Meet the Strauss Service Excellence Award winners

Sunil Abraham
Patient Financial Coordinator
Wound Care Clinic

Since joining UT Southwestern in 2014, Mr. Abraham has significantly improved the financial performance of the Wound Care Clinic’s collections by educating the front desk staff, improving the accuracy of patients’ financial responsibility for clinic visits, and maintaining positive relationships with patients.

Mr. Abraham is patient and compassionate to those who might be concerned about payments, and offers alternatives and payment plans when needed. He also supports fellow front desk staff members by ensuring information is accurate and providing backup information and expertise during check-in processes.

A Meritorious Service Award winner in 2017, Mr. Abraham also frequently volunteers at Feed My Starving Children and Habitat for Humanity.

Christine Kearney
Physical Therapist
Therapy Services

Incorporating PACT values on a daily basis, Ms. Kearney earned 13 PACT cards from patients and staff alike in 2017. Her outgoing, compassionate demeanor and can-do attitude enable her to problem-solve with her patients during every encounter to ensure they are receiving the best quality of care at UTSW.

Ms. Kearney’s experience in acute care makes her a highly sought-after resource by staff and students. She provides educational experiences throughout the year, serving as a clinical instructor to Physical Therapy students specializing in patient mobility for critically ill patients in the ICU. She is also working toward completing her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Ron McElroy
Maintenance Foreman
Clements University Hospital Facilities

As Maintenance Foreman for Facilities Management in Clements University Hospital, Mr. McElroy and his team are the first to respond to building issues. Always going above and beyond to accomplish tasks quickly and effectively, he sometimes completes the job before a work order can even be created, based upon the urgency of the request.

Recognized by many UT Southwestern leaders for his constant effort to the keep the Hospital in a high state of readiness, he is one of the Hospital’s Facilities employees designated to assist during Joint Commission inspections.

Mr. McElroy is a 2015 Meritorious Service Award winner. He also serves as a deacon at his church.

Mary-Grace Reed
Quality Improvement Analyst
Performance Improvement

Passionate about health care data analytics, Ms. Reed researches, retrieves data, interprets, and discusses results with the goal of finding opportunities to improve the processes and outcomes that can positively affect the quality and safety of patients’ care. Her dedication to improving quality/performance, analytics, and business intelligence tools makes her a valuable, forward-thinking asset to the Performance Improvement department. Away from work, she participates in the DFW Hospital Council, Hospital Improvement Innovation Network, and is an active member of her church.

Zulema Hinojosa
Certified Medical Office Assistant
UTSW Park Cities Clinical Center

Maintaining professionalism in all she does, Ms. Hinojosa consistently takes ownership in providing care for her patients and ensuring they are completely satisfied with their care. A CMOA at Park Cities for four years, she works efficiently and effectively with a helpful attitude and her interactions with patients, providers, and peers are always positive and appropriate.

Her nominator wrote: "Zulema is a compassionate caregiver and her patients speak highly of her abilities and professionalism. "

Tiffani Lee
Release of Information Senior Specialist
Health Information Management

Always going above and beyond, Ms. Lee processes urgent patient and provider requests for medical records in a timely and accurate manner – ensuring patient care is never compromised. A UT Southwestern employee for three-and-a-half years, she displays exceptional customer service whether communicating with patients, co-workers, or management.

In the words of her nominator: "Tiffani is an awesome team player who consistently displays dependability and flexibility."

Peggy Bartholomew, MHSM, RN, PMP
Quality Project Manager
University Hospitals Quality and Performance Improvement

Ms. Bartholomew tackles her projects with the same passion and commitment that one expects to see on the hospital floor. She approaches a problem first from the perspective of how it impacts a patient and then from the viewpoint of the provider taking care of that patient.

Since joining UT Southwestern nearly four years ago, Ms. Bartholomew has taken charge of many important and complex clinical quality projects, including clinical alarm safety, telemetry utilization, and sepsis mortality reduction. When tasked with reducing alarm fatigue at hospitals, she formulated a pilot plan for several ICUs that resulted in a 25-30 percent reduction in physiologic alarms.

She is a member of the Project Management Institute, and is a 2016 Meritorious Service Award recipient.

Shelli Hardy, MCN, RD, LD
Registered Dietitian – Infusion
Simmons Cancer Center Support Services

Exemplifying PACT attributes every day, Ms. Hardy goes above and beyond to ensure each of her patients is provided with full-circle care. She is known for spending as much time as needed with each and strives to treat them not just as patients – but as individuals.

Ms. Hardy jumps at the opportunity to educate others and stays abreast of advances in the evolving world of medicine. She was recently invited to speak on “Nutrition Intervention for Patients with Gastric Cancer” at the Dallas Stomach Cancer Education Symposium, and she is involved in a weekly Pancreatic Cancer Multidisciplinary Program at the Simmons Cancer Center. In addition, she was recently involved in creating a tool to more effectively screen patients for malnutrition.

Kim Pongsatianwong, RDMS, RVT
Sonographer
Ultrasound, Imaging Services

Since joining the Ultrasound team in 2010, Ms. Pongsatianwong has received countless PACT cards from patients, co-workers, and departments applauding her lead-by-example style and positive interactions with those around her.

Ms. Pongsatianwong’s dedication to the department and the ultrasound team is unparalleled. She assists with training students, radiology residents, and new hires; she also plays a vital role in accreditation requirements.

She is an active member of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography and was named among the 2017 Top 25 Technologists by the North Texas Radiologic Technologist Society.

Robert Witherspoon, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP
Clinical Staff Pharmacist
Pharmacy

Often praised for his contributions by multidisciplinary members of the health care team, Mr. Witherspoon shares his expertise with genuine enthusiasm and concern for the patient.

“Robert demonstrates the true definition of a clinical pharmacist,” his nominator wrote. “The ICUs house the highest acuity of patients and require extremely close monitoring and an inquiring mind.”

Deeply committed to Pharmacy Department initiatives as well as improving systems, Mr. Witherspoon serves on the Clinical Quality Team, Medication Safety Committee, and the Antimicrobial Subcommittee of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. He has eight years of service with UTSW and is a four-time Blue PACT Pin Service Award recipient.

Cathleen Bauer, M.S. RN, ANP-C
Nurse Practitioner
Neurology and Neurotherapeutics

Ms. Bauer’s strong medical background and in-depth knowledge of headache disorders – combined with her compassion and holistic approach – contribute to the excellent patient-centered care she provides. She primarily sees follow-up patients and performs procedures used in headache medicine.

Ms. Bauer, who recently reached 10 years of service at UT Southwestern, came to Neurology and Neurotherapeutics from the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and has worked in the Headache and Facial Pain Disorders Program for six years. Instrumental in launching the Program, she initiated its outpatient and inpatient care procedures as well as established its presence at the Richardson site.

Portia Dunn
Clinic Staff Assistant
Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery

Always calm under pressure, Ms. Dunn is known for her flexibility and ability to turn on a dime to meet the changing priorities in her fast-paced work environment, where she is responsible for patient scheduling for three surgeons, four nurse practitioners, and two nurses.

Her patience, compassion, and ability to connect with patients – many of whom are very sick with life-threatening illnesses – are what they appreciate and comment about the most. Her nominator wrote: "Portia’s kindness and willingness to go above and beyond in order to help alleviate some of their stress during a very difficult time is what sets her apart."

Ms. Dunn has been with UTSW for almost 12 years and with the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery for six years.