Reedsburg Area Medical Center Health

“During a weekend, Anooj demonstrated exceptional care by proactively assisting a patient in the absence of regular clinic phone services. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, he provided the patient with his personal mobile number, ensuring a direct and accessible line of communication. The patient required a change in pharmacy, and Anooj took the initiatives to facilitate this process seamlessly, prioritizing the
patient’s well-being and ensuring a smooth transition in medication management.”

Nominated by: Haley Krueger, Walk-In Care
2024

“ A patient who was a few weeks early presented to OB with Spontaneous Rupture of Membranes (SROM). The patient was being cared for by another provider who was on call (per protocol). When Beth learned about the patient's arrival to the Birth Center, she remembered the patient and knew she delivered in a different surrounding hospital for her first baby The patient specifically came to RAMC to have a midwife attended delivery. The patient also wanted a water birth. On her day off, without being asked, Beth rearranged her schedule and spent Mother's Day night at the hospital helping the patient deliver her baby. The baby wasn't born till around 01:00 am. Beth stayed with the family and they couldn't have been happier. During patient rounding, the patient and her husband said Dr DeLong recommended Reedsburg midwives to them. They said they had such a great birthing experience and loved the water birth. They were so happy that Beth came in on her day off to help them have the birth of their dreams. Thank you Beth for your accountability, flexibility and compassion. You are truly amazing!”

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Director Birth Center

May 2024

“I am nominating Dr. Trautman for donating books to the Birth Center that help guide parents after delivery when they feel overwhelmed. Life with a new baby changes everything. Our parents are exhausted, excited, anxious and they experience overwhelming hormones and some have a lot more difficulty adjusting than others. These books help parents know it is normal. Dr Trautman bought the books entitled Good Moms Have Scary Thoughts and asked for the nurses opinion on the best way to use them. She always has the patients best interest at heart and caring for their mental health provides patients with a positive start to parenthood and beyond.”

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Birth Center
June 2024

“I am nominating Dr. Hobson for donating supplies to many patients who are in need. Recently, she brought up boxes of diapers and new clothes to give to the parents. The diapers are valued brands too — not generic
ones. She constantly thinks about helping others by volunteering at the food pantry weekly and giving patients so many items to help them get a healthy start to parenthood. Her amazing generosity doesn’t go unnoticed.”

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Birth Center
June 2024

“I was on vacation out of the country and lost my cell phone. I quickly called Chad in IT and he immediately assisted by removing the RAMC information from the phone. Over 4 days afterwards, he continued to
support me by attempting to find the phone after his work hours and on the weekend, even though he was not on call. He reassured me that it would be OK, assisted with loading my personal email onto my husband’s phone and continued to monitor the phone in case it checked back in. On the morning of day five, before leaving the country, he was able to wipe out the phone so that I could be reassured that my information was not compromised. Thank you Chad for your help with a really difficult situation.”

Nominated by: Andrea Miller
2024

“On a morning in February, the maintenance department was on break in the cafeteria when a
vehicle approached the ED. The passenger was having a seizure and the driver was struggling to
get the patient out safely. Johnny and Larry jumped into action to notify the ED and also assist
with moving the patient safely. Kudos to them for recognizing the situation and springing out of
their chairs to help.”

Nominated by: Rachel Schroeder, Administration
February 2024

“I am nominating this person for going beyond the expected by helping a new employee who was having trouble reaching the nobs for turning on the chemical dispensers and difficulty reaching to clean upper shelves and the back of the sinks/walls, etc. LaVonne brought in everything she could think of that might help ­­— from a snow brush with a telescoping handle to a step stool and reacher grabber tool and many other ideas to try. She also enlisted the help of housekeeping and maintenance for helpful tools/ideas and worked with therapy, too, to adapt things that we have. Lavonne was determined to make things easier for her new co-worker and we are so appreciative of her determination and sharing of her knowledge while showing how much she cares about others.”  

Nominated by: Vickie Holton
August 2024

“I asked Dennis to construct a special chest for a family to place their deceased infant in so that she may be transported respectfully. I did not have an exact timeframe of when it needed to be ready by but knew we didn’t have a lot of time. Dennis immediately got to work and even asked about specific details that could be added to make the chest even more special. When he found out we had a few more hours before it would be needed, he even painted it! This simple object was more than just a chest, it was a beautiful resting place for this family’s precious child. The family was humbled by the gesture. Thank you Dennis for providing comfort during this extremely sorrowful time.”  Thank you, Dennis!

Nominated by: Erin James, Birth Center
August 2024

“We had a difficult IV start in the ED so we had called anesthesia to do an ultrasound IV start. John came over and had asked if I had tried an IV. I told him I had never tried to use the ultrasound before and haven’t ever really been taught what the screen even means. Instead of starting the IV himself (which would have been much faster) John took the time out of his busy shift to stand at the bedside with me and explain what everything on the ultrasound machine was and how to read the screen. He was very patient with me and explained what works best for him, but to do whatever feels comfortable to me. He was super reassuring after I had poked the patient and I ended up starting the IV successfully! I am very appreciative that we have people like John in this organization to help me continue to grow in my nursing career!”

Nominated by – Darriane Sobojinski
June 2024

“I nominate Dr. Trautman for being available all day on Sunday, October 15, and helping us during a super busy shift in the Birth Center. We had three birthing moms, two moms and babies going home and one outpatient who required a transfer. Dr. Trautman was on call that day, and three of the moms were her patients. When the outpatient arrived Dr. Trautman placed the patient on the fetal monitor for us, she entered orders all day long, assisted with two laboring moms, monitored strips for us and topped it all off by buying us pizza. Great teamwork from all. And it was wonderful to work with such a supportive provider who was willing to help out in every way possible.  
Thank you, Dr. Trautman!

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Birth Center
October 17, 2023

“Jarod was contacted while on call on a Friday evening about the sleep cameras not working, and they had two sleep patients scheduled for Friday night and one or two more for Sunday. The cameras are not IT equipment, but he didn’t hesitate to come in and try to fix them. David Emery joined Jarod to see if the two of them could work out a solution. They stayed until 2:00 a.m. to fix the cameras to ensure they would be ready for the Sunday patients. They didn’t want to leave until they knew they had a solution. Thank you for going above and beyond, Jarod and David!” 

Nominated by: Cindy Dries, IT
September 29, 2023

“On a Saturday in May Nicky was working at Viking Pharmacy when a patient picked up a prescribed antibiotic. The patient later called stating they had developed a rash after taking the medication. Nicky gave her 
instructions on how to treat the allergic reaction and then contacted Walk-In Care to discuss the reaction and determine new therapy to treat the original condition. Upon receiving the new order Nicky contacted the patient and indicated  that she didn’t want her to drive after taking the medication to treat the reaction and offered to deliver her new prescription after she was done working. Nicky definitely went above and beyond to make sure this patient was able to get the treatment and care she needed.” 
Thank you, Nicky!

Nominated by: Renee Mead, Outpatient Pharmacy
June 27, 2023

Nominated by: Courtney Rudisill, RAMC Pharmacy

January 30, 2023

“A patient discharged from the hospital on a Friday afternoon had multiple home medication changes.
Community Pharmacy RapidPaked all of his medications for him, but because of the patient’s transportation home from the hospital, he was unable to pick up his meds from the pharmacy. Community Pharmacy is not open weekends, but the patient had time-sensitive meds he needed to start as soon as possible. Matt made multiple phone calls between the inpatient pharmacy and the patient to coordinate getting the patient his meds. Ultimately, Matt was able to bring the patient’s prescriptions to Viking Pharmacy over the weekend and continue to reach out to ensure that patient was able to pick them up. He then had to return to
Community Pharmacy to complete the transaction appropriately. Matt put in a lot of extra time and effort
into making sure this patient did not go too long without his medications.”

Nominated by: Emma Schroeder, Multicare Center

July 18, 2023

“Beth was working on a Friday afternoon and a wound clinic patient had an antibiotic ordered by a provider during their wound clinic appointment. There was an issue with the prescription so Beth worked on getting that resolved. Secondly, this patient had a ride set up to get home as he doesn’t drive and couldn’t wait for the medication to be prepared. Beth picked up the medication and, after her shift that day, drove it to the patient’s home, ensuring he wouldn’t have to go all weekend without it.” 

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Director RAMC Birth Center

May 18, 2023

“I am nominating Ame Fischer for always being so kind and willing to help out however she can. One night this week, we had 3 patients that were being induced and we couldn’t find another OB nurse to come in (which is a rarity). Ame happened to be on the unit and she knew our dilemma and volunteered to work that night. She is always willing and able and such a great resource and patient advocate. All patients and staff love Ame and she is always willing to help out whenever her schedule allows.  We appreciate Ame more than words can express. Thank you Ame!”

Nominated by: Miranda Powell, Specialty Group

July 31, 2023

“A patient of Dr. Ruzga’s was scheduled for a procedure that required them to take medication one day
prior to their procedure. The patient mistakenly thought that their procedure was one day sooner than scheduled. Patient presented to the surgery department one day early, having taken their medication the day before. When Dr. Ruzga was contacted by the clinic department to be advised of this situation, he
made no hesitation to re-arrange his schedule ON HIS DAY OFF and come in to surgery to complete the
patient’s procedure that day. This prevented the patient from having to repeat his medication therapy
and reschedule his procedure. This is above and beyond the expected in my opinion!” 

Nominated by: Brian Westerwelle, RN, MCC

January, 2023 

At the end of October my mother (a retired RAMC employee of 33 years) had a procedure by Dr. Schad. Five days later she was brought to RAMC via ambulance with a life threatening condition (not related to the surgery). After evaluation in our ER, Dr. Schad was contacted. On that Sunday, he and Dr. Parins took her to surgery here at RAMC. After evaluation it was decided to transfer her to UW for surgery and a higher level of care. She spent 33 days at UW. 

Throughout her stay she had multiple procedures, tubes, drains, multiple central and arterial lines and was intubated twice. Throughout the stay Dr. Schad shared either calls or texts with me on almost a daily basis. 

She spent five weeks at Reedsburg Area Senior Life Center. Dr. Schad visited her multiple times after his clinic hours. Then on January 17th, a week after being home, Dr. Schad showed up at my mother’s house with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a box of blueberry pastries. That was truly going beyond the expected. 

I wish to thank him for all the time, understanding and support he gave to me and my family. He is not just a wonderful surgeon, but a wonderful and caring person. We are lucky to have him here at RAMC. Again, I wish to thank you, Dr. Schad from the bottom of my heart. I would also like to thank all the staff and especially my fellow team members here at RAMC. Thank you all.

Nominated by: Courtney Rudisill, RAMC Pharmacy

February 20, 2023

“On Tuesday, February 14, 2023, Nicole was working the switchboard. While working the switchboard, Nicole informed me that she had received a series of concerning telephone calls. She shared the following: An
unidentified woman had telephoned inquiring if her mother was a patient. Nicole answered “no.” Within
minutes, the woman telephoned again and asked the same question. During the second telephone contact,
Nicole overheard a man’s voice threatening, “I’m going to kill you.” According to Nicole, the woman asked her to write down her address (Springfield, Missouri) “in case something happened.” Nicole wrote down the address and the telephone call was abruptly disconnected.

Nicole telephoned the Reedsburg Police Department and provided the information.

I later learned that the Springfield Police Department responded to the address after receiving the information and additional calls reporting a disturbance at the address.

Nicole acted above and beyond the expected, stepping outside her normal job responsibilities to request a check welfare of a woman out-of-state. Nicole is a heroine.”

Nominated by: Birth Center Staff

April 14, 2023

“When our unit had to relocate this week due to a maintenance project, Pam came in every day throughout the week to help with the transition. She supported the staff by helping with a surge of labor patients that came in over the two days our unit was in Med Surg. Pam also moved all of the necessary items and equipment from the Birth Center to our new location on Med Surg and then back to the Birth Center. She assisted with organizing, cleaning and communicating to help make the transition go smoothly. She coordinated a drill to ensure the safety and security of our infant population. Her presence gave much needed support to staff, enabling us to handle this move with positivity and flexibility. Plus, she ended the week volunteering for RAMC’s VetFest. She is a true asset to RAMC and the Reedsburg community. Her long hours and countless acts of thoughtfulness are so valued by the Birth Center and RAMC. Thank you Pam, for all that you do!”

Nominated by: Ryan Shear, Senior Life Center and Mandy Reynolds, ACU

August 2023

“One afternoon last week a patient at the specialty center needed wheelchair transportation but their scheduled ride fell through. Matt stepped up without hesitation to drive the patient in the SLC bus all the way to West Salem so that they could go back to their nursing home and not spend the night in the hospital. Matt is definitely someone who goes Beyond the Expected!” (from Ryan)

One of our surgical patients did not have wheelchair transportation to a skilled facility at time of discharge, due to prior arrangements falling through last minute. No other resources were available for same day transport. The patient would have had an unexpected hospital stay, but Matt stepped up and volunteered to utilize the SLC bus to transport the patient all the way to West Salem.” (from Mandy)

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Director RAMC Birth Center

August 21, 2023

“I am nominating Jodie for helping a patient who was in need of specific assistance. Jodi has first hand knowledge of babies born with cleft lip/palate and was willing not only to call a patient who had a newborn with this but was also willing to go to her house and assist with feedings. Jodi worked a 12 hour shift and volunteered to drive to Sauk to assist this new mom who was quite distressed with the new diagnosis. Jodi is such a sweet, kind and compassionate soul who doesn’t hesitate to help others out. She is busy with her own family, but still always makes room for those in need. We are so thankful to have Jodi as part of our team and so is our community!”

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Director RAMC Birth Center

January 30, 2023

“I am nominating Ame Fischer for caring so deeply for her patients. A new mother was having difficulty with milk production. The mom wanted desperately to succeed with breastfeeding and was so teary. Over the weekend, Ame went out and bought a bottle of goat’s rue for the patient to use to help increase her milk supply. She paid for it out of her own money and went to get it at a “special” store. This is just one small example of the amazing care Ame provides that goes beyond the expected.”

Nominated by: Pam Dregney, Birth Center

August 7, 2023

“I would like to nominate Martha for going beyond during a recent interpretation need. Birth Center nurse, Kelly Koenig, emailed Pam Dregney and Erin James to let them know about a situation they had overnight. A Spanish-only speaking patient arrived in the Birth Center from the Emergency Department. The patient was in a lot of distress due to pain and other traumatic circumstances prior to arrival. Neither
Marrti interpreters were working. While the house supervisor was attempting to trouble shoot Martii, she suggested a call to Martha to see if she would be available. At 11pm Martha not only answered her phone immediately but also quickly replied that she could come in to help. Anita Lindholm, working in Med Surg, was able to get the Marrti working and we were thankfully able to call off Martha before she got here. Martha was very willing to go well out of her way to help this patient and our unit!”

“On May 22, 2023 we had a distraught patient come into the Specialty Center for an appointment but she also needed some medical records. When Kim approached the patient to get specifics on what exactly itwas the patient was looking for the patient was very upset, emotional, and crying. She was in need of “ALL” of her records from September to present. Once Kim found out exactly what the patient needed she immediately stopped everything else that she was doing to work on gathering and printing this patients records, 1800 pages of them. Kim knew this would take time so rather than having the patient come back another day, because the patient was already so upset, Kim asked the patient if she had an errand or two to run in town so Kim would have time to print everything. The patient lived in another town so this was the ideal suggestion to save the patient time and gas money. When the patient arrived back at RAMC to pick up her records Kim had them all printed and in a box ready for the patient and by the end of that encounter Kim stated she had the patient laughing and feeling much better about her situation. Kim went well beyond her call of duty not only gathering and printing the records immediately for the patient but also for handling the patient and her feelings with such care that the patient went from crying to laughing during Kim’s encounters with her. Thank you Kim for all you do! You are truly an AMAZING asset to RAMC!”

Nominated by: Brandi Fergi, HIM
May 23, 2023

I received feedback from ER physician Dr. Lyback regarding the following experience:

"Awhile ago I had the BEST experience with Christine Trautman. I had never met her in person before – she had a patient in her office that was going through a very difficult situation. Dr. Trautman accompanied the patient as she received additional care in the emergency room, stayed with her and helped her so incredibly much. She was overall just an incredibly exceptional asset for this patient and we were all very thankful. Very impressed by Dr. Trautman!"

Nominated by Melissa Southworth, Chief Nursing Officer
October, 2022

"Lori spent a large part of her day pursuing every possibility in order to get a patient some medications that the patient was not able to afford. Lori went beyond what was expected and made numerous phone calls to other departments to see what could be done. In the end, Lori made sure these medications were paid for and the patient was able to get started on these very needed medications. Thanks Lori for not stopping when it seemed as if all possibilities were exhausted. It is because of you that this patient got their medications in a timely manner."

Nominated by Tiaha McGettigan, Pharmacy
September, 2022

“On April 2, 2022, we called you in on your day off to help us with a critical patient we had in the ICU. You gladly came in even though it was taking you away from your family time. You started a central line, an arterial line and a chest tube on this critical patient. Then after all of that, you stayed until Med Flight arrived to transport this patient. This is just one moment in time that you have done such a selfless act. You definitely are selfless and put the patients first. For this reason, you are going beyond the expected!”

Nominated by Beth Nofsinger, Med/Surg
April, 2022

“A patient/visitor stopped into the Administration office and was overheard telling another team member that she was going to be driving a friend to an appointment in Madison later
in the week, but didn’t think that there was enough gas in the car to get the patient to the
appointment and worried about running out of gas on the drive to/from Madison. The person also indicated that the appointment was scheduled for the day before payday, so they were
not going to have a paycheck in time to put gas in their vehicle. Rachel personally gave this
person enough cash so that they could put gas in their car to drive the patient to and from their appointment in Madison. I know that the patient/visitor was so appreciative and thankful for Rachel’s generosity and compassion!”

Nominated by Ryan Bohen
April, 2022

“I am nominating Dr. Deanna Benish for Going Beyond the Expected for her quick and selfless actions at the Girls Sectional Basketball game in Baraboo on March 3. A student from the opposing team’s student section collapsed in the front row during the game. Before most of the fans even knew that something happened Dr. Benish was jumping down the very packed bleachers and ran across the court to assist in the care of this student. She left the gym with the student and returned later to watch the remainder of her daughter’s basketball game. I was impressed by how swiftly she responded to the care of this student. It shows that even beyond RAMC walls, our staff and providers are willing to assist in the care of others when their expertise is needed without even thinking twice.”

Nominated by Mandy Retzlaff
March, 2022