Adventist Health and Rideout Celebrates January 2025 BE Award Recipients

The BE award recognizes associates who exemplify Adventist Health "BE" statements (Be Love, Be a Force for Food, Be a Mission Owner, Be Welcoming, Be Curious, Be Brilliant). All Adventist Health and Rideout associates at the hospital, outpatient clinics and skilled nursing facility are eligible for nomination.

BE Award Recipient: Julie Casimiro
Department: Imaging
Submitted by: Jessica McClain
BE Statement: Be a Force for Good

Jessica McClain: “On a Friday afternoon I had a flustered father stop by the Foundation office because he was needing a specific document, for his son, from an office in our building that had closed for the weekend. He was quite concerned about not being able to get this document as his son needed it to receive imaging at the hospital before his Monday morning appointment. I could tell he was quite flustered and at a loss as to how to obtain this much needed piece of paper to help his son get the care he desperately needed after fracturing two bones at school very recently.

As a parent myself I wanted to help him out as much as possible as I would hope someone would do for me in a similar situation. I told him lets go over to the hospital and see who we can talk to about getting this document for you. We arrived at radiology and Julie was working the front window. I explained the situation to her and the father provided the personal information for her to search for him in our database. Initially she did not see any orders and apologized for not finding anything and directed us to admitting for further information, so we left.

We briefly stopped by admitting but were informed it would be about a 45-minute wait before we could speak to anyone because of how busy they currently were. We then headed back across the parking lot when all of the sudden a woman started yelling, "Hey! Hey!" I turned around to see Julie literally running towards us across the parking lot attempting to get our attention. Although her department was quite busy, she had continued to "dig around" in the patient's files and eventually found the order needed for the child to receive his imaging over the weekend and in time for his appointment first thing Monday morning. If Julie would not have continued searching around this patient’s record, I personally feel this imaging order would not have been located and completed in time and this is absolutely why she deserves this award!"

BE Award Recipient: James Vieira
Department: The Fountains
Submitted by: Ethel B, Courtyard Resident
BE Statement: Be a Force for Good

Ethel B: “I was approached by a resident at The Courtyard. Ethel asked me how she would go about letting someone know what such a good man James is. I listened, thanked her and told her I would ensure he is recognized. I read through the BE statements trying to figure out which best fit how she described James. I went with Be A Force for Good.

My written word will not express the passion she had in telling me the wonderful things about James. Ethel would like to recognize James for the way he cares for the residents when he is transporting them to and from appointments. She told me that he is a superb and safe driver. She also told me about a time when she was being dropped off for an appointment. She was walking with her walker up the ramp to the door, when she arrived, he was there to open the door for her. She said he could have just dropped her off, but he took the time to make sure she was safe and what a gentleman to open the door for her.

She also told me about another time when she was going to an appointment and was impressed that he took it upon himself to check to make sure the office was still at that address before dropping her off. Good thing because they had moved locations. She expressed how genuinely caring he is for not just her but all of the people that he transports.”

BE Award Recipient: Brittney Uriostegui
Department: CVICU
Submitted by: Ravinder Chahal
BE Statement: Be a Force for Good

Ravinder Chahal: “I worked with Brittney a few weeks ago when she was assigned to be the Rapid Response Nurse for that shift. It was a bit of a rough morning all around. We were holding 19 patients in the ED and Brittney actually started her shift at 0300, caring for a patient in CVICU before she made it out to do rounds on the floors. We had multiple Rapid Responses that morning as well as a code blue on a patient in ED. She continued to hustle all day putting out fires throughout the hospital.

Later in the afternoon we had a Rapid called on another one of our ED admits. He unfortunately was heading down the path of hospice, but he started to decline very quickly before any of that could be set up. His wife and son were at the bedside. Although she had many other things she could have been doing at that time, she spent close to 45 minutes down there with the patient and his family making sure he was comfortable.

The nurse who was assigned to him was very overwhelmed, so Brittney stayed to make sure things went smoothly for the patient. She stepped in and medicated him for pain, talked to the wife and the son about what was happening and at the same time allowing for the nurse to step away after a very trying afternoon. As she stepped out of the room with the wife, she offered her comfort and support after the patient had expired. The patient's wife was very thankful for the support.

Unfortunately for Brittney, her day didn't end there. She continued to make her way through the hospital putting out fires, including calling a stroke alert on a patient right before shift change and getting them sent to IMCU. Thankfully every day is not this chaotic, but I was thankful that she was there that day when it was.”

To submit a nomination for the BE Awards, please complete this form