Employees
recognized
for workplace
excellence
Ms. Shaw is the Adult Clinical Care Coordinator in
Respiratory Care. She has been employed at the Regional
Medical Center since November 1983.
Ms. Welch is the Nurse Manager of the Medical Inten-
sive Care Unit. She has been employed at the Regional
Medical Center since July 1987.
Fayette Medical Center.
Janet Fauver is the recipient of
the Employee of Excellence for the second quarter of 2011.
Ms. Fauver is a housekeeper, and she has been employed
at Fayette Medical Center since April 2011.
Northport Medical Center.
Ann Misra and Bessie
Reynolds were named recipients of the Excellence Award
at Northport Medical Center, which presents this award
twice a year.
Ms. Misra, a reg-
istered nurse in the
Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit, has been
employed at Northport
Medical Center since
September 2003.
Ms. Reynolds is a regis-
trar in Admissions and has
been employed at North-
port Medical Center since
December 2007.
wrote. “You fnally woke up a little more
and started mumbling.”
Ms. Johnson had woken up, but now
came another vigil to see if her brain had
survived being deprived of oxygen during
the heart attack.
A SPECIAL GROUP
Finally, Ms. Kelley’s
diary began to sound joyful. “[Sons] Josh
and Joel are able to feel better about ev-
erything. Teir mom is recovering. God is
involved 100 percent in this miracle and
in our family. Without Him, there would
have been no hope.
“I call you our Easter Miracle.”
Te professionals who cared forMs. John-
son concur. “I have to agree,” Ms. Morris
Troughout the year, the DCH Health System rec-
ognizes employees from its hospitals in Tuscaloosa,
Northport, Fayette and Pickens County for excellence
on the job.
Te employees were nominated by their peers to
receive recognition awards based on various criteria,
including outstanding job performance, attitude, de-
pendability and dedication to the mission of the Health
System and to its patients and employees.
DCH Regional Medical Center.
Angie Shaw and
Teresa Welch were the recipients of the DCH Regional
Medical Center Excellence Award for the third quarter
of 2011.
DCH Health System President/CEO Bryan
Kindred, FACHE, is the new chairman of
the Alabama Hospital Association (AlaHA).
Afer serving as chairman elect in 2010,
Mr. Kindred was named AlaHA chairman
at the association’s annual meeting.
“Bryan has continually provided out-
standing leadership for our association,
and we are honored to have him serve
as our chairman,” said AlaHA President
J. Michael Horsley, FACHE. “He has been
a board member and an ofcer for a num-
ber of years, as well as chaired numerous
committees and represented hospitals on
various statewide boards. He has shown
great dedication to health care and to the
patients it serves.”
Mr. Kindred began working at DCH
Regional Medical Center as an associate
administrator in 1985 and was named
president and CEO of DCH in 1996.
In addition to his work with AlaHA,
Mr. Kindred serves as a board member of
Coastal Risk Retention Group, Inc., and
First Wesleyan Church.
AlaHA, based in Montgomery, is
a statewide trade organization that
represents more
than 100 hospi-
tals and numerous
other health care
providers by ofer-
ing membership
services designed
to enhance the
provision of health care in Alabama.
Bryan Kindred named Chairman of AlaHA
said. “As sick as she was, it was a miracle.
Few get back to 100 percent.”
Te number of good outcomes has gone
up since DCH adopted induced hypother-
mia. In fact, according to Ms. Morris,
DCH was the frst hospital in the state to
incorporate the therapy.
As for Ms. Johnson, she said she re-
members little of what happened afer go-
ing to bed on the night of her heart attack.
“My next memory is seeing a dear
friend holding my hand and praying,” she
said. “Two nieces came to see me. I told
them I wanted a pizza. Another got me a
chocolate chip cookie.”
But she vividly remembers a vision she
had repeatedly during her induced coma.
“I’m walking home on a long country
road,” she recalled. “Tere are trees on both
sides, and I can see mountains. Te wind
is blowing in my face. Birds are chirping.
At the end of the road are people—they
are happy to see me. But they get further
and further away as I approach.”
Now that she’s back, she can’t help but
be thankful and a bit puzzled.
“My family and I would like to thank
the wonderful doctors and nurses who
worked tirelessly around the clock,” she
said. “Tey were truly incredible, and I
could not have asked for better care. God
bless each of them.
COOL!
—Continued from page 1
Bryan Kindred,
CEO
Induced hypothermia slows down metabolism, which rests the
heart and decreases swelling in the brain. The procedure not
only saves the heart, but also the brain.
“God sent me back—and without brain
damage,” she continued. “Why do I have
this opportunity? I thank Him every day.”
She said she hopes to demonstrate her
gratitude by doing public speaking to in-
spire other women to never give up hope.
And while she is taking new medicines
and checking in with her doctors regularly,
she said she doesn’t worry about her heart.
“I’m not scared to die,” she said. “I’m
not scared of anything. I know where I’m
going—to heaven. It’s reassuring. I know
I will feel the way I felt on that road in my
dream. At peace, so at peace.
“I’m going down that road. I’m going
home.”
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H E A L T H Y C O M M U N I T Y
D C H H E A L T H T A L K
H E A L T H S Y S T E M N E W S