A serving leader works to grow and assist the development of their team. Candy is committed to developing a strong working team and carrying out the Genesis mission to the community we serve. This is evident by her dedication to her position, the engagement of her team, the innovation within her departments, and her commitment to the community.

Candy’s dedication to the success of the Genesis Coshocton Medical Center is truly remarkable. Candy spent countless hours, above and beyond, working nights and weekends to ensure the Emergency Department and Clinical Decision Unit was prepared and ready to open on time. Candy developed policy and education materials and organized orientation in collaboration with the main campus to assist in supporting staffing shortages there. Candy also worked with local agencies on emergency preparedness and creatively worked through challenges. For example, the facility did not have a helipad designed within the scope of the project. Adding the helipad would create a significant cost to the project that was not within budget. Candy worked with Community Ambulance Service, Emergency Department physicians, and Med Flight teams to create a process of transporting patients directly to the flight base. This process was carefully trialed prior to opening and successfully implemented. Creating smooth and safe transitions of care for our most critical patient populations.
  
Candy also served as a resource for other managers and other department staff on site. For example, she helped problem-solve major design challenges within the lab, supported the coordination of equipment to other clinical areas, shared work on staff orientation and training with other leaders, and coordinated mock trials with multiple departments. She views the facility as one team and incorporates support services in the accolades, recognition, and success of her direct cost centers.

The department continues to grow and has seen successful volumes and workflows. Her department hit target volume within the first month of opening and has seen tremendous throughput and patient satisfaction. Her team was recently honored with an Award of Distinction through PRC. This is given to facilities nationally that achieve the extraordinary accomplishment of 100th percentile in overall quality to care. This can only be achieved in part to her work with her team, collaboration with the community, and commitment to high-quality services.
  
Candy’s team knows she can be counted on to assist when needed. When the acuity and volume peak, Candy can frequently be seen in the patient rooms assisting her team. She has also worked on developing her team and raising the bar for all positions within her departments. Additionally, Candy worked on a strong recruitment plan. At a time when travelers are prominent in health care, Candy was able to successfully recruit all her nursing positions fully prior to opening. She was able to fill the department with most staff being experienced nurses and from the local market. In addition, Candy went above her own department and assisted other departments in their recruitment helping fill difficult in demand positions for our ancillary services. She also worked with local EMS and assisted Community Ambulance in setting up contracts for their positions and helped ensure we would have adequate transportation services in the market.  

Candy looks at a problem and immediately thinks about how we can get it done versus why something cannot be done. Several examples of this have been demonstrated. For instance, Candy worked with our infusion services when she learned there was a large population of patients that drove from Coshocton County to main for infusions. She knew this was a hardship for these patients and developed a plan to have these services completed on-site in Coshocton. This required collaboration with Infusion services, Pharmacy, Registration, and others. Also, the county court system presented a challenge they run into with getting drug screenings completed as part of their drug dependency program. Candy worked with legal and Occupational Health to develop a process to utilize Genesis for these services and did specialized training for her staff.

Candy serves not only her staff and Genesis but also her entire community. She has been a strong partner and presence. For example, Candy worked with the local health department to collaborate on health initiatives and sat on their case review panel. She has done multiple presentations within the community, including the Chamber Safety Committee on business and factory emergencies, the local sexual assault task force, and mental health resource management. In addition to these, Candy can be seen representing Genesis in a multitude of community events, including parades, fairs, recruitment events, and community booths. She also has worked with multiple schools and has been a liaison to educate students on healthcare careers and develop the next generation of healthcare leaders.
  
Candy believes in the mission of her profession, and Genesis is fortunate to have such a committed and serving leader.