OUR VALUES

Raheela Hafeez, Rosa Amaya and Erin Miranda, Pediatrics

In clinic, Raheela Hafeez, MD, treated a 16-month-old patient and a 26-month-old patient who are cousins. Both had low hemoglobin, the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein.

Hafeez asked the patients’ mothers to follow up with her. The mothers were living in a homeless shelter. When the mothers did not follow up regarding their babies’ low hemoglobin, the clinic tried to contact them. Their phone numbers were not in service. Certified mail was returned to the clinic marked “Address unknown.”

Hafeez was concerned and asked Erin Miranda, Social Worker; and Rosa Amaya, Clinic Supervisor, to go to the last known address and make contact with the patients. Miranda and Amaya drove to the homeless shelter, only to find that the patients no longer were staying there. This attempt at personal contact was our last way to reach the patients.

Hafeez, Amaya and Miranda went above and beyond because of their concern for these patients, demonstrating the values of serving others first, integrity and being visionary.

Nominated by Linda Rider

Cheryell Williams-Price, College of Health Professions

“During my first week of work,” says one of Cheryell Williams-Price’s nominators, “Cheryell went above and beyond to ensure that I had all the equipment and training I needed to succeed in my role.”

This typifies Williams-Price’s approach to all her responsibilities as Executive Assistant in the College of Health Professions. A nominator says that when new on the job, “Cheryell worked with me to . . . find laptops, and was constantly looking for PCard classes that worked with my schedule.”

Williams-Price works collaboratively across two departments: Physician Assistant Studies and Physical Therapy, and “has done an exceptional job maintaining stability and operations in the Dean’s office despite leadership transition,” says a nominator.

She demonstrated the value of respect for others’ work during the recent Autism Awareness Celebration. Even though she was not required to attend, she stopped by in the morning and afternoon to show her support. Says one nominator, “She is known to stop what she is doing to address requests from others in a very prompt manner. One would expect this type of activity when she is supporting me as Dean; however, she also is willing to help others within the school when needed.”

Nominated by Megan Bhatti and Glenn Forister

Long Hoang, DO, Internal Medicine

Always willing to carry more than his share of the load, Long Hoang, DO, is tireless in his role as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics/Division of Gastroenterology. He is also the GI Fellowship Program Director at Medical City Fort Worth and, says his nominator, “admired by all of the GI fellows for his contributions to their training and being an exceptional role model.”

When colleagues have family emergencies or health issues, Hoang provides additional night and weekend on-call coverage. He literally went the extra mile – many miles – when an especially difficult situation arose during spring break. He had traveled to Colorado for a ski vacation with his family. Several physicians who were covering for inpatient GI service at John Peter Smith Hospital became ill or experienced family emergencies. The situation threatened to leave Hoang’s colleague, Monte Troutman, DO, to cover the service alone.

Hearing this, Hoang made arrangements to travel back to Fort Worth. When a blizzard grounded the airplanes, he rented a car and drove nonstop, arriving in Fort Worth on a Thursday evening to begin coverage.

His nominator says, “He is truly a valuable and amazing faculty member and UNTHSC employee who deserves our public recognition.”

Nominated by Janice Knebl

Alex Fernandez and Jeremy Joseph, Student Affairs

Daily priorities often shift abruptly in the Office of Care & Civility (formerly Wellness Services) as the team responds to students’ urgent needs. When this happens, Student Services Associate Alex Fernandez and Student Services Specialist Jeremy Joseph show the value of collaboration by being “consistently willing to step outside of daily operations to help our team,” says their nominator, “consistently asking what else they can do . . . all while maintaining a positive attitude.”

The Care Team, a part of Care & Civility, responds to students in crisis. This can result in specific tasks being redistributed among team members. Joseph and Fernandez always can be trusted to step into the breach and cover the more routine tasks. This is key, says the nominator, to the team operating smoothly so that “at very little notice, anyone can pick up where another team member has left off.”

Also, an example of how Fernandez and Joseph are crucial to carrying out initiatives is their work with the Fitness Center’s Wellness Warriors. They serve as substitutes in leading classes and take the initiative to find other ways to help out. “They are pivotal to the success of our program,” their nominator says.

Nominated by Chris Klein

Tram Tran, Family Medicine

In her work as a Medical Assistant, Tram is “not just an amazing team member, she’s an amazing person because she’s always reminding everyone just how amazing they are,” says her nominator.

Tran sets daily goals for herself and checks in regularly with her team members to see if they also are making strides toward their own goals. She makes serving others first easy for her team because she models that behavior.

Tran also models the value of respect, showing everyone equal regard, no matter what their role or title may be.

Her nominator says, “After a busy day of crushing her personal goals,” Tran asks other team members if they feel they’re the doing the same, “to assure that the end of the day is a success.”

Her nominator says, “Tran has an awesome way of coming up with unique ways to make the workflow better for our team members and our patients. She’s a very knowledgeable, skilled and creative person, so those skills come alive in coming up with different ideas to make our team greater and stronger.”

Nominated by La Shundra Marshall