May 18, 2015 – Southeast Georgia Health System honored long-time
team members during the annual Service Awards Banquet held at the Jekyll
Island Convention Center on Thursday, May 7, with a theme of “A
Legacy of Caring.”
More than 300 team members with five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years
of service were honored with a delectable buffet dinner and presented
certificates in recognition of their years of service to the Health System.
“Although tonight we are honoring team members who have collectively
provided more than 3,685 years of service, it is I who is honored to work
with each of them,” said Gary R. Colberg, FACHE, Health System President
& CEO. “Their years of service demonstrate confidence in us
as an employer of choice, but more importantly, it shows that working
together works. I could not do my job without all the people I work with
on a daily basis, and it is because of all the good things they do that
we are able to offer new services, recruit qualified physicians and team
members, and provide the highest level of care. They inspire all of us
to do great things.”
Carl Alexander, chair, Southeast Georgia Health System, Inc., voiced his
appreciation as well. “I am truly inspired by the dedication each of you
exhibit
day in and day out. You devote your time, energy, and skills to improving
and saving lives, you bring new lives into the world, and
you
support and mentor each other. On behalf of the Health System, thank you
for your commitment to the health and well-being of our community.”
A highlight of the evening included special recognition of team members
Joy Fulmer, M.T.; Brenda Gibbs, Donna Rainey
and
Linda Singleton for 40 years of service.
Joy Fulmer,
medical
technician, has certainly seen a lot of activity at the Health System since
1974,
when she began her career as a laboratory clerical staff member on the
Brunswick Campus. “During the
mid 90s
, I worked
twelve hour
shifts in the emergency department laboratory. There, a quiet morning
could instantly turn into a whirlwind of activity, and I loved it! It
was a great experience,” says Fulmer, a Brunswick resident.
Through the years, Fulmer’s dedication to patient care led her to
her current position as team coordinator with responsibilities in hematology,
urinalysis, coagulation
and
point of care (POC) testing. She has enjoyed teaching new team members
how to use the blood sugar instrument and making them feel comfortable
operating the POC system. “During the last forty years, all my teammates
have become my second family, they have been there to teach me, encourage
me, support me and help me grow into the professional I am today,”
says Fulmer.
Brenda Gibbs really enjoys meeting all of her patients, and as the medical/surgical
unit coordinator on the Camden Campus since 1974, she has met many. A
resident of St. Marys, Gibbs enjoys the multi-tasking her job requires,
as it helps her to keep an active mind. She believes her job at the Health
System has allowed her to gain
real life
experience, build confidence and improve her memory. “As my grandmother
used to say, ‘If you have a great memory, you’ll never grow
old,’” says Gibbs.
Donna Rainey, of Brantley County, remembers a very different building
structure from the current Brunswick Campus. “When I started with
the Health System, the accounting, payroll, and human resources departments
were in a double-wide trailer where the laundry room is now located,”
she says. Rainey began as a control clerk in data processing and has been
an information systems coordinator, business analyst, and worked in information
systems security. Currently, she is proud of completing her first major
project as
communications
team leader: upgrading the PBX, the private telephone system used within
the Health System, which had not been updated in over 11 years. After
much preparation and planning on Rainey’s part, the project ran
very smoothly. She is thankful to have worked alongside so many great
people at the Health System and feels as though her co-workers are an
extension of her family.
Brunswick resident Linda Singleton continues to learn and challenge herself
each day in her role as surgical services information systems specialist
on the Brunswick Campus. She began her career with the Health System in
1975 as a certified nursing assistant and has worked as a nursing assistant
in the surgical intensive care
unit,
and as a scrub and schedule coordinator. “My job has often been
referred to as an “air traffic controller,” always moving
and looking ahead. We have support from leadership, wonderful medical
staff, and most of all good team players,” says Singleton.
Southeast Georgia Health System is comprised of two acute care hospitals,
two skilled nursing facilities, three immediate care centers, five family
medicine centers, and employs more than 115 providers working in 20 different
medical specialties at more than 40 locations
.For
more information about the Health System, visit sghs.org.