Mat-Su Regional Medical Center Honors Outstanding Employees of 2019

5/28/2020

Mat-Su Regional Medical Center recently recognized some of its most dedicated and committed staff with employee awards for 2019.

Those awarded were nominated from a pool of 800 employees, who work together in clinical and non-clinical aspects to make the facility of Mat-Su Regional run smoothly.

Melissa Vaughan, Lead Surgical Technician, was selected Mat-Su Regional Employee of the Year. At the time of her nomination, Vaughan had completed over 1,361 surgical cases, totaling 285,701 minutes of operating room time.

Vaughan has worked at Mat-Su Regional for six years. She fell in love with the hospital from the moment she arrived. Vaughan ranks Mat-Su Regional high above any other place she has worked, especially in terms of friendliness.

Vaughan fits right in to that environment, according to the person who nominated her.

“While her knowledge base and skills are superlative, Mel is known for being a warm welcome to a cold operating room. Her eager smile is visible even behind her surgical mask, and her calm demeanor offers gentle reassurance to patients at their most vulnerable moments,” they said in their letter.

“I just want to do my best every day. I want to do the best for the patients. At any time, any one of these patients could be one of my family members,” Vaughan said.

The Summit Award was given to Chief Quality Officer Jennifer Moore, and the Quality Department. The award recognizes employees and departments that have performed with distinction on a series of successful initiatives that have had meaningful impact on the hospital as it moves towards its vision.

Because of the sensitive nature of much of the work the quality team performs, the group often doesn’t receive public recognition, according to Moore.

“We don’t get to boast or advertise a lot of what we do,” Moore said. “To have some acknowledgement of the hard work and efforts behind the scenes to keep the hospital moving forward…is pretty nice,” she said.

Moore has been working at Mat-Su Regional since 2008 when she started as a registered nurse, and transferred to Quality eight years ago after members of administration noticed she had an eye for statistics and data. She has worked in every quality-related position on her way to becoming the chief quality officer for the hospital.

Her nomination letter stated that, “Jen thrives on supporting and recognizing staff for their work in using safety tools and highly reliable processes to keep patients safe.”

Moore, along with her department, are credited in large measure for Mat-Su Regional being honored with the Patient Safety Award "High Reliability: Persevering in the Pursuit of Zero Patient Harm" by the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association in late 2019.

Among the pool of clinical employees was Eric Moreno, Director of the Medical Surgical Unit, who was chosen as Clinical Director of the Year.

Moreno, who has worked at the hospital for six years, became director of the unit in May 2019. His anonymous nominator wrote that the leadership in his department since that point has been noteworthy to all who have worked with him.

“He provides supportive guidance without completely taking over, and is an individual who will ‘get in the trenches’ with you,” they said.

Moreno believes his strengths as a director have to do with his dedication and commitment to the job. He has an open door policy and always makes sure his staff is able to see and talk to him in person - even the night shift.

“They can pretty much set their clock by me. They know that day in and day out I will be here at 5 o’clock every morning and I don’t leave until probably 5 o’clock every evening,” he said.

The Manager of the Year, Matt Sparks, was born and raised in the Matanuska Valley and has been working at Mat-Su Regional for about eight years.

Sparks has worked in the trades his whole career, and is currently Manager of Plant Operations and Maintenance for the Facility Department.

His nomination form noted that he was the “glue that keeps the facilities department together,” and read, “Whenever I have a problem, I ask myself WWMD (What Would Matt Do?). I am under the belief that Matt actually enjoys reading regulatory publications and manuals.”

Each person who received an award highlighted the strong sense of community and teamwork that they have experienced working at Mat-Su Regional. The hospital has twice been named one of the Top 150 Places to Work in Healthcare by Becker’s Hospital Review.

“Out of all of the facilities that I’ve ever worked at, this one has the best culture of any organization,” said Moreno.

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