Morris Hospital recognizes its employees who are ‘fire starters’

Each month, Morris Hospital recognizes one person from its more than 1,400 employees who keep the flame of the hospital’s mission alive.

They are called “fire starters” because “fire starters were individuals who had the important job of keeping the flame alive,” a news release from Morris Hospital said.

According to the Morris Hospital website, fire starters are employees who make real differences in people’s lives,

At Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers, a fire starter is an individual who makes real differences in people’s lives. Fire starters are “committed to transforming health care through compassion, imagination and sheer determination and focuse on “actions that have purpose, creates worthwhile work, and makes a difference through an unshakable commitment to excellence,” the website said.

Here are some of those “fire starters.”

Editor’s note: The position and role of each employee was at the time of the recognition.

Jen Blazevicz

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for April 2021 was Jen Blazevicz of Dwight. She is a licensed practical nurse at Morris Hospital’s Healthcare Centers located in Braidwood, Dwight and Gardner.

She has a role as part of the research study in which Morris Hospital is participating with the University of Washington AIMS Center, according to a news release from Morris Hospital.

The study is to “determine the effectiveness of treating co-existing mental health disorders and opioid use disorder in the primary care setting,” and Blazevicz completed special training “that makes her certified to consent patients for the study,” the release said.

Tammy Kelly

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for March 2021 was Tammy Kelly of Mazon. She has worked as a registrar in the Morris Hospital emergency department for 23 years.

Kelly has worked all three shifts over the past 23 years and assisted thousands of patients. She is known for her attention to detail and helping patients feel at ease.

Harry Kosters

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for February 2021 was Harry Kosters of Morris. He serves as the lead security officer at Morris Hospital.

Kosters served as an officer with the Minooka and Seneca Police Departments for 31 years. At Morris Hospital, he does rounding throughout the hospital, responds to codes and helicopter traffic, prepares the department’s staffing schedule and security reports, keeps the camera systems in order and even delivers flowers to patients if that needs to be done, too, according to a news release from Morris Hospital.

Michael Plochocki

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for January 2021 was Michael Plochocki of Chicago. He is the laboratory supervisor in the Morris Hospital laboratory.

Plochocki as hired to work the midnight shift in the fall of 2009 as a medical technologist who had just completed his clinical training.

A news release from Morris Hospital said he takes on extra projects, assists the laboratory staff whenever staff needs it, ensures standards are followed and that laboratory testing is efficient and accurate, the release said.

He was singled out during a recent accreditation survey by the College of American Pathologists “for his perfect record keeping and procedures,” the release said.

Lori Stevens

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for December 2020 was Lori Stevens of Morris. She was a registered nurse on Morris Hospital’s 2 East inpatient unit and then became an IT clinical applications specialist.

Stevens began her career at Morris Hospital in 1987 as a certified nurse assistant on the midnight shift. She graduated from nursing school in 1990 and then accepted a registered nurse position at Morris Hospital when the new 2 East wing opened.

In the late 1990s, Stevens served on the core team that helped develop computerized nursing documentation at Morris Hospital.

Allison Giordano

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for November 2020 was Allison Giordano of Coal City. She is a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Morris Hospital.

She was hired as a certified nurse assistant for the ICU in 2016 and stayed in the ICU after receiving her registered nurse degree from Rasmussen College in July 2019.

A news release from Morris Hospital said Giordano picks up extra shifts when possible, works to build relationships with patients’ families and voluntarily serves on hospital committees.

Dr. John Bolden

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for October 2020 was Dr. John Bolden. He is Morris Hospital’s infectious disease doctor.

A news release from Morris Hospital said Bolden’s “leadership and expertise has been greatly appreciated during the first global pandemic to strike in 100 years” and that he is known for being “resourceful, kind, caring, passionate and empathetic.”

Barb Ragan

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for September 2020 was Barb Ragan of Morris. She is an employee health nurse at Morris Hospital.

Ragan ensures employee immunization requirements are up-to-date and is the person to contact “when employees have an injury that impacts their ability to do their job, according to a news release from Morris Hospital.

Morris Hospital employee health nurse Barb Ragan was honored as the Fire Starter of the Month during September 2020 in appreciation of her extraordinary passion for keeping Morris Hospital’s 1,400 employees safe and healthy. (Photo provided)

She coordinates annual fit testing to ensure doctors and staff wear the correct size N-95 mask, tracks employee absences, arranges employee flu shot clinics, is the primary resource when employees have concerns about COVID symptoms, and serves on the hospital’s Wellness, Safety, and Patient Handling committees, the release said.

Ragan is known for her “commitment to preventive health, an appreciation for the human body, sound judgement and critical thinking skills, an empathetic ear, and a desire to share what she knows with others, the release said.

Lou-Ann Keyser

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for August 2020 was Lou-Ann Keyser of Channahon. She is a patient service representative with Morris Hospital Allergy Specialists.

According to a news release from Morris Hospital, co-worker Deborah Miller said Keyser creates a welcoming environment, greets every patient with a warm smile and the utmost respect and makes each patient feel like a family member.

Jamie Stanton

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for July 2020 was Jamie Stanton of Dwight. She is a phlebotomist in the laboratory at Morris Hospital.

Stanton had volunteered to cover the COVID drive-thru testing when it opened in June 2020. She had just completed her phlebotomy certification in the spring of 2019.

Crystal Doss

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for June 2020 was Crystal Doss of Coal City. She is a certified nurse assistant and had just started her new role on Morris Hospital’s 2 South nursing unit when she received the honor.

In a news release from Morris Hospital, Doss said caring for seniors, especially seniors with dementia, was her pass. She also brightens people day by leaving random May Day baskets for people in the community or giving a gift card to every member of the Morris Hospital environmental Services staff using money she earned by making facemasks for friends and neighbors, the release said.

Sue Raikes

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for May 2020 was Kathy Wexelberg of Coal City. She is a supervisor in environmental services.

Raikes was also honored in March 2014 when she was an environmental services associate.

Every once in a while, Morris Hospital has an employee who makes such an extraordinary difference in the lives of others that the employee gets honored not once, but twice as the hospital’s Fire Starter of the Month. Such was the case for Sue Raikes, Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter of the Month for May 2020. (Photo provided)

Staff who submitted her nomination said Raikes, “always willing to help, has a smile on her face, and brings the absolute best to her work as a supervisor and a housekeeper,” according to a news release from Morris Hospital.

Kathy Wexelberg

Morris Hospital’s Fire Starter for April 2020 was Kathy Wexelberg of Coal City. She is a charge nurse with Morris Hospital Cardiovascular Specialists.

Wexelberg schedules intricate procedures, “serves as the cardiologists’ right hand,” and serves as a “mentor, friend, patient advocate, and liaison to her entire team,” a news release from Morris Hospital said.

She started her medical career in 1988 as a paramedic with a private ambulance service and a volunteer fire department. She then worked as an emergency room nurse and EMS coordinator after completing her nursing degree.

She joined Morris Hospital in 2011 nd worked in the vascular lab until she transferred to the Morris Hospital Cardiovascular Specialists’ practice when it was established in 2013.

Morris Hospital recognizes its employees who are ‘fire starters’

In early civilizations, fire starters were individuals who had the important job of keeping the flame alive, Morris Hospital said