Achievement Awards banquet honors winners of the Grace Awards, Excellence in Leadership, and Gold ROSE awards, as well as employees celebrating milestone anniversaries.

Wednesday evening, nearly 300 employees of Stanford Children’s Health gathered at the Arrillaga Alumni Center at Stanford University to attend the 26th annual Achievement Awards. The occasion recognizes winners of the Grace Awards, Excellence in Leadership, Gold ROSE awards, and employees celebrating milestone anniversaries in service to the organization.

Grace Awards

“The Grace Awards are in honor of Lucile Salter Packard, and the reason we called it the Grace Awards is because she was known as a woman of grace,” said Christopher G. Dawes, president and CEO at Stanford Children’s Health. “Her vision and compassion led to the creation of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. It is truly unique.”

The Grace Awards recognize outstanding achievement and dedication in caring for children and expectant mothers. This year Stanford Children’s Health named Eleazer Delgadillo, housekeeping assistant, as a Grace Award winner and the 2017 Employee of the Year.

“Eleazer exudes a warm energy to everyone around her, and she’s humble,” said Jill Sullivan, MSN, RN, vice president of hospital transformation, referencing comments shared by Eleazer’s colleagues.  “She doesn’t expect recognition for her work, and she truly deserves recognition. She’s a major asset to our hospital.”

In addition to Employee of the Year, Stanford Children’s Health also acknowledged four Grace Award honorees:

Donald Andrzejewski, assistant chief engineer, engineering and maintenance

Alison Carley, RN, clinical nurse IV

Debbi Friedman, licensed clinical social worker

Nancy McDonald, nurse practitioner, cardiology

Excellence in Leadership

Kathleen Cueto, patient care manager, for unit PCU 360, was recognized with the Excellence in Leadership Award, which was established to honor a person whose primary responsibility is to manage people, projects, or processes. The award acknowledges an individual who excels in the attributes of leadership, teamwork, communication, accountability, customer service, and achieving results.

“Kat is an exceptionally strong leader who is well respected by her staff, physicians, and other leaders throughout the organization,” said Kelly Johnson, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer, citing comments made by colleagues in Cueto’s nomination letter. “Kat is the epitome of a servant leader, with a strong focus on staff, while putting what is best for the patient at the center of decision making.”

Gold ROSE

Providing extraordinary family-centered care is central to the organization’s values at Stanford Children’s Health. The Gold ROSE awards were established to honor employees who exemplify these values and who are extraordinary in their work with colleagues, patients, and families. This year 12 employees were honored as Gold ROSE award winners at the Achievement Awards banquet.

Lisa Demotta, patient placement

Bethan Faulkner, center for nursing excellence

Ryan Ventura, maternity

Stacie Brown, pediatric CVICU

Janice Yee, amb ctr-short stay unit

Katherine Yablonsky, social work svc

Delia Sandoval, human resources

Jan Cunningham, IS-training

Jason Lawrence, medical records

Lindsay de Borba, marketing

Reyes Noriega, clinic-peds

Nidia Medina, volunteer services

Anniversaries

Each year Stanford Children’s Health recognizes individuals who have achieved major milestones in their dedication and service to the organization. This year marks a special occasion as two employees celebrated their 45^th anniversaries. Stanford Children’s Health recognized Joseph Roberson, pharmacy, and Barbara Baker, neonatal ICU, for their service.

“It takes a diverse array of talented people to provide truly exceptional care that we give at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital,” said Dennis Lund, MD, chief medical officer. “Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford is a fantastic organization filled with wonderful people, and we look forward to continuing collaboration and success for our employees and patients through extraordinary care, continued learning, and breakthrough discoveries.”