commission’s 17 commissioners, who come from diverse regions across the United States and bring broad expertise and a wide range of perspectives on Medicaid and CHIP. The commission serves as an independent source of information on Medicaid and CHIP and it publishes issue briefs and data reports throughout the year to support policy analysis and program accountability.
Read the Government Accountability Office press release about the appointment.