Heywood Healthcare Honors Employees for Years of Service

GARDNER, Mass. - Aug. 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Gardner, MA – Heywood Healthcare honored 229 employees on August 13th during its annual Service Awards recognition dinner.

"We like to celebrate longevity and achievement because it is part of the culture," said Heywood Healthcare President and CEO Win Brown. "Our employees give so much of themselves to our patients and our communities. They deserve a night dedicated to recognizing their important contributions."

Employees were treated to a gourmet buffet before being recognized for their service , some as long as 45 years, to Heywood and Athol Hospitals, Winchendon Health Center, Heywood Rehabilitation Center and Heywood Medical Group.

Rose Kavalchuck and Betsy Turczynski, RN celebrated 40 years at Heywood Hospital while Les Henley received recognition for 45 years at Athol Hospital.

Employees are celebrated for their service every five years, and are able to choose a gift from on each occasion.

The Daniel P. Moen Employee Excellence Award is also presented annually by Heywood Hospital to a five-year anniversary employee who most closely exemplifies the commitment, hard work, vision and dedication that are the legacy of past president Dan Moen’s administration. This year’s recipient was Lucille Diemdowicz of Central Sterile, who was celebrating her 15-year anniversary.

Since Lucille joined Heywood 15 years ago as a Diet Tech, she has held a number of positions, including her current title as a Central Sterile Tech. During this time, she has consistently gone beyond the usual parameters of her role, devising and implementing code cart conversions for adults and pediatrics, come up with product conversions that have streamlined the management of our supplies and enabled financial savings, and has used her ingenuity to develop changes that have not only improved processes at Heywood, but are now being implemented at Athol Hospital as well.

Athol Hospital also honored Les Henley, a 45-year service anniversary employee, with the second annual A-List Award, which recognizes the five-year anniversary recipient who best exemplifies the work ethic, dedication, vision and outstanding service that has made Athol an A-List hospital since 1950.

Les began her Athol Hospital career in 1970 and quickly became a charge nurse. She went on to bring her dedication to quality patient care to a variety of roles in departments throughout the hospital, including Day and Evening Relief Supervisor, Infection Control, Short Stay, Employee Health and Oncology. Her long nursing career has been spent providing compassionate care and support for her community and her colleagues at Athol Hospital.

A long-time active member of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control, she has been a member of their Board of Directors since 2001, and was recognized in 1999 with the Humanitarian Award for Oncology and Community Health.

This year, employees honored totaled 3,440 years of service.

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About Athol Hospital
A member of the Heywood Healthcare system, Athol Hospital is a 25-bed non-profit, acute care and outpatient facility serving the communities of the North Quabbin region of Massachusetts. Athol Hospital’s services include 24/7 Emergency Care, Oncology, Radiology and Laboratory, Diabetes Center and Center for Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation. It is designated as a Critical Access Hospital and Primary Stroke Center, licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and accredited by the Joint Commission.

About Heywood Hospital
Part of the Heywood Healthcare system, Heywood Hospital is a 134-bed acute care hospital in Gardner, MA, which provides a broad range of high quality medical, surgical, obstetrical, pediatric and behavioral health services on an inpatient and outpatient basis. The hospital’s Centers of Excellence include the Watkins Center for Emergency and Acute Care; the LaChance Maternity Center; the Diabetes Center; and the Heywood Heart and Vascular Center, an affiliate of the Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence at UMass Memorial Health Care.

About Heywood Healthcare
Heywood Healthcare is an independent, community-owned healthcare system serving north central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. It is comprised of Heywood Hospital, a non-profit, 134-bed acute-care hospital in Gardner, MA; Athol Hospital, a 25-bed not-for-profit, Critical Access Hospital in Athol, MA; Heywood Medical Group with primary care physicians and specialists located throughout the region; four satellite facilities in MA – Heywood Rehabilitation Center in Gardner, West River Health Center in Orange, Winchendon Health Center and Murdock School-based Health Center in Winchendon - and Heywood Charitable Foundation and the North Quabbin Community Coalition, an affiliate organization.