Happy Employee Appreciation Day!
Today, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the incredible employees and individuals who make Decatur Health a remarkable place to work every single day. Your dedication and hard work are the driving forces behind our success.
Together, we operate a Critical Access Hospital, a 24/7 Emergency Department, a Rural Health Clinic, a Specialty Clinic, Independent Living Apartments, and so much more. Each of you plays an essential role in delivering exceptional care and services to our community.
Over the past 12 months, our employees have displayed outstanding performance, evidenced by our 2024 Health Quality Innovator of the Year Award and receiving a Bronze Award from the American Heart Association in Stroke Care.
In July, we welcomed a new Physician Assistant, Taylor Niermeier, PA-C, to our team. We continue to serve as a preceptor site for Med Students, PA, NP, and CMA students.
Some honorable mentions include:
• Alicia Oien, RN, Clinical IT: Awarded the prestigious 2025 Addleman Award.
• Lindsey Osterhaus, Human Resources Director: Completed and graduated from the Kansas Hospital Association Leadership Institute.
• Kelly Bethel, EVS Manager: Became an official AHE Designated Trainer (T-CHEST) for the Certified Health Care Environmental Services Technician course.
• Ruth Bose, LPN: Completed her LPN through Colby Community College.
• Dr. Bartruff: Attended the 2024 Governance Retreat sponsored by Heartland Health Alliance in Lincoln, NE, where he and two other rural physicians were selected to participate in a panel.
• Rachel Baker, CNO: Selected to participate in the National Trauma Advisory Council – Rural Perspective.
• Ashley Ploussard, Supply Chain Manager: Completed her education and joined the Decatur County EMS.
• Jennie Anderson, RN, Risk Manager: Selected to be on the Rural Hospital Advisory Panel.
• Mary Miller, RN: A nominee for the KHA Heart of Health Care Worker Award and recognized by KHA for her 41-year nursing career at one location.
• Trina Harding, Lab Assistant: Continued her hard work with the Red Cross to bring Blood Drives to our community.
• Erica Fortin, RN, WRT Coordinator: Began her new role as our Wheat Ridge Terrace Coordinator.
• We also celebrated Teresa Shaughnessy as she retired from Decatur Health after 35 years of service.
• Kristina Dreher, DNP, FNP-C: completed the Apollo Advanced Airway training and the Emergency Nurse Practitioner certification program.
• Cherish Seifert, LBSW: the co-chair of PFAC, Walk with a Doc coordinator, organizes the weekly Parkinson’s Class on-site, and completed the Swing bed Patient Satisfaction program.
This list is not all-inclusive, as we have so many staff members doing great things within Decatur Health and our community.
We are very proud of our employees’ community involvement over the past year. Some of our key initiatives include:
• Walk with a Doc: Promoting healthy living and physical activity.
• Pink Out: Supporting breast cancer awareness and research.
• Senior Life Solutions Collaboration: Partnering with Lisa Phillips, RN, to present on senior suicide prevention.
• Decatur County Fair: Providing a Breastfeeding Tent and volunteering to support our community.
• Free Sports Physicals: Offering free sports physicals for our local students.
• Internal Food Drive: Collecting 1,000 items, equaling 628 pounds of food and supplies, for our local food pantry.
• Disinfectant Wipes Collection: Donating supplies to local schools for a healthy start to the school year.
• Hospital Week 2024: Sponsoring a movie night in recognition of our dedicated healthcare professionals.
• Diaper Drive: Supporting Miriam’s Hope with a successful diaper drive.
• Decatur County Healthcare Foundation Board: Actively serving on and collaborating with the board.
In addition to these great accomplishments, we have also:
• Completed the CHNA and formulated an implementation plan.
• Completed a Patient Satisfaction Learning Cohort to hone in on our Patient and Family Centered Care approach on the hospital side.
• Completed an Antibiotic Stewardship Statewide cohort to improve how we prescribe antibiotics and their utilization by our patients.
• The Pyxis Medication Dispensing System was installed and implemented in early 2025. THANK YOU to Alicia O, Mary M, Nancy, Amie P, Rachel B, and Derek Chambers for all your dedicated hours and assistance on this project! This is a big advancement for Decatur Health in improving medication management, enhancing patient safety, and streamlining workflow for our healthcare teams.
Another honorable mention is our Core Quality team: We completed a 4-year commitment with Compass Quality Improvement partners – Jennie A, Alicia O, Chad M, Rachel B, Heather H, Jordan S, Julie S, Cherish S, Amie P, Angie W, Amy H, and Abby Hissong and Shelley McKenna both representing from PFAC. This team has gained a ton of traction in Quality and has been leading the charge!
Another honorable mention is our Planning and Activities Committee (PAC): This employee engagement team’s initiative is to create a work environment where employees feel motivated, committed, and connected to their work and the organization – Tim D, Lynda P, Ashley P, Jennie A, Cherish, S and Lindsey O. Evidence of this team’s overall success is the reduction of the organization’s turnover rate by 4.36% in only 12 months, placing Decatur Health well below the state’s average.
We also achieved 100% improvement in all controllable measured areas for our BKBS Quality-Based Reimbursement Program in 2024.
Our team continues to go above and beyond, making a positive impact within Decatur Health and the broader community.
It has been incredible to see our employees consistently raising the bar to provide the highest quality of care. As an organization, we are very fortunate to have each of you on our team, whose work ethic, volunteerism, dedication, and support are second to none.
None of the achievements listed would be possible without our amazing employees.
Thank you for your unwavering commitment and contributions. You are truly appreciated!