• Dr. Langston Cleveland and Deanna Sanders, P.A. both have completed the required education and certification exam to become Certified Medical Examiners under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

• The following employees from Patient Access Services graduated with CPAR certification (Certified Patient Account Representative): Whitney Lampkin, Norma Menejia, Monica Phillips, Katina Robinson, Lydia Smith, Marquita Duffie, Gena Cosper, Serena Patterson, Alesha Office, and Jonkeysha Kendrick.  

• The following employees from Patient Financial Services graduated with CFC certification (Certified Financial Counselor): Chiquita Nichols, Melissa Benefield, Leah Satonica, Cristy Parten, Kathy Luke, Sharon Alfred, and Heather Meeler.  

• During September 2013, Lynn Kappel obtained her CTR (Certified Tumor Registrar) certification from the National Cancer Registrar's Association. Lynn is the Survey Coordinator for  Tift Regional's two Cancer Program accreditations. CoC Accreditation is awarded through the American College of Surgeons and is granted to the facilities that have voluntarily committed to provide the best in cancer diagnosis and treatment and are able to comply with established CoC standards.   

• Lakeshia Rowe and Glenn Akridge completed the requirements to receive their certificate to become Clinical Sleep Educators. They join Dennis Edwards of the sleep center who attained his certificate in May of this year.  

• Marcy Spurlin is now the Administrative Assistant for all of Patient Financial Services and Patient Access Services.  Marcy has been a resource to Gina Bennett and the PFS department for a few years now and has done a superb job at organizing, planning, and assisting the department.  

• Congratulations to Christie Moore and the Hospice Staff. The State Survey was completed with no deficiencies. Additionally, comments were made on a well-organized department and how organized the charts looked. There were no missed visits, and surveyors were impressed with the service. Many thanks to the Hospice Team for a job well done.  

• Amadou Jallow completed his four year degree in Medical Technology from Thomas University and he passed his Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) exam.  He also was promoted to Night Shift supervisor.

• Justin Bentley recently passed his Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) exam.

• Theresa Norman was promoted to Laboratory Information System (LIS) Analyst.

• John Ansley was promoted to Clinical Operations Coordinator for the Lab.

• Tom Shoup PA-C, midlevel for the Affinity Hospitalist program and currently works on the night shift, is the President of the Kiwanis Club of Tifton from 2013-2014.  Tom has been in Tifton since July of 1985 with Tifton Medical Clinic, later renamed Affinity Health Group or Clinic and is now a part of TRMC.

• As of December 12, Employee Health and Infection Control report that Tift Regional Health System had a 95.09% flu vaccination rate for employees. This includes Tift Regional Medical Center and Cook Medical Center staff. Thanks to everyone for their cooperation and support in helping to keep our employees, patients and visitors healthy during flu season.    

• Machelle Baisden recently obtained her CPCS (Certified Provider Credentialing Specialist) certification through NAMSS (National Association of Medical Staff Services). 

• Congratulations to the following Laboratory employees who were recently promoted: John Ansley, Medical Technologist to Clinical Operations Coordinator; Theresa Norman, Medical Technologist to LIS Specialist; Amadou Jallow, Medical Technologist to Night Shift Supervisor; and Tom Myers, Medical Lab Tech to Weekend Supervisor. 

 

  

 

 

When did you get interested in arranging flowers? 

I started doing prom flowers when I was 16 years old and it has just spiraled from there ever since.    

What is your favorite kind of event to arrange flowers for? 

Do you have an actual business or do you it on an as-needed basis? 

I do it on an as-needed basis which is pretty much every evening and weekend.

How much of your free time do you use arranging flowers?

Just about every free minute!  I either have a wedding going on, planning for, or some type of decorations for different people on any given day.

Any other information you'd like to include:  

I do weddings, receptions, parties, home and office decorations, prom and homecoming flowers and boutonnieres, church arrangements, funeral arrangements, bows of all sizes, just about any kind of flower arranging and decorating there is.

Christmas Fun Facts

• Santa Claus is based on St. Nicholas, a fourth century Greek Christian bishop in Turkey famous for his generous gifts to the poor.  The American version of St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus, originally came from the Dutch version called Sint Nikolaas or Sinterklaas.   Dutch settlers brought this tradition to America.   
• Kris Kringle is derived from Christkindl (Christ Child), the traditional Christmas gift bringer in German-speaking countries.  Christkindl dates back to the days of Marin Luther, who sought his own version of St. Nicholas.  The connection with Santa Claus was reinforced in the 1947 film "A Miracle on 34th Street" when Santa was referred to as Kris Kringle.    
• Electric lights were first used on a Christmas tree in 1895.    
• More than three billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. each year.    
• Rudolph was actually created by Montgomery Ward in the late 1930s for a holiday promotion.    
• The best-selling Christmas song of all time is "White Christmas" performed by Bing Crosby and the most popular Christmas hymn is "Silent Night" written by Franz Gruber.    
• A common misconception is that the word X-mas is an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.  In fact, X means Christ in Greek.  X-mas has been used as an abbreviation for Christmas since the mid-1500s.  

• Bake Christmas cookies or candy. Deliver to friends and family.   
• Have a Christmas movie marathon, both old and new movies.  
• Make homemade Christmas ornaments and decorations.  
• Drive through Fulwood Park in Tifton to see the Christmas light display, or check out the Festival of Lights at Chehaw Park in Albany or the Fantasy of Lights at Callaway Gardens in Columbus.  
• Attend a candlelight service on Christmas Eve at the church of your choice.  
• On Christmas Eve, visit www.noradsanta.org to view NORAD tracking the worldwide progress of Santa.   
• Do something to help those who are less fortunate. 
  

Making an emotional connection for a better patient experience

Emotions determine memories.

Any time we experience something in a heightened emotional state, we're more likely to remember it.   So, consider the patient experience.  Only very satisfied and very dissatisfied patients have a story to tell.

Emotions influence what we remember, how we evaluate encounters.  When we recount a memory, we're sharing the experience of the story we created, not the actual experience.

Undoubtedly, patients can and often do experience the gamut of emotions across the continuum of care: hope, despair, encouragement, confusion, fear, satisfaction, anger, disappointment, safety, loneliness, anxiety, support, depression, relief--just to name a few.

So, how do we intentionally make connections and meet the emotional needs of patients and their families without leaving it to chance?   Think of the memories you want to evoke, then design for those memories.    Look for opportunities to relieve anxiety and anticipate needs or expectations. Design interactions that connect emotionally with patients, foster a sense of control and build trust and relationships.

Every encounter that patients and their family members have with our health system can trigger memory-making and story-creating emotions that fashion patient perceptions.  In the end, the patient's collage of memories forms the patient experience.

Pink Out at Sylvester Primary Care! 

The staff at Sylvester Primary Care participated in a "Pink Out" day at their office in October to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month.