The associates of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System are heroes every day. As part of National Hospital Week, a recognition dinner was held on Tuesday, May 17, at the Spartanburg Marriott to honor special individuals for their years of service and achievements. Healthcare heroes were recognized for each division, as well as the naming of the 2021-22 Leader of the Year and Associate of the Year award.

Associate of the Year:

Kellen Witherspoon, 8 Tower, Spartanburg Medical Center: 

A colleague wrote:

“Kellen was steadfast in keeping staff safe and educated about the ever-changing protocols and policies dealing with COVID. One such policy was visitor restrictions, and Kellen would go an extra step. She would often review discharge papers with family members in their car, because they were not allowed at the bedside.

Another example of providing excellence in health involves the discharge of a patient who was using an ambulance to get home. When the transporters got the patient in the ambulance and obtained their blood pressure, they noticed the blood pressure was elevated. The transporters called the nursing floor, and Kellen went down and met them to assess the patient, then called the physician, and got the patient taken care of, all from the back of the ambulance, saving the patient from having to go back through the Emergency Center and be readmitted.”

Division winners:

Medical Group of the Carolinas

Brandy Mayfield-Hicks, Outreach Coordinator for the Ryan White Services program at Center for Infectious Disease

Post-Acute

Jill Alley, Home Health

Rural Health

Sam Howard, Respiratory

Pelham Medical Center

Andrea Olsommer, Pelham Medical Center Education Department

Home Office/Beaumont

Lucie Battendier, Information Technology Services

Leader(s) of the Year:

This year, three leaders were presented with the award.

Toni Rogers, senior practice manager at Medical Group of the Carolinas — Medical Affiliates — North Grove

A colleague wrote:

“Toni has always been called a ‘go- to’ leader at SRHS and when the system began looking at opportunities to streamline COVID testing sites in the Medical Group of the Carolina (MGC) practices, she was challenged with the task of implementing the testing process at Medical Affiliates – North Grove. Once testing was implemented, the practice tested over 1,000 patients during a five-month period. 

Fast forward a few months to when it was time to move the community vaccine clinic from the USC-Upstate location. Toni was instrumental in implementing the COVID vaccine program for all of MGC. She began piloting the program to work through issues before expanding to other MGC practice locations. As of April 2022, Medical Affiliates has administered over 16,000 vaccines. The practice refers to her as the ‘Vaccine Queen.’”

Edgar Casner, system director of supply chain, material management and procurement

A colleague wrote:

“One of Edgar’s favorite sayings is, ‘Even though we do not physically touch the patient, we provide an important service that does.’

Throughout the pandemic, Edgar and his team have gone above and beyond to make sure all clinical areas had the supplies they needed to care for patients. His team also ensured that staff had the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to protect themselves. On multiple occasions, Edgar has driven to the acute care facilities on weekends or late at night to deliver supplies, unload delivery trucks, and stock supply rooms in order to support the teams he serves. This is a difficult time to be in supply chain, but Edgar continues to put patients first and fights hard to get replacement items in as fast as possible.”

Brandon Howard, security manager

A colleague wrote:

“Brandon’s words of encouragement, compassionate attitude, and dedication to the safety of SRHS associates, patients, and their families was invaluable during the last two years. With visitation being limited during the pandemic, Brandon worked to develop a team of door ambassadors responsible for providing and reinforcing visitation restrictions, monitoring temperatures for visitors entering the buildings, and handling any potential challenges.

Brandon also frequented the DHEC COVID-19 testing site to assist with any safety and security needs.  He and his team assisted with traffic flow multiple times during the height of testing at the DHEC site to minimize the impact to local traffic flow during peak hours. Brandon approaches every situation with a calm demeanor and professional approach.”