Our ministry knows that caring for our community during this COVID-19 pandemic has been a family affair. Standing behind every one of our amazing team members is a family that has been making sacrifices as well.
We gave the families of our Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center team members an opportunity to share a note of thanks with their loved ones working in health care. And the response was overwhelming!
Here are a few of these notes:
“Kylie, just wanted to take this opportunity to not only thank you for all of your dedication to the medical field but also to congratulate you on your journey to get there. We are so proud of all your hard work and dedication in college. We know it wasn’t easy, but you persevered and have become an excellent nurse. Continue to do great things and keep making a difference in this world! Love, Dad, Mom, Luke, Kristopher, Brianna and Kade“
“Dr. Kyle Ball, we are so proud of you! You take great care of all your patients and treat them as if they were your own family members. You go above and beyond to ensure your patients are well cared for and involved in making decisions about their own care. We admire your dedication and compassion. Thank you for all you do for your patients and family. Love, Ashley, Everly, Ella, Emersyn and Xander“
“I am thankful and proud of my daughter, Kirstie Griffo. Kirstie’s critical thinking, passion and drive for excellence is important to her daily performance. I know that her compassion and strength for every life makes a difference every day. Thank you for being on our front line! Love, Mom“
“Here is my message to my mother, Renette Riethman, who is a registered nurse and case manager. Forever proud of and grateful for this woman! Over the past 32 years, my mom has always poured her heart and soul into her work at St. Rita’s. Her passion of loving and caring for those who need it most has never ceased – even through recent hardships. Watching her learn, grow and succeed within her nursing career has inspired me to become a nurse myself. Thank you for being such a wonderful role model for me and your fellow nurses, mom. Love you!”
“I would like to recognize and thank my mother, Tracy Braden, for all of her hard work. She is so dedicated and passionate about her job. Even throughout the pandemic, she has tried to stay positive for herself, her patients and her team. She inspires me every day to be a better person. She is my hero, and I am blessed that I get to call her mom. I love you, Mama!”
“Sara Plaugher works as a pharmacy intern while studying for her pharmacy boards and doing monthly rotations at various other locations. Her dad and I are so proud of her work ethic and her willingness to help others at all her locations. She is certainly an asset to her coworkers and those she cares for.”
“Michelle, we just want you to know how proud we are of you and glad that we can share your welcoming smile with the many patients crossing your path at Mercy Health. We know that you have been a bright spot to many of the patients visits to the hospital. Thanks for the many chilly days you spent at the COVID-19 test drive through! We love you!”
“It has been a joy to watch Mateo mature as a nurse this past year. I am so proud and thankful for how his knowledge and understanding has grown through working at the hospital. This has been a tough time to be a new nurse, let alone an ICU nurse, but he has been brave and jumped right in. Although he has had to endure physical and emotional difficulties this past year, Mateo has endured. He pushed through and continued toward his goal and has offered great care to our patients. I am praying that he may continue to keep his eyes on the Lord, his savior Jesus Christ, and continue to be a great nurse serving the people at Mercy Health. We are proud of you.”
“Our family is so very proud of the frontline work Jennifer Reese has done for Mercy Health – St Rita’s. Her fearless drive to care for those affected during this pandemic is only topped by the compassion she displays for those she is responsible for.”
“I would like to express how very thankful I am to have a woman in my life like Eva Hill. I know this past year or more has not been easy for anyone in the health care field. But Eva always has a smile on her face or something positive to say about a bad situation. Not only does she do a fantastic job of managing her unit, she also does a great job of running our home and raising our two children. Eva has a strong faith in God, and that he has plan for everything, and it will all work out in the end. I believe that helps in easing the stress of this pandemic and just everyday life. What else helps is Eva knowing that her staff puts the patient first and will do whatever needs done to care for them. It goes without saying that Eva is extremely thankful for her staff. I would like to say thank you to them.”
“My husband, Derek, is the most hard-working, caring and generous man I know. His desire to consistently help others makes me proud every single day. When he’s not caring for his patients, he’s home loving on his little family. We just welcomed our first baby and Derek has become the best father to our little boy, Reeves. Derek, I am so proud to be your wife. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed and I am so proud of you. Thank you for everything that you do. We love you most. “
“We are so proud of our daughter, Claudia Etgen! She worked hard to become a respiratory therapist, it has been her passion since high school, and it is so great to see her dream come true and her hard work rewarded in a job she loves.”
“My daughter Cassie Gillette is an administrative assistant at St. Rita’s. She has always loved her job as well as her friends and fellow employees. In conversation, I have learned that these friends may be a doctor, a nurse, someone from the IT department, dietary or maintenance workers. Her warm smile and her can-do attitude have always been her strong suit and I am so proud that she can share them with the others at St. Rita’s. In closing, may I say I am proud of all the employees who have given so much over the past two years. May God richly bless all of you.”
Thank you to everyone who took a moment to share a heartfelt sentiment. Also, thank you to every one of our health care team members and to their families for all they have done to support our mission in the communities we serve.
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