River Park Hospital hands out honors
Attendees were treated to a first class meal and Academy Award quality entertainment, including moving performances from talented River Park employees Clair Cochran and Gina Brennan. The Clarence Dobbins Band delivered some soul and rhythm and blues tinged dance music later in the evening after the awards had been handed out.
The banquet was held to honor outstanding physicians and employees for their service to the hospital and to the community. The winners were nominated and chosen by their peers.
River Park CEO Steve Otto was quite pleased with the event and the turnout.
“It certainly exceeded my expectations,” Otto said. “We were blown away. I was very happy with the results. It’s always a great thing to recognize outperforming employees and to be able to recognize a couple of physicians. That’s what it’s all about. We spend a lot of time trying to trying to deliver the best care we can over the course of a year. This is a way for us to thank our employees and recognize really good performers. And I think we were able to do that.”
River Park employees also considered the banquet a great success, and expressed their appreciation.
“It was fabulous,” said the hospital’s endoscopy supervisor Cindy Lusk. “I almost couldn’t believe it. Kind of takes your breath away when you see something like that pulled off in Warren County, or any other county as far as that goes. I thought it was very well done and the ladies and gentlemen in charge did a great job. Lots of hard work, and you could see it from the moment you walked in the door.”
Physicians recognized at the event were Dr. Jimmie Woodlee, a local family practitioner who received the Physician Champion award. Dr. Mark Weeks, an emergency room physician, received the Leadership award.
Seven River Park employees also walked away with prestigious awards. The award for Community Participation went to Paulette Todd; Professional Development to Cindy Lusk; Leadership to Brenda Lassiter; Customer Service to Eva Lois Brady; Dedication and Commitment to Judy Bottoms; Good Citizenship to Daryl Butler; and Achievement to Trish Calhoon.
With the success of the first River Park Academy Awards, many said they hoped it would turn out to be an annual event. Several also noted having the party in January rather than in the midst of the busy holiday season was a great idea as well.
“For me, I think it’s going to get the new year rolling off really good,” said Lusk. “It helped boost the morale and will help everyone have more of a team spirit.”