Congratulations to Joan Voogd of the Food and Nutrition Hostess Program for receiving an UnityPoint Health - Des Moines ACE Award. The ACE (Always Committed to Excellence) Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of UnityPoint Health - Des Moines employees. Below is the nomination letter written for Joan and an example of the great care and service she provides.
The room service program at IHDM has really helped improve patient satisfaction. Each inpatient area is assigned a hostess who helps our patients order from a menu and delivers the patient's tray as soon as it arrives.
Joan Voogd goes above and beyond expectations for service excellence each and every shift she works. Joan uses AIDET to interact with our patients, and she uses her heart. We had a patient who was having a difficult time accepting his hospitalization and was a bit abrupt with nursing staff. Joan entered his room and introduced herself. She explained that she wanted to make sure he had ordered breakfast. He was immediately affected by her kindness. When he said he hadn't ordered yet because his mind was on other things, she offered to assist him. Although he was physically capable of calling room service, he appreciated the time Joan took to help him.
When the breakfast tray arrived, Joan delivered it and offered the patient extra condiments. She adjusted his bedside table. She opened his milk. She checked back a half hour later to make sure the gentleman felt he had gotten enough to eat. She did all these things with a smile, as would be expected with our CORE values, but she also gave that patient a little more - she gave him respect and a bit of her time. It made all the difference.
Joan loves her job. That's clear by the smile on her face. She makes sure our patients and guests feel welcome. She even decorates our kitchen in holiday or seasonal themes. She offers coffee to visitors, and sometimes, she even brews up a pot of flavored coffee. We are proud to work with Joan and truly appreciate all that she does each and every day.
Joan was nominated by Lisa Hiatt of Younker 8.