Putting Passion into Compassion with Honalee Newman

We have some exceptional team members at Howard Memorial, and some happen to also lead the charge as they create access to care with an amazing team by their side. One such leader who is here for our patients and raises the bar in patient experience is none other than our very own Director of Diagnostic Imaging, Honalee Newman.

Honalee came to our team by way of the imaging department in Ukiah in 2021 when an opportunity to not only lead Ukiah’s team, but also Howards team came into view and Honalee was excited for the opportunity to lead both teams while also working on completing her master’s degree.

“It did not take long to see and feel what is known as “The Howard Way,” Honalee said. “Everyone on the Howard team has been so incredibly welcoming and encouraging to me. Not only is the entire facility so beautiful and well kept by the EVS and plant ops teams, but the entire healthcare team truly takes the patient experience to heart and goes above and beyond to help every patient, every day.”

When we asked Honalee what she liked most about her role she very adamantly speaks about how important the patient experience is and improving this and the employee experience for the benefit of everyone. “My teams know that they have a true advocate. If employees are satisfied in their work environment, the amazing care naturally follows. I’ve truly enjoyed being able to help bring new equipment and services on board, allowing patients to stay right here in our community for services they previously had to travel south for. When I have the opportunity to work on the front lines alongside my team, I take pride in trying to make every patient interaction memorable, comfortable, and empathetic.”

Not only that, but Honalee knows how great the value of excellent care is in our community and has worked closely with our scheduling teams across Howard Memorial and Ukiah Valley to provide greater access to care for imaging by providing first available appointments at either site. If a patient calls, and the wait in Ukiah is a week, but the team at Howard Memorial in Willits can provide assistance in just a day or two then patients are provided the option for imaging in Willits for faster testing and results as is the opposite if someone in Willits may like to go to Ukiah sooner. This allows our team to create access to care close to home in Mendocino County.

What motivates Honalee here in her career is the area she feels blessed to be able to work in and call home. “I have been honored to work in this community for the past 20 years— where the patients we serve may also happen to be our friends, family members, the people we see at the soccer field or the grocery store. The lives we touch at work, are the same lives we intermingle with outside of work. It’s important to do everything at work and in life with integrity and purpose because it all comes full circle. That is what motivates me do my best every day.”

Honalee’s purpose in life that drives her goes far beyond the work we do within our four walls. “My three beautiful children, ages 18, 16 and 7 are my purpose and what drives me each day. They are my whole heart. They make me proud everyday with their kindness and accomplishments in the classroom and on the ball fields. I want to show them what hard work, success, and being a good human look like not just with words but most importantly with my actions.”

Honalee knows the value and importance of her, and her teams work and how vital it is to our community. She recalls having a technologist call out sick and with no coverage in sight, she stepped in for the day into this roll in mammography knowing patients who were scheduled needed their exams to not be forced to worry about their breast health outcomes any longer than necessary. “I was reassured that this was the correct decision instead of taking the meetings I had that were originally on the calendar for the day when a husband and daughter of one of my patients that day both bugged me tightly with grateful tears as they received the news their wife and mother did not have breast cancer. I am constantly humbled in this work of patient care. There are so many good people who work here and are committed to this community and its wellbeing. What a beautiful thing to be a part of!”

And indeed, it is truly a blessing to hear first and see our team such as Honalee doing this immensely important work and being a part of something so much bigger than themselves for the good of our community. It can simply be summed up as “good people, doing good things” and for that we are so immensely proud and grateful to have Honalee on our team leading our imaging department with grace, kindness, and excellence in all she does.

Thank you, Honalee, for turning your passion into compassion for our friends, neighbors and loved ones right here in Willits and our surrounding communities!