Honoring service excellence: Meet the newest Strauss Award winners
Congratulations to the latest class of recipients of UT Southwestern’s Diana and Richard C. Strauss Service Excellence Award.
The honorees for the second quarter of 2024 were celebrated Aug. 16 during a virtual event hosted by Jonathan Efron, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs.
Once each quarter, six team members are nominated by their peers for exemplifying excellence and professionalism on the job.
Three things define and unite Strauss Award winners:
- They excel at their jobs.
- They serve as role models for the next generation of employees.
- They share a spirit of volunteerism that strengthens our community.
Watch: Dr. Efron honors winners during the virtual event.
Nathan Bloom, B.S.N., RN, CNOR
Operating Room RN II
Surgical Services
“Nathan is often scheduled on the most difficult cases because the surgeons all request to have him in their rooms. He is unmatched in his problem-solving skills and ability to think outside the box to assist the team and to provide excellent care to patients.”
UTSW career: Mr. Bloom is a registered nurse in Surgical Services at Zale Lipshy Pavilion and will celebrate his 23rd anniversary at UT Southwestern in October. While he was still in nursing school, he met a UTSW operating room educator, which led to his recruitment more than two decades ago.
In his role: Mr. Bloom’s primary responsibility is setting up surgeons for success in the operating room by organizing the sterile field, positioning patients, and ensuring that during the procedure, surgeons have everything they need – where they need it. Additionally, he serves as a scrub nurse preceptor, teaching new staff and interns how to prepare for neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery cases.
One step ahead: When it comes to surgery, patients want to know that they have dedicated experts on their side when they need them most. They can rest assured that when complications arise, Mr. Bloom leans into the challenge. His experience and ability to anticipate developments help him to direct and focus the team while he assists the surgeon in producing a positive outcome.
Follow me: Mr. Bloom works daily on self-development while also helping to lift up those around him, serving as Clinical Ladder representative for Surgical Services, in an effort to raise the bar and push for higher standards of care. “Nathan is passionate about excellence in his profession, not only setting him apart as an expert in the field, but also as an example for those watching and learning,” his Strauss Award nominator wrote. “He is an incredible, patient teacher who is trusted to grow our unit.”
What he loves about his job: Mr. Bloom called working in surgery a dream job and couldn’t imagine doing something else. He said being part of a highly trained team that works together to heal patients is more satisfying than any other career he could conceive.
Raquel Bustos
Spanish Interpreter
Language Services
“Raquel knows the weight of responsibility that comes with this task and approaches each session with kindness, compassion, and humility. The impact of her work at the Radiation and Oncology clinics has been extremely positive and essential to implementing Language Services at both the East and West Campus locations.”
UTSW career: Ms. Bustos reached her second anniversary with UT Southwestern in July. She started as a dispatcher, and just six months later, she was promoted to Interpreter. Although she has spoken Spanish her entire life, Ms. Bustos dedicated herself to learning very precise and technical medical terminology to earn the promotion, ensuring that patients get the correct information and that she can accurately answer any questions they have.
In her role: She helps bridge communication gaps between patients and caregivers at Clements University Hospital and the Ophthalmology, Radiation Oncology clinics, delivering messages that require precision, extensive knowledge of technical language, and empathy in equal measure.
Can we have a word? Dedicated to doing her job to the best of her abilities, she checks in with doctors and nurses for each case before meeting with patients to verse herself on the message she’ll be asked to translate for patients around their diagnosis or treatment plan.
Go, team, go: Ms. Bustos volunteers to work different shifts at multiple locations, which has been a tremendous boost for Language Services, increasing that team’s productivity, efficiency, and quality. Her Strauss Award nominator called her efforts “stellar” and said Ms. Bustos is known for her dedication, is a “great team player,” and is “tremendously respected by her peers.”
What she loves about her job: “I’m not exactly sure what my life will look like in five years, but I plan to still be at UT Southwestern,” she said. “I really like the environment. I like the people. They’re a joy to work with. My managers and my co-workers have been great.”
Alyse Chambers
Administrative Associate
Advanced Practice Providers Administration
“Alyse is an exceptional employee who consistently is a role model for PACT service standards. She did a terrific job executing a large project while also providing administrative support to multiple executives who have daily needs that she addresses in a superior way, all the while maintaining a positive attitude.”
UTSW career: Ms. Chambers has been with UT Southwestern for three years. She said she sensed an immediate connection with her team, and everything came together perfectly when she joined the institution.
In her role: Her daily duties include keeping several executives’ calendars running smoothly, bringing leaders together for important meetings, and carefully watching over continuing medical education spending to ensure expense reports are processed properly.
UTSW ambassador: Ms. Chambers has been a key member of the planning committee for an important occasion this year, as UT Southwestern will serve as the host at an event for National APP Week 2024.
On wheels: While she’s all business at work, when she’s off duty, the most likely place to find Ms. Chambers is on roller skates. Hitting the street on skates was a hobby she picked up for exercise and amusement during the COVID-19 pandemic and she’s kept rolling ever since.
What she loves about her job: “I would definitely say my favorite part is working with our office staff,” Ms. Chambers said. “I can also say that no two days are the same, and I enjoy the challenge of always having new things to work on.”
Marlene Fernando, B.S.N., RN, CPAN
Registered Nurse II, Post Anesthesia Care Unit
Surgical Services
“Marlene is great at solving problems. Whether it’s a patient issue or a process improvement, she finds the best solution. Her quick thinking ensures patients get the best care.”
UTSW career: Ms. Fernando has served for two years in the recovery room at UT Southwestern, following two decades of work at a smaller hospital where she served in leadership. She said she had an epiphany after a friend died from cancer and she had a serious car accident, realizing that her true calling was working at the bedside.
In her role: She vigilantly watches over recovering patients, checking to ensure they’re stable, managing their pain, and making them comfortable while helping transition them to the floor. Ms. Fernando is known as an excellent communicator, providing clear explanations and compassionate support to patients and their families in the crucial and emotionally charged period after an operation is completed.
What she loves most about her job: While she works at every aspect of keeping patients feeling safe and comfortable, one of the most satisfying moments for Ms. Fernando is when she’s summoned to help when there might be a challenge getting an IV started. Bringing the patient through the IV placement as painlessly as possible brings instant relief to their face – and instant satisfaction to Ms. Fernando. “When I get a difficult IV on the first stick, that’s definitely a highlight for me,” she said.
She shines: Ms. Fernando is a member of the Sunshine Committee and the Unit-Based Council. This type of institutional service enables her to constantly work to enhance patient satisfaction and workplace morale.
Neatness counts: Something Ms. Fernando’s closest teammates know about her is that she is a perfectionist when it comes to bed neatness. She takes a great deal of pride in making patients’ beds to exacting standards, which means absolutely no wrinkles in the sheets – and pillows must be perfectly fluffed. She believes a perfect bed is vital to achieving maximum comfort.
Rylee Jefferson, RHIT
Senior Specialist
Health Information Management
“Rylee’s growth within this team as well as what she has been able to bring to the table have been a great enhancement. She has an impeccable work ethic.”
UTSW career: Ms. Jefferson started at UT Southwestern in September 2022 after relocating to Dallas-Fort Worth from the Louisville, Kentucky, area.
In her role: Her duties include auditing medical reports for accuracy. With her keen eye for detail, she keeps everything running smoothly for her team, identifying and correcting any issues. Ms. Jefferson leaves nothing to chance, meticulously researching details to maintain the integrity of records.
What she loves most about her job: Ms. Jefferson is passionate about helping her newer teammates. She loves to train recently added staff members and has a talent for making novice employees get past new-hire jitters, thoroughly versing them in any scenarios that may arise and how to deal with them.
A model of efficiency: Her years of experience in medical record auditing have given Ms. Jefferson the ability to anticipate areas where issues are most likely to arise. She shares that information with her newer colleagues, helping her team to ensure the correct information is provided before discrepancies have a chance to occur.
Pick six: Ms. Jefferson is a customer service ace. Her tremendous efforts have earned a half dozen PACT cards in the past six months. PACT stands for problem solving; ability, attitude, and accountability; communications and compassion; and teamwork. UT Southwestern team members are celebrated for great service when their colleagues or patients submit a PACT comment card in recognition of a great job being done.
Jocelyn “Jo” Melendez, RDMS, RVT
Sonographer
Imaging Services
“Jocelyn’s infectious positivity and unwavering dedication set her apart. She is always smiling and ready to assist patients and colleagues alike, demonstrating her profound commitment to our institution’s mission of exceptional patient care through high-quality diagnostic imaging.”
UTSW career: Mrs. Melendez joined UT Southwestern in 2016, arriving simultaneously with two colleagues from a smaller area hospital. They were all out-of-town transplants who, after their arrival in North Texas, were attracted by the opportunity to upgrade their careers to a top-notch health care institution.
In her role: She works at Outpatient Imaging Services in Richardson, where she performs ultrasounds on Ob/Gyn, general, and vascular patients.
What she loves most about her job: Mrs. Melendez said being part of her team makes every day at work fun and inspiring. She loves to build up her teammates any way she can. Each year for Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month in October, she creates more than 70 goody bags filled with sweet treats, bookmarks, stickers, and other fun items that are distributed to sonographers, advanced practice sonographers, and radiologists at UT Southwestern locations across the region.
Solid gold: It takes 16 PACT cards per year to earn a Gold PACT award, which is no small feat, and Mrs. Melendez has earned that lofty designation three years in a row.
Check 1, 2, …: When she’s not occupied by her work creating images of patients, Mrs. Melendez gives her time making rounds of all units at CUH, meticulously checking storage, medication, and equipment rooms for expired supplies and compromised packaging to ensure they’re safe for patient use.