Olympic Medical Center leaders named six Patient Experience Champions at a recent board of commissioners meeting.

Healthcare workers nominate their peers for the recognition of Patient Experience Champion for “communicating with courtesy, compassion and respect, empowering patients to learn or cope effectively, contributing to new programs, improving processes, and/or going above and beyond to serve the needs of patients and their families,” OMC representatives said.

Patient Experience Champions are annually selected in May and recognized by the board of commissioners.

This year’s Patient Experience Champions include: Bobby Beeman, Marketing & Communications Director; Nicole Dewater, certified nurse assistant-obstetrics; Cortlynn Gimlin, medical assistant-pulmonology; Dr. Loren Larson, orthopedics; Doug Nevill, senior systems analyst/IT; and, Kayla Owens, medical assistant-orthopedics.

Jennifer Burkhardt, OMC’s Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel, and Patient Experience Director Patti Haught shared the nominations – submitted by employees – with the board.

Beeman is known for her strategic, calm and thoughtful ability to communication information. According to Burkhardt, Bobby’s strengths have shined bright since the start of the pandemic.

“Bobby has been instrumental in her role as public information officer, especially during this pandemic. She carefully crafts messages to keep staff, media and community members informed through a variety of communication channels.

“Even though OMC’s staff is facing unprecedented challenges, Bobby finds ways to highlight their amazing accomplishments and their commitment to excellent patient care.”

Dewater makes her workplace enjoyable through her dedication to patients, families, nurses and the entire obstetrics unit.

“As soon as a call light goes off, Nicole is on her feet and off to check on the patient,” Haught said. “She helps create family-centered care experiences for our patients and their significant others with the encouragement, support and comfort she provides.”

Gimlin is a skilled and respected medical assistant in pulmonology. She is known for going above and beyond to ensure her patients are cared for, with Burkhardt emphasizing her dedication to care, saying, “Cortlynn is kind, compassionate, respectful and one of the hardest working medical assistants. She is an exceptional MA who sets the standard for excellence. We are incredibly lucky to have her on our team.”

As a senior systems analyst for OMC’s Information Services department, Nevill is dedicated to ensuring a technology environment that supports end-users and the patient care they deliver.

“We’ve all heard of someone going the extra mile,” Haught said. “Doug doesn’t stop there…with anything. There isn’t a unit of measurement made that can accurately quantify the extreme diligence that Doug puts forth when troubleshooting and managing the advanced technologies that keep all of OMC’s systems running.”

Larson is an orthopedic physician with Olympic Medical Physicians who patients and coworkers describe as “kind, personable, sweet, friendly and incredibly talented.”

According to Burkhardt, Larson’s strengths lie in “inviting questions and spending time with each patient, carefully answering questions and thoroughly explaining options. If a patient calls with an orthopedic-related question, he is happy to talk with them.

“If a patient isn’t satisfied with some aspect of their care, Dr. Larson works to find a way to recover the patient’s satisfaction even if the patient saw a different physician.”

Finally, multiple nominations from across the organization were received for the late Owens, a medical assistant in orthopedics who passed away unexpectedly in April. In their nominations, her teammates described her kind, fair, caring, compassionate and courteous nature, and highlighted her willingness to lend a hand to anyone who needed it.

They remembered “the way she consistently went above and beyond for patients, family, and teammates. Her skill as a medical assistant. Her eagerness to learn and to mentor others. The diligence she displayed in all the technical aspects of patient care and her contributions as a member of the safety and security team. And her smile,” Haught said.

“A smile they describe as a ray of sunshine. A smile that lit up everyone’s day. A smile that everyone knew was there even when she was wearing a mask.”