2020 MI-NADONA Convocation
Nurse Administrators of the Year
Nurse Administrator of the Year – West
Join us in congratulating:
Kristin Milton
Laurel of Carson City
To Whom It May Concern,
I have known Kristin Milton for many years. The past three she has worked as my Director of Nursing for The Laurels of Carson City Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation. I have been consistently impressed by both her attitude towards her work and her performance on the job.
Her interpersonal and communication skills have allowed her to develop productive working relationships with both our residents and our staff. Kristin has the patience, knowledge, and management skills necessary to ensure positive patient outcomes while promoting compliance and excellence.
Kristin possesses solid characteristics that many companies make every effort to find in their employees. She is passionate, reliable, dedicated, and always strives to ensure the highest level of satisfaction from her staff and our residents. Kristin has been with the Laurel Health Care Company for over 15 years, has held multiple positions, and grown both personally and professional throughout her journey.
It is an honor to be her Administrator. I would not and could not ask for a better Director of Nursing to have by my side both personally and professional!
Rachel Cole, Licensed Nursing Home Administrator, Laurels of Carson City
Dear Committee,
I would like to Nominate Kristin Milton RN, DON at Laurels of Carson City for the Nurse Administrator of the year/ Regional award. I have worked with Kristin since November 2019 and have found her to be a calm, well composed DON. She has been the DON at the facility over 5 years. She has been with the company for 15 years and started out as a Charge Nurse, then Unit Manager then ADON to finally DON.
Kristin is hard working, knowledgeable and a team player. She does not ask her staff to do anything she would not do. I have seen her out answering call lights, treating wounds, passing medications, toileting individuals and sometimes just talking with them. She has been a strong DON who has guided her team through all the trials and tribulations of Covid and continues to do so as we gear up for influenza season.
Her residents enjoy her visits. She is fair with the staff and her team of managers. Kristin tries to balance work and a family life and I know it has been difficult this past year with Covid-19 but she has not thrown in the towel and keeps at it. This has been a trying year for most in our Industry and the staffing challenges have been like none other and the same for Kristin but they keep on going and supporting the residents as they can. Kristin has instituted the new company policies and practices. She runs a top notch morning stand up and end of day Stand down meeting. The follow up is detailed. The facility has a 3 star overall but is a 5 star with Quality measures. They are working on returning to an overall 5-star facility once again. Their re-hospitalization rate of 8% is below the CMS goal of 15%.
When there is a problem in the facility Kristin is known to pitch in and help no matter what the situation is or what department it occurs in. Her Administrator and herself have a strong working relationship as an administrator and DON should. I would welcome Kristin as a DON in any facility I was associated with.
Shari L. Carson, Regional Clinical Consultant, Laurel Health Care Company
Dear Committee,
I would like to Nominate Kristin Milton RN, DON at Laurels of Carson City for the Nurse Administrator of the year/ Regional award. I have worked with Kristin since March 2018 and have found her to be a calm, well composed in all situations that have arise. She brings a calmness to the Nursing department.
Kristin is hard working, knowledgeable, and a team player. I have saw her answering call lights, passing medications, toileting individuals, providing patient care, and sometimes just talking with them. She has been strong and has guided our team through all the trials and tribulations of Covid and continues to do so as we gear up for influenza season.
Our residents enjoy her visits and find that she is very helpful with their needs and she will go out of her way to get them anything that they need or want. She is fair with the staff and our team of managers. Kristin does well with balancing work and a family life. It has been difficult this past year with COVID-19 but she keeps going. When there is an issue in the facility she will come and help no matter what department it is. She is an asset to our TEAM and a great leader.
Lisa Hawley, Assistant Director Of Nursing, Laurels of Carson City
I have worked with Kristin Milton from her employment at Laurels of Carson City. She came to the facility from Laurels of Fulton. We have worked together side by side on many projects from resident family Christmas parties, BBQ, a senior prom for residents – she’s always willing to help.
When she came to this facility she was floor nurse, then unit manager, then ADON to DON.
Not only is she active at work, with her family and now being a new grandma coming up on two times in April. She still found time to buy a new house and move!
Kristin is not afraid to jump in – when water pipes break in the middle of the night she’s mopping up the mess with the rest of us. If a toilet needs plunged, she will say where’s the plunger. If a resident needs a hug, she will stand in line with all of us to give that comfort.
I find it a privilege to have her as our DON and am honored to work with her. Both in work relationships and in community function, I feel she deserves to be honored for her dedication to fulfilling the lives of the residents and staff and the Laurels of Carson City.
Joel Todd, Activity Director, Laurels of Carson City
Nurse Administrator of the Year – East
Join us in congratulating:
Chari Patterson
Durand Senior Care and Rehab Center
To Whom It May Concern,
I would like to nominate Chari Patterson for the Nurse Leader of the Year Award. I am the Executive Director at Durand Senior Care and Rehab Center and have worked with Chari for the past 2 years. Chari is the Director of Nursing. I have found Chari to be a caring and compassionate leader. In addition, Chari’s clinical skills and knowledge are outstanding. I have been an administrator for almost 20 years, and have worked with several Directors of Nursing. Chari is by far the most knowledgeable Directors I have had the pleasure to work with.
Chari has developed an excellent team of nurse managers. She has mentored them and led them in providing the highest quality of care to our residents. Through Chari’s leadership Durand Senior Care has been a 5 Star facility for the entire 2 years I have been employed at the Center. Just this past month, we were awarded the AHCA Bronze Medal for quality care. This is in large part due to Chari’s leadership; she is involved in all aspects of a resident’s care during their stays here at our Center to assure the highest quality care is being provided.
Chari leads by example and goes above and beyond. She won’t ask one of her nurse managers to do something she wouldn’t do. This year with the onset of the COVID outbreak, Chari, along with her team spent many hours providing direct care to the residents infected with the virus residing on our COVID unit. Chari would spend the night at the facility just to be immediately available if an emergent situation developed. Chari even lived onsite in a motor home several weeks during the COVID crisis. Chari would go days at a time without seeing her family. Thanks to Chari’s leadership, we were able to turn things around have been a COVID free facility since June.
My goal when I work at a facility is to have a Director of Nursing that I can become a team with and work as a united front towards leading the center to be the best it can be. Chari has not only proven to be a great team member for me, but also is a great resource. I frequently will discuss tough decisions I need to make to get her thoughts and input. I value her level of knowledge and expertise in all she does.
I truly feel Chari is an ideal candidate for the Nurse Leader of the Year Award. Chari has all the qualities one would look for in a great nurse leader.
John Merlo, Executive Director, Durand Senior Care
To Whom It May Concern,
I would like to nominate Chari Patterson, RN, DON for the NADONA Nurse Leader of the Year Award. I have been working at Durand Senior Care and Rehab for a little over 2 years. I have personally known Chari for almost 12 years. Chari was my manager when first starting out my nursing career. She has been such an inspiration and wealth of knowledge during this great journey of nursing. I have learned so much from her while having the opportunity to work alongside of her throughout the many years I have known her. As a team leader here at Durand, Chari makes it possible for our team to thrive and conquer any task that is placed before us.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chari led our team in overcoming what has been known as the most difficult time many of us have been challenged with. She was always there during this hard time and willing to help anyone in need. She stayed in a camper parked in the facility parking lot away from her family and person life to provide excellent care to staff and our residents. Chari is always available for all staff and residents to speak with and always has an answer.
I am very grateful to be a part of this team with Chari. She is a supportive, intelligent, and thoughtful leader. She has taen many of us under her wing and helped us to become the great nurses and staff we are today. With her encouragement and passion for nursing I feel that anything is possible.
In closing, our team would not be the same here at Durand without Chari as our team leader. She has supported us, educated and molded us into the great team we are today. I could not have been luckier to have such a great support system, mentor and friend that I have had the pleasure of knowing. Chari is truly a leader that inpsires you to be the best.
Sarah Russell, Clinical Care Coordinator, Durand Senior Care
To Whom It May Concern,
It is with great respect and admiration that I support the nomination of Chari Patterson, Director of Nursing at Durand Senior Care and Rehab Center, for Nurse Leader of the Year Award – Central Area. I have known Chari for the past four years, since August of 2016. Durand has been a Five Star Center for the past three years. Chari meticulously monitors the QMs and works with her team to improve on any opportunity. She is one of the first to analyze information/data that is presented to her in order to turn an opportunity into positive results. Chari believe sin her team and will help them anyway possible if life brings them a problem, personal or work related. She has encouraged and worked with many of the nursing team as well as other departments to inspire them to go beyond what they think is capable to become a nurse, RN, nurse manager DON. Chari was selected to be a consultant in training for our company. She has also furthered her education and experience, recently passing her nursing home administrator courses and will soon be taking her exams.
Chari’s compassion for her residents goes beyond most. She truly is in this profession for the welfare and best interestes of all her patients. I have personally seen the empathy and compassion when a patient is having difficulties. She is there for the residents, the families and her staff.
As they say the true sign of a great leader is one who leads during a time of crisis and is able to unite the team, push forward with fortitude, resilience, passion and compassion during times of uncertainty, fear, confusion and unknown. I witnessed this first hand as Durand was one of the first centers to be hit hard with the pandemic in the first fo April. A time when guidance was changing almost daily.
On April 9th, our health department issued a press release that made the headline of the front page of the local newspaper the next day. We had a total of 8 staff that were positive now considered a “cluster, with the latest results coming in that day.” Need I say anything more about the numerous calls to families, staff, the news reaching out etc. We met with staff round the clock re-educating them, reassuring and explaining. We lost staff, afraid to work and to possibly be exposed. We started to have more staff show signs and symptoms and they were placed off work including the Executive Director. Yet together under Chari’s leadership the center united and made it trough minute by minute, day after day. Most of us do not recall the month of April nor most of May. We were living it.
I will never forget, walking down the monitoring unit to speak to Chari, listening to some of the residents coughing. When I entered the conference room there was Chari with her head in her hands and I said what’s wrong. “We have 6 positive residents.” She just receied the first positive results on patients.
No one can ever related to what this center went through unless you yourself went through the same at that time in history, before all that we known now. This has been life changing for many of us.
When the monitoring unit became the “COVID unit” it was only because of Chari and her nurse management team who all stepped up that we were able to provide the care needed to our residents in this unit. They were there 24/7 the first few days. Chari stayed at the center during this time around the clock to assure we were on top of everything and to be there for her team, her center, her residents and her families. The use of a trailer was donated to the center. Chari lived in that trailer for almost two months, away from her own family. That team showed what true leadership was as they never asked anyone to do anything they themselves would not do. They believed in their leader and took on every challenge head on…I will forever be grateful to Chari and her team, as they demonstrated the courage, the compassion, and resilience to the staff. This led others stepping up and offering to work the COVID unit. I cannot say enough about their courage, strength, fortitude and care. Then we opened the second COVID unit as it seemed every day one more positive, one more positive. Back then all families and staff had to be called with each positive. All the departments came together to do what needed to be done including weekends, seven days a week. Everyone at that center knows that Chari’s leadership absolutely made the difference.
Meanwhile, we of course had one of the first infection control surveys, during the toughest week of all. We also had daily calls with our local health department, licensing manager, hospital as we were one of the first in the state to be dealing with the outbreak and our local health department required it. So the survey was thorough. There were no citations issued. Since, Durand successfully passed a second infection control survey deficiency free.
In conclusion, Chari exemplifies what a true nurse leader is. The center became and continues to be a Five Star center under her leadership. The center has been chosen as Best of the Best for Shiawassee County year after year as well as Best Boss which Chari received that honor this year. Durand was awarded the “Bronze Award” this year from the American Health Care Association.
This committee may feel that a lot of emphasis for this nomination focused on surviving COVID-19. A true leader is someone who faced with the biggest challenge of their life professionally is able to unite the team, stay strong and steady, inspire and genuinely care for their team sacrificing for the welfare, safety and health of all others. Chari built this team over her four years to be able to take on and survive a pandemic, unlike anyone has ever seen before in our lifetime.
Thank you for your time and consideration of awarding Chari Patterson the nursing administrator/leader of the year for NADONA. I humbly and with great respect and admiration nominate Chari Patterson a true hero of healthcare and mankind.
Sue Oginsky, VP of West, NexCare Health System