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River Parishes
Hospital
500 Rue De Sante'
LaPlace, LA 70068
(985) 652-7000 |
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Melba Perez-Berguno Named RPH's 2008 Mercy Award Winner |
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 The River Parishes Hospital Leadership Team gathered Wednesday, April 2 to announce Melba Perez-Berguno, a Social Worker, as River Parishes Hospital’s 2008 Mercy Award Winner. (Pictured from left are Kat Trepagnier, Human Resources Director and Coordinator for the hospital's Mercy Award, Charlotte Dupré, CEO, Melba Perez-Berguno, and Kristi Hymel, Director of Health Information Management Services.)
This honor puts her in the running for Lifepoint Hospital’s 2008 company-wide Mercy Award, which is the highest honor an employee can receive. As the hospital’s Mercy Award recipient, she received a $500 cash prize. If selected as LifePoint’s Mercy Award winner, he will be honored in June at LifePoint’s Board of Trustee Conference in Chicago.
The Mercy Award was created in 2002 to recognize one employee within the LifePoint company who exemplifies the humanitarian spirit upon which LifePoint was founded. The award was created in memory of Scott Mercy, LifePoint Hospitals’ founding Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mercy was the youngest senior manager at HCA and, in 1998, was named CEO of the hospital group that would become LifePoint Hospitals. Just one year after LifePoint’s spin-off from HCA, Mercy lost his life while learning to fly an airplane. Although Mercy no longer walks the halls of LifePoint’s corporate office, his spirit carries on in the employees who embrace his philosophies -- balancing family and career, staying healthy, getting involved in worthy causes and giving back wherever you can. Mercy’s enthusiasm, compassion and merciful spirit continue to define what LifePoint Hospitals is all about.
Berguno was nominated by a coworker who stated, “This woman is a Godsend!” “She has a very compassionate and loving way of dealing with people – maybe it’s because both she and her husband have survived cancer and can better relate to what patients and their families are going through. She is constantly pulled in multiple directions, yet manages to keep a smile on her face and gets the job done.”
Even through her own personal trials and tribulations, she has continued to give to others. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina she opened her home to a hurricane victim, who .showed up on the RPH doorstep in search of a job and had no place to stay. She recognized that this person was not looking for a hand-out, but trying to help herself, so she did just that by opening her home to her.
Although her family has been through multiple hardships involving serious health conditions and personal ordeals over the past several years, Berguno feels that when there are situations in which she can help, she is not going to hesitate to do her part. She is currently a board member for the St. John Association of Retarded Citizens, serves as the attendance taker for the Youth Ministry at her church, is an Auxiliary member for Gideon International, is a Volunteer for the American Cancer Society, and has participated in the St. John Parish Relay for Life for the past 11 years. She was also a part of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Ministry and assisted with services provided by Global Maritime Ministry.
When asked how she feels being named the RPH Mercy Award Winner, she smiled and said, “It is a humble honor.” She continued, “I think every person can be deserving of this award because we are all given opportunities to give of ourselves. It’s up to us how we choose to respond to these opportunities.”
Kat Trepagnier, HR Director and Coordinator for the hospital’s Mercy Award program summed up the feelings shared by the entire hospital staff, “Just by the few things we at RPH know you’ve been through, God has shown us your strength. You are truly the epitome of what Scott Mercy stood for.”
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RPH Holds 2008 Service Award Banquet |
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River Parishes Hospital’s 25th annual Service Awards Banquet was held Tuesday, March 11, 2008 at Armand’s Bistro at the Quality Inn in LaPlace. Each year, River Parishes Hospital recognizes employees by their length of service to the facility. Awards are given to employees who have completed their 5th, 10th, 15th and 25th year of consecutive employment at RPH. The hospital opened in June of 1982, making this the first year we were able to honor a group of employees with a 25 year service award.
At no other time in the hospital’s history have we had such a large number of employees to honor. A total of 51 employees were recognized. RPH is proud to have been a top employer in the River Parishes region for over 25 years, which is apparent by the number of employees who were awarded for achieving a 5-year milestone of service. Each manager was called upon to recognize the employees in his/her department and hand out their respective award.
Kat Trepagnier, Director of Human Resources, who served as Master of Ceremonies explained, “In the past, our Chief Executive Officer has recognized these employees but this year we decided to turn this over to our department managers. It was an excellent decision because we heard some wonderful stories and some outstanding achievements about our employees from their respective department managers with whom they work with every day. As we listened, we laughed out loud and cried with joy, just like you would with family.”
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 After all employees were awarded for their years of service, Charlotte Dupré, CEO, introduced the three nominees for Manager of the Year. These nominees were chosen by the hospital’s Sr. Administrative Team. She opened the sealed envelope and announced a three-way tie: Kerry Kippes, Maintenance Director, Diane Abbondante, Surgical Services Director, and Brad Vicknair, Materials Management Director (pictured at right). Ms. Dupré said with enthusiasm, “we had three outstanding nominees, and we wanted all three to be recognized for the contributions they make to the facility, their outstanding quality of work and the positive attitude they demonstrate every day. What a joy it is to work with these folks.” Each winner received a check for $2,500 and a four-day weekend off with pay. |
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To close the evening, Dupré recognized the six “star” employees who were nominated for the 2008 Employee of the Year. They were: Trude Montz, Rhonda Burns, Sharon Tamporello, Denise Nosacka, Kyle Cason and Melba Perez-Berguno. These employees were nominated by a coworker, manager, patient, or visitor at the hospital for their loving care, professionalism, kind actions, teamwork and especially compassion they have shown to our patients and visitors. They go above and beyond their job duties on a daily basis. “We are very proud to have these genuine, compassionate men and women as employees of River Parishes Hospital. Dupré announced with great pride the Employee of the Year winner as Kyle Cason, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist in the Radiology Department. |
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 Cason (at left) has been recognized on several occasions by physicians, coworkers and patients for his dedication to River Parishes Hospital and his genuine concern for his patients. He has been employed as a Nuclear Med Tech at the hospital since it opened in 1982.On his own initiative, he became certified in osteoporosis by passing the national registry exam and currently serves as the hospital’s DEXA Technologist. Because of his commitment to offer the latest in technology to his patients, River Parishes Hospital recently purchased a new Bright View SPECT Nuclear Medicine Gamma Camera, which is the first of its kind in the nation, as well as a new Luna Prodigy Advance Bone Densitometer, which is one of the most advanced bone densitometry technologies available.
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His Manager Ann LeBlanc states that there is not a minute that goes by that Kyle does not exemplify excellent customer service. “His kindness to his patients is limitless. He follows his patients and their outcomes through personal communication with them.”
These comments were echoed by Dr. Julian Foreman, Radiologist, who added, “Kyle is one of those people who could be named Employee of the Year every year. He is very knowledgeable about his chosen field and, as a result, there is no nuclear procedure that cannot be performed at River Parishes Hospital and some that are only performed at this hospital. He is well known for working tirelessly in order to help referring physicians make better diagnoses in order to better serve our patients.”
As the Employee of the Year, Cason received a check for $1,500 and had a star named for him by the Name A Star Foundation. |
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Ryan Andrews Joins Hospital As Director Of Rehab Services |
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 Join us in welcoming Ryan Andrews, Physical Therapist, to the River Parishes Hospital Management Team. Andrews serves as the Director of Rehabilitation Services.
Andrews received his B.S. in Physical Therapy from the University of Vermont and his M.S. in Healthcare Management from the University of New Orleans. He previously served as a Staff Therapist at Ochsner Foundation Hospital where he was then promoted to Team Leader and Performance Analyst for Rehabilitation Services. He has extensive management experience as well as clinical, education, compliance and marketing Rehab experience.
A native of Vermont, Andrews currently resides in Metairie with his wife and daughter.
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RPH Employees And Medical Staff Donate Over $12,000 To The St. John United Way |
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 River Parishes Hospital held a United Way Celebration on Tuesday, February 19 to thank its employees for donating $12,171.36 to the United Way. Dean Torres, St. John United Way Executive Director, accepted a “big” check signifying the total amount hospital employees and medical staff pledged to donate in 2008.
Tammy Waltz, Marketing Coordinator and coordinator of the hospital’s annual United Way Campaign, thanked everyone for their participation in the 2008 drive. She then drew for several prizes that were awarded to contributors. Two drawings were held for all staff members who turned in their pledge cards on the day of the campaign kick-off. Paula Roussel, a registered nurse in Women’s Services, was awarded a $50 restaurant gift certificate, and Melba Perez-Berguno, a Social Worker, was awarded a $25 restaurant gift certificate. Two additional drawings were held for all fair share and super share contributors. Kyle Cason, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist, won a $100 restaurant gift certificate, and Gina Pastureau, a registered nurse in Case Management, received a complimentary day off with pay. Contributors of $26 or more each received a complimentary meal ticket to the hospital cafeteria.
“We can always count on our employees to contribute to their local United Way Organization,” said Waltz. “Most of our employees live in this community and they know someone who has benefited from one or more of the United Way agencies.”
After the celebration, contributors were treated to Nachos and soft drinks. |
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