Surgical Services Team Members Recognized with Service Standard Award

Tara Robinson , Kalee Touhy, Becky Adams, Lane Warren, Teena Tinch, Robyn Bryson and Tommy Palmer, DO, were recently awarded AdventHealth Gordon’s prestigious Service Standard Award.

This special award was created by members of the hospital’s Employee Engagement Committee to recognize employees who go above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis. It is awarded monthly to deserving employees selected by the hospital’s leadership team.

These team members were nominated by Hak Lee, MD, director of robotic surgery, and Vernon Gipson, RN, CNOR, director of surgical services.

One night during the holiday season, a patient was transferred to AdventHealth Gordon from a nearby hospital following a series of complications during a surgical procedure. The patient needed emergency surgery to repair an injury, and the surgeon from the nearby hospital called on Dr. Lee of AdventHealth Medical Group Urology at Calhoun. Emergency robotic surgeries are rarely performed, but the team thought it would be best, so the patient didn’t have a long recovery from open surgery. At the time, not enough robotically trained team members were on shift to do the surgery, so they had to call on team members who weren’t on-call. Tara Robinson and Kalee Touhy answered the call at 3 am, and the remaining members of the OR team stayed to help get the case moving forward even though it was time for them to go home. The surgery was successful, and the patient was so touched and grateful for everyone's efforts.

“I was so moved by our operating room team’s actions,” said Dr. Lee. “They speak volumes with their actions. Rarely do you have a team that is so dedicated to what they do and willing to sacrifice their time for sleep and time with their families. I truly believe that this patient had the best outcome because of their dedication and passion to help.”