In this day it is difficult to find one person that is the embodiment of the ICARE principles the VA so proudly stands firm on. Tammy, in my opinion, exhibits all of these qualities daily. Being a long-time employee has given me the opportunity to see many people in action and over the years many collateral duties, one of those being a PT ADV LIASION for the Effingham clinic. While I don't always prescribe to the adage of the Veteran is always right, I do believe we should show our due diligence and listen to their concerns. This is one of Tammy's strong points.

Integrity- Since the NM has been placed in charge of facilitating a request change in PCP, I have firsthand witnessed Tammy's ability to offer the veteran a safe haven where they feel comfortable discussing issues with her related to their experience. Of course, many times the veteran is angry, unreasonable, and unwilling to listen. Tammy affords them the opportunity to vent, which often saves the day, and suddenly makes switching not seem important to the veteran. This first-stop resolution is imperative to the success of the VA. Handling concerns within the clinic locally and not having to route concerns elsewhere is a win-win. Tammy has this perfected.

Commitment- Every veteran is treated by Tammy in alignment with the VA Mission, "To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan." Recently, Tammy and her family had a huge loss, as well as our local VA clinic when her father-in-law, who was 106 years old and the oldest living veteran in the State of Illinois, passed away. At the time of his death, he was still living alone, driving a car, and living a very independent life. Tammy's father also is a veteran and does a lot to show the VA clinic his appreciation. You see Tammy's love for the Armed Forces has been inbred in her. She is Mrs. Red, White, and Blue by her blood. She is the Mission.

Advocacy- Tammy shoulders the responsibility of listening to our veterans and running interference when needed to accomplish a peaceful environment. All staff knows that if there is an issue we can go to her and she will find a way to get the answer. Albeit, maybe not the answer we hope for or think is needed, however the right answer. Recently we had a gentleman who desperately wanted the COVID vaccine. He is local to the area, however, has no transport, and a horrible case of bed bugs. Therefore, no service organization was willing to drive him to Marion for the vaccine clinic ( this was prior to offering here at Effingham). Tammy took it upon herself to get the vaccine from Marion on her personal time and ensure this veteran received his vaccine here at the clinic. This is one example of constantly looking ahead as to what needs to be done to benefit our veterans locally.

Respect- You would be hard-pressed to find a woman who shows support and respect for all of us. As employees, if we are going through difficult times professionally or personally, Tammy has the ability to approach us with respect and work with us to achieve a better goal. In speech she is respectful of the Leaders in Marion, always working very hard to keep the Effingham clinic as one of the very best, where the veterans feel the cohesiveness and caring nature that she sets forth, and expects from all who work here or enter.

Excellence- She lives it, expects it shows it, and does it. She personally obtains to be the very best she can be. As an example, with the MSA instead of saying I don't get this, she approached it from the viewpoint of, I will learn so I know exactly what you're going through. And that she did. She went through formal training, and will constantly ask to be shown what changes are being made so she can stay on top of scheduling grids, blocks, surrogacy, etc. It would be much easier to say I don't know how, however, she doesn't supervise that way and wants to learn firsthand. She also has given countless hours to the Covid screening station, filling in when there are spots open, not recruiting however taking one for the team and doing. Her passion is the Veterans and she will be the first one to cover for a nurse who is out and personally help with the veterans. Tammy exhibits every quality that makes us what we are.