Employees

Bill Kleinman: The Exit Interview

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Bill Kleinman spent most of legal career–first as an assistant attorney general, then as senior counsel for health affairs–at UConn Health, where he’s served more than 37 years. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)

William Kleinman, who’s been practicing law for more than four decades, is retiring from state service April 27. Kleinman spent most of his career as an assistant attorney general embedded at UConn Health, and has been serving as senior counsel for health affairs here for the last three years. A few weeks ago he agreed to a departing interview with UConn Health Updates.

What did UConn Health look like from a legal standpoint when you, as an assistant attorney general, were assigned here in 1980?

At that time, there was only one lawyer representing Storrs, the regional campuses and UConn Health. Today, the number of lawyers between the two campuses is easily in double digits. But it was a less complicated legal world then. The nature and scope of state and federal regulations in the health care and educational arenas was much less pervasive and complex than it is now. In addition, I see legal counselling now having much more of a business aspect to it than it did when I first started practicing.

In 1980, John McKenna was the assistant attorney general assigned to represent both the Storrs and Health Center campuses. On average, he spent one day a week in Farmington. The hospital was about five years old. John and I discussed the possibility of my representing the Health Center. At that time, I was representing the state constitutional officers as well as a variety of state administrative agencies. We brought the idea to Carl Ajello, who was the attorney general at the time, and he said yes.

In retrospect it was an interesting decision because I had no education law experience, I had no health law experience, and I had very little litigation experience. So I was a very well balanced three-legged stool. It was really quite remarkable. But the Health Center was very supportive by proving me with multiple educational opportunities to get me up to speed very quickly. For the first 17 years that I was here, I was the only assistant attorney general at UConn Health.

How did your role evolve over the years?

I dealt with a broad array of legal issues. I represented UConn Health in state and federal court, the Commission on Hospitals and Health Care (now OHCA), the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and the Office of the Claims Commissioner. I drafted documents when necessary, gave legal advice on a daily basis on the legal issues of the day, handled commitment hearings on the first and third floors, as well as any legal issues that emanated from the operation of the hospital, the faculty practice, the medical school, the dental school, the graduate school, and administrative operations. And if it was a matter outside of my expertise or experience, I had to find outside counsel or someone else in the attorney general’s office who could help me with it.

In 1997, when Les Cutler was the vice president and provost for health affairs, he recognized the need for more legal representation. A second assistant attorney general, Jane Comerford, joined me. She was an outstanding lawyer, and greatly enhanced the services provided by our office. Jane was then followed by assistant attorney general Don Green, who continued Jane’s good work.

Describe the dynamic of the relationship between an assistant attorney general and the agency in which he or she is assigned?

That always created a challenge. I always recognized and understood that my employer was the attorney general. But I always had a very strong allegiance to UConn Health and my goal always was to find a way to navigate a legal path that was comfortable to the attorney general and beneficial to the Health Center. And in my personal view, that really should be a goal of any assistant attorney general representing a state agency, namely, to allow that agency to perform its mission to the fullest extent possible without any or minimal legal exposure.

That was always my goal, and I think that we were pretty successful in achieving this, to find a way to navigate where we could hold faith with the attorney general’s responsibilities while finding a way to either get the Health Center to where it wanted to go or clearly to explain why there was no legal way to go down that path. I’m not a prideful person, but if I’m proud of anything, it was the ability to help marry those two different entities in a way that didn’t make the legal department a roadblock to getting things done.

In that same regard, I never dealt with a senior administrator here who was not willing to accept straight, respectful advice given on a legal issue.

What are some of the things you observed over the course of your tenure here?

Bill Kleinman started working at UConn Health in 1980.

There’s been an interesting ebb and flow within the Health Center relative to its relationship to the campus at Storrs. It has, literally like the tides, either been more and less integrated with departments and functions at Storrs. We are currently in a “high gravitational pull phase.” I would be surprised going forward if that doesn’t remain the norm.

I think some of the interesting things that I have seen over the years include multiple attempts by the Health Center to integrate clinically with other area providers, only to have those efforts fall short for multiple political reasons. Despite that, the Health Center has regularly attempted to reach out and advance itself and partner with other health care and research entities, as evidenced by collaborations with Connecticut Children’s, Jackson Labs, Center for Advanced Reproductive Services, and others. At the same time, it has successfully developed its own centers of excellence.

Correctional Managed Health Care has evolved in an interesting fashion. It was originally contemplated to be a teaching laboratory for the medical school on how to deal with a pure managed care model. But it certainly was and continues to be an interesting experiment in how the state can provide medical care to its incarcerated population. It’s particularly interesting when you read articles across the country about the challenges that private entities have had in providing quality medical care within prison systems in other states. Many of those articles have not reflected favorably on those efforts

You retired from the Office of the State Attorney General at the end of 2013, but we still have been seeing you here since. How has your role changed?

I was ready to retire from working full time and I said to the leadership here, if it would be helpful to you, and you want me to work a couple days a week, I’m happy to do that. They said that would be great.

Upon retirement I immediately transitioned from the assistant attorney general position to my current role, as senior counsel for health affairs. One of the purposes was to help transition into the creation of the Office of the General Counsel at UConn Health. This would then allow a university-employed cadre of lawyers that does the heavy lifting legally for the university, in conjunction and cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General.

The attorney general’s office is charged with providing certain types of legal advice that only it can provide, such as formal legal opinions of the attorney general, representation in and settlement of lawsuits, contract approvals and the like. But other than that, there’s nothing that prevents the university from engaging its own counsel to provide legal advice on a whole universe of legal matters. And, throughout my 37 years of representing UConn Health, there’s always been excellent cooperation between the university and the attorney general’s office.

About a year and a half before I was going to retire, I advised the attorney general’s office of my plans, because my feeling was, unlike many other slots in the attorney general’s office, this position was going to require someone with a somewhat unique skill set. I wanted to afford the attorney general’s office enough time to find a strong candidate to fill this position. And fortunately for UConn Health, Jeff Blumenthal applied for the job.

From 2012 through the end of 2013, Jeff and I worked together in the attorney general’s office, which afforded us an opportunity to transition the functional role of an assistant attorney general here to Jeff. He has a deep and varied legal background in multiple areas related to health care. He is a lawyer of the first rank. Effective January 2014, Jeff became lead attorney. And now, with the addition of two new outstanding lawyers, Scott Simpson and Brian White, UConn Health’s new chief legal officer, combined with our highly respected resident Assistant Attorney General Lynn Wittenbrink, a highly accomplished litigator and counsellor, this institution is well positioned to navigate through treacherous legal waters safely.

What’s next for you?

I’m fortunate that my wife (Dr. Myra Rosenstein, who retired from UConn Health Partners at the end of 2013) and I have a place in the Berkshires. I think that on May 1, we’ll pack up our car and go up to the Berkshires for May, June, July, and August, and head back to West Hartford in September. We also look forward to continue our recent travelling adventures (Israel and China last year), with an African safari scheduled for October.

We have five adult children living all over the country including two grandchildren in Oakland so that keeps us pretty busy as well.

I currently sit on a Health Center IRB and intend to continue to sit as a nonaffiliated volunteer member. I’m also going to look at a couple of other substantive volunteer opportunities. But I’ve been advised, I think wisely, by a number of friends, that in the first year of retirement, be measured in the commitments that you make. I do intend to do a lot of reading, exercising, taking some courses, and just trying to enjoy life.

As you prepare to leave UConn Health, what is your outlook on the future of this institution?

The faculty, staff, administration and infrastructure have been put in place to make this place succeed. The Outpatient Pavilion is a Class A facility. The new University Tower, first class. The collaboration with The Jackson Laboratory, five star. The key is to find the chemistry, through affiliation or otherwise, that will draw patients here and build on the research collaboration with Jackson and other entities that will allow UConn Health to flourish. That’s the challenge.

And to the extent that the Office of General Counsel at UConn Health can help make that happen—through affiliation agreements, joint ventures, accountable care organization affiliations—then this office will have done its part in a great success story.

2017 Health, Safety and Environmental Fair Photos

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Football was the theme of this year’s Health, Safety and Environmental Fair held in the Food Court April 7. Many UConn Health departments took part offering giveaways and games. Some of the highlights included visits from Miss Connecticut, Miss Chrysanthemum, the UConn husky dog Jonathan XIV and the UConn Husky mascot.  View the photo gallery to see if you recognize anyone you know.

Engaging Our Enterprise Through Servant Leadership

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Joe Patrnchak, an expert on servant leadership, presents the concept to UConn Health deans, directors, department heads, and other leaders. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)

Managers and directors continue attending a series of leadership development workshops as part of Dr. Andrew Agwuonbi’s efforts to improve employee engagement.

Central to that is a shift in philosophy to what’s known as servant leadership.

The most recent installment of the development series featured a presentation from Joseph Patrnchack, who served as chief human resources officer at the Cleveland Clinic before founding Green Summit Partners, an HR consulting firm specializing in employee engagement. He told the crowd of deans, directors, department heads, and other leaders that engaging the workforce through servant leadership provides guidance and inspiration to be an effective leader.

“Building an engaged enterprise is realizing what kind of leadership it takes to create high levels of employee engagement across your organization,” Patrnchak said. “Engagement has both emotional and intellectual components and equally important, the combined result is extra on-the-job effort.”

Leaders can’t force their people to be highly engaged, he said, but they can create an environment and a culture that encourages them to become engaged.

“The most important thing an organization’s leaders can do to promote engagement is to demonstrate that they care about their people,” Patrnchak said. “Applying the principles of servant leadership assists leaders to move from a command and control, position power style to one of empowering others and putting others and the organization first.”

The leadership development series has had five workshops so far. They serve as a platform for UConn Health leaders to learn what is needed to improve the culture and improve the workplace for its workforce.

–Alexis Crean

It’s National Doctors’ Day!

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We want to give a heartfelt “thank you” on this National Doctors’ Day to all of our approximately 400 doctors who have dedicated their life’s work to caring for others. In honor of the day, clinicians were invited to share in refreshments and UConn John Dempsey Hospital CEO Anne Diamond and other hospital administrators were on hand to say a personal thank you and give out special mementos.

The first Doctors’ Day observance was held on March 30, 1933, by the Barrow County Alliance in Winder, Georgia. The Alliance picked that day because it was the anniversary of the first administration of anesthesia by Georgia native Dr. Crawford W. Long in 1842. The first observance included the mailing of cards to physicians and their wives, flowers placed on graves of deceased doctors – including Dr. Long, and a formal dinner.

You may have noticed some of our doctors wearing red carnations today. Through the years, the red carnation has been used as the symbol of Doctors’ Day. Because of the flower’s spicy fragrance, it was often used in seasoning dishes “to preserve the body, both in mind and spirit.”

Congress designated March 30, 1991, as National Doctors’ Day. The enactment of this resolution enables the citizens of the United States to publicly show appreciation for the role of physicians in caring for the sick, advancing medical knowledge, and promoting good health.

Roberta Luby to Retire in May

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After fourteen years with UConn Health, assistant vice president for HealthONE Roberta Luby, will retire on May 1. (Photo by Frank Barton)
After fourteen years with UConn Health, assistant vice president for HealthONE Roberta Luby, will retire on May 1. (Photo by Frank Barton)

After fourteen years with UConn Health, in Strategic Projects, Clinical Systems and currently as assistant vice president for HealthONE, Roberta Luby will retire on May 1.

“By far, HealthONE – replacing our existing aging clinical infrastructure – is the most interesting and challenging thing I have done here,” said Roberta. “From first presentation in 2012, to RFP in June of 2015, to where we are today – about a year from go-live – it’s been a ride I will never forget.”

“Roberta is a proven leader who knows how to get things done,” said Carolle Andrews, chief administrative officer. “We will miss her smile, her steady hand, and the wealth of experience she brought to critical organizational projects.”

Senior leadership is working to develop an interim plan and more details will be forthcoming in the next few weeks, according to Denise Purington, interim chief information officer.

“HealthOne is a massive undertaking with ramifications across the organization,” said Dr. Andy Agwunobi, “we really appreciate Roberta’s role in getting us well down the road toward a high quality implementation by April of next year.”

“We have an extremely talented and committed HealthONE team in place, poised to achieve a wonderful transformation. I look forward to seeing the results after go-live and the impact it will have on all parts of the organization,” Roberta concluded.

The Pulse Marks One Year Anniversary

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A night view of University Tower at UConn John Dempsey Hospital (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)Commercial Shoot, March 9-10, 2016Health, Safety and Environment Fair 2016UConn Health buildingAn email inboxWomens Center Sees First PatientsWE-BELIEVE-IN-POSSIBLENew Academic RotundaBuilding 20, constructed in 1990 for extra office space at UConn Health, in the process of being demolished. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)
Hard to believe, but it’s been a year since we posted our first issue of The Pulse. We told you then that our goal was to highlight what really makes UConn Health tick and we’ve done our best to do that each and every week. A whole lot has happened here since we posted Issue 1 so we wanted to take a few moments to stroll down memory lane and present you with a visual reminder of some of the major milestones.

Phishing Tips: Beware of Email Links and Attachments

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Recently, some Connecticut state employees responded to a well-crafted “phishing” email directing them to click on a link to what appeared to be the CORE-CT website in order to retrieve their W-2.  This was a fake website, and the employees who followed the link and entered user ID and password unwittingly gave the perpetrators access to their CORE-CT login credentials and all of the personal information contained there, such as Social Security number, home address, birth date, etc.

Armed with this information cybercriminals can file a phony income tax return in your name, open credit card accounts and attempt to steal funds in your bank accounts or retirement savings accounts.

Here are some tips to protect yourself from phishing:

How to Spot a Phishing Email

Phishing is a deceptive attempt to pose as a reputable entity or person in electronic communications, such as email, IM or social networking.

Unofficial “From” Address.  Look for a sender’s email address that is slightly different (but similar to) an official email address.  The most recent phishing attack came from an e-mail address that read: donotreply@ct.gov <ssellick@tbaytel.net>.  The second part of the email address shows that it came from outside the system.

Urgent Call for Action. Cyber criminals include urgent “calls to action” in emails to get you to react immediately. Be wary of emails containing phrases like “your account will be closed,” “your account has been compromised,” or “urgent action required.” The cybercriminal is taking advantage of your concern to trick you into providing confidential information immediately.

Generic Greetings. Cyber criminals send thousands of phishing emails at a time. They may have your email address, but they seldom have your name. Be skeptical of an email sent with generic greetings, such as “Dear Customer” or “Dear Member.” The most recent attack targeted our state’s Enterprise Resource Planning system Core-CT.

Link to a Fake Website. To trick you into disclosing your user name and password, cyber criminals often include a link to a fake web site that looks like (sometimes exactly like) the sign-in page of a legitimate web site. Just because a site includes a company’s logo or looks like the real page doesn’t mean it is! Logos and web site layouts are easy to copy. You can detect a fraud by using your mouse to “hover” over the link with your cursor.  This will reveal the website to which you are being directed (and it may not be the one you expected). The best practice is to refrain from CLICKING ANY LINKS IN EMAIL.  Navigate to the site by your normal means.

Legitimate Links Mixed with Fake Links. Cyber criminals sometimes include authentic links in their spoof pages, such as to the genuine privacy policy and terms of service pages for the site they’re mimicking. These authentic links are mixed in with links to a fake phishing web site in order to make the spoof site appear more realistic.

Other Characteristics of Phishing Emails:

  • Spelling errors, poor grammar, or inferior graphics.
  • Requests for personal information such as your password, Social Security number, or bank account or credit card number. Legitimate companies will never ask you to verify or provide confidential information through an unsolicited email.
  • Attachments (which might contain viruses or keystroke loggers, which record what you type).

What to Do if You Are a Victim of a Phishing Email.

If you have clicked on a suspicious email link and feel your personal identifiable information may have been compromised, here are a few steps you can take to protect yourself.

  • Change your passwords for all employer software systems, and all personal bank, retirement and financial accounts.
  • If you have not already done so, register your financial and banking accounts for online access only and choose challenging security questions with answers that only you would know.
  • Regularly review your bank, credit card, retirement and financial account(s) for any unauthorized activity.
  • Regularly review your credit report for any unauthorized activity. Under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy every 12 months.  You may obtain a copy by calling 877-322-8228 or online at annualcreditreport.com;
  • Learn more; by visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s website at ftc.gov/credit.

 The Department of Administrative Services will be introducing a new Cyber Security Awareness training program soon.  It will include further information on how to use email safely.  If you are suspicious about any email that you receive, contact the IT Help Center at x4400 or via email: helpdesk@uchc.edu. 

 

Standing Up for UConn

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UConn Health faculty and staff attend a public hearing over state funding for UConn. (Photo provided by Andrea Keilty)
UConn Health faculty and staff attend a public hearing over state funding for UConn. (Photo provided by Andrea Keilty)

Last night in a show of solidarity against millions of dollars in proposed state budget cuts facing UConn and UConn Health, nearly 100 students, doctors, faculty and staff attended the Appropriations Committee hearings at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

UConn had several diverse panels of speakers sharing their personal perspectives with legislators about the detrimental impact any potential budget cuts could have on their education, research or care of patients.

UConn is currently facing up to $28 million in budget cuts while UConn Health is facing $13.2 million.

UConn Health’s five-person panel discussion was kicked-off by Evan Woodford, a second-year student in the UConn School of Dental Medicine. He told the committee, “I worry what message will be sent to future students if that vital support needed to continue to provide their educations…is withdrawn. I urge you to minimize the amount of the proposed budget cuts in order to maintain our excellent progress.”

Bayan Abunar, a second-year student in the UConn School of Medicine, testified, “It is through the state funds to UConn Health and your regular investments to our School of Medicine and Dental Medicine that have made it an affordable and accessible place for students of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds, including myself, to learn to be compassionate health care providers. I urge you to continue to invest in these entities by restoring funding to the FY16-17 level which provide tremendous benefit for the students, patients and Connecticut’s economy.”

Michel Gueret of Canton, a stage IV lung cancer survivor, also spoke about the cutting-edge and lifesaving immunotherapy clinical trial he had access to at UConn Health’s Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“My survival, literally against all odds, is the real testimony,” Gueret said. “It is evidence of what a research-driven UConn Health can and will continue to deliver to the people of Connecticut with your continued unwavering support. I thank each member of the committee for standing up to safeguard UConn Health. With your support–one day in the future–they will be there to save your life or that of your loved one in need, just like they saved my life.”

Mark Driscoll, a biotech entrepreneur who started the company Shoreline Biome at UConn’s Technology Incubation Program (TIP) in 2015, told the lamwakers, “UConn and UConn Health are vital components of the foundation of a robust ecosystem that is needed for the high tech life science businesses and industries of today to be successful. I urge you to consider that continued strong investment in UConn and UConn Health as part of our economic growth plan should remain a high priority as we look for long term solutions to our budget problems in Connecticut.”

UConn Health researcher Caroline Dealy spoke about the various ways she serves the state as a UConn alumnus, UConn Health scientist, entrepreneur, business owner and educator of students.

“UConn needs resources for research so that scientists like me and others who are speaking tonight can continue to bring new knowledge into the world, while engaging in the process of discovery, the next generation of change-makers: UConn’s students,” Dealy said. “I urge you, please don’t cut UConn’s resources. It’s just too important.”

Earlier in the day UConn leadership, including President Susan Herbst and Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, UConn Health CEO and executive vice president for health affairs, also shared in-person testimony with the Committee.

“I ask for your support to protect the viability of your public academic health system and to do what you can to minimize cuts to UConn Health so that we can continue to deliver on the investments and provide Connecticut and its people with excellent service,” shared Agwunobi.

Agwunobi Eying Strategic Cuts, Continued Growth, Affiliations

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Dr. Andrew Agwunobi speaks at a town hall meeting for faculty and staff Feb. 8, 2017. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)
Dr. Andrew Agwunobi speaks at a town hall meeting for faculty and staff Feb. 8, 2017. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)

In the face of continued financial challenges, UConn Health still has great potential, Dr. Andrew Agwunobi, chief executive officer and executive vice president for health affairs, told employees at a town hall meeting this week.

“We have amazing, amazing opportunity here at UConn Health,” Agwunobi said. “We are investing for long-term growth, but have serious short- to mid-term financial headwinds.”

Agwunobi said UConn Health has to significantly cut costs while protecting its teaching, research, and clinical care missions, adding that details on how to do that are still being worked on and are forthcoming in the months ahead.

“One thing I can reassure you is that whatever we do in this organization, we will be very, very thoughtful about how it is done, and our mission,” he said. “We’ll be very thoughtful about that and make sure that it does not impact our mission, and does not impact people unnecessarily, wherever we can avoid that.”

He said understanding the context of those decisions is important, explaining that the budget target for fiscal 2018 is a nearly $16 million loss, and that the institution may have to overcome up to an additional $10 million in state funding cuts. At the same time, UConn Health must continue to invest in itself, he said.

“We have to continue the commitment to growth, there’s no way of shrinking ourselves to success,” Agwunobi said. “We have to grow, and we will continue to do that. We have to strengthen our surgical services—we really have to focus on that—our ORs, our outreach to physicians in the community, getting referrals into our systems, hiring faculty members in surgery, that’s very important.”

He noted that 73 faculty members have joined UConn Health since 2015, many of them clinicians.

“That’s our economic engine,” Agwunobi said. “We bring them in, they start up their practices, we give them equipment, we give them staff, and they see patients. Patients come to us and that’s how we increase out top line, our revenues.”

A video recording of the town hall meeting is available on Mediasite.

“On the one side we hire, we protect our mission, teaching and academic and clinical, and on the other side, we cut costs,” Agwunobi says. “And at the same time we look at affiliations and other structures, other partnerships that we can help to spread our costs, that we can help to increase the size of our network, that we can get more revenues into our system.”

Another priority is a focus on leadership and culture. Agwunobi cited results from last year’s employee engagement survey indicating areas in need of improvement. He said it starts with the leadership.

“We’ve started leadership development sessions, which I and others hold, and we actually have done three already,” he said. “What we’re focusing on is servant leadership. We’re here to serve the needs of the faculty, the patients, the employees, to have a culture of yes rather than a culture of no, to have a culture of supporting the people we are here to serve, being honest and proactive about communication, being good at what we do, being competent and continually learning as leaders, supporting our employees, and also being innovative.”

Agwunobi announced plans for a “360-degree survey,” where leaders will be evaluated anonymously by the people who report to them, as well as their peers.

Vice President of Human Resources John Peeples speaks at a town hall meeting for faculty and staff Feb. 8, 2017. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)
Vice President of Human Resources John Peeples speaks at a town hall meeting for faculty and staff Feb. 8, 2017. (Photo by Janine Gelineau)

Attendees of Wednesday’s meeting also got a public introduction to John Peeples, who joined UConn Health as vice president for human resources late last year. Peeples announced he will start holding small group meetings with front-line staff in work areas throughout the campus in March, April and May.

“I’ll go out and make sure that the employees have an opportunity to meet me, share with me things that are important to them, such as, how do we make this a great place to work,” Peeples said. “In addition to that, what are some of the programs and services that are important to the employees that we should consider as we look at HR and how HR is delivered to the workforce. More importantly, I just want to hear what people want to say—What do you want to share with me?”

An HR perspective survey will follow Peeples’ listening tour.

Peeples also said HR is undergoing a transformation toward having a greater focus on recruitment, retention, and training and development.

“Not only do we have to worry about the labor contracts and policies and corrective actions and those things, but we also have to be concerned about how we advocate for both managers and employees,” he said. “We need to be concerned with all rights that employees have, not just rights under a labor contract, but rights that you have to just have a great place to work.”

Also giving brief remarks were Dr. Bruce Liang, dean of the UConn School of Medicine, and Roberta Luby, associate vice president, UConn HealthONE.

Liang said the new medical school curriculum is going well, and the school getting ready for next year’s accreditation survey. He said the new simulation center is open to—and being used by—medical, dental, nursing and pharmacy students, and coming soon is a new suite for advanced training in laparoscopic surgery.

Luby, who is overseeing the elaborate transition to UConn Health’s new electronic medical records system, said the project is progressing well and is on track for an April 28, 2018, go-live date.

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January PAWS Award Winners

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Dr. Andy AgwunobiUMG General Medicine MA TeamShevonne White, Operating RoomCatherine Kay, UMG-RheumatologyPatricia Joyce, UMG-Internal MedicineLaura Didden, Dental Dean’s OfficeRashea Banks, Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health)

Human Resources is pleased to announce January 2017 PAWS award recipients. The award honors employees who consistently perform above and beyond the expectations of their job and exhibit the following attributes: Part of a team; Awesome attitude; Wonderful work ethic; and Superior service.

Individual Winners: Rashea Banks, Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center; Doreen Barnofski, Dermatology Clinic; Laura Didden, Dental Dean’s Office; Marsha Dowling, UMG-Rheumatology; Cherayne Forknot-Gayle, Medical/Surgical 5 Unit; Patricia Joyce, UMG-Internal Medicine; Catherine Kay, UMG-Rheumatology; Ashley Schwartz, UMG-Rheumatology; and Shevonne White, Operating Room.

UMG General Medicine MA Team: Danielle Beaudoin, Wendy Carros, Stephanie Laster, Jenny Ojeda Rosado, Karolina Simko and Lucy Sokolsky.