Awards of Excellence

Alyssa Haldeman, Grand Lodge

The Compassion Award is given to a team member who genuinely cares about the residents/participants they serve as well as their fellow teammates.  They demonstrate love, empathy, kindness and the ability to share in the joys and sorrows of others.

Alyssa is a ray of sunshine! She comes to work with a smile on her face every day. Her goal is to always ensure the safety and happiness of the residents. While it is in her nature to go above and beyond all the time, she has had many moments that make her stand out. She has taken time to show residents how to crochet, made personalized necklaces for residents and given gifts to brighten many days. 

Alyssa has a huge heart and is a walking advertisement for compassion at Immanuel. 

Keith Bonner, Trinity Courtyard

Keith has been with the Trinity campus since April of 2013 and is one of the most humble and genuine people. His generosity extends not only to residents but also with staff and anyone with whom he connects. He is very kind and considerate and always giving of his time. Whenever you ask Keith how he is doing, he almost always respond with “I’m great!”  Because of his consistent caring, kindness, and upbeat attitude, he is often referred to as a ‘Prince of a guy’. 

The maintenance staff has had to shuffle around to help a few other communities and Keith graciously accepted to be relocated while things got sorted out.  He is always willing to step up and work hard. He is very selfless, and always has a kind smile.  Keith is a man of great character.

Keith is an integral part of the Trinity team. Whenever there is a need for someone to help, Keith volunteers or more likely he simply does what needs to be done.  His demeanor is gentle and positive; he genuinely enjoys working to solve problems and he is an all-around good soul with whom to work. 

 

Debbie Patterson, The Landing

Debbie is the Assistant Senior Living Consultant at The Landing. For the last 8 years she has been living out her self-proclaimed second career. Debbie naturally builds relationships with people, and the residents at The Landing love her from their first move-in meeting. 

Not only has she made a difference for residents and families, but staff and her team as well. You can often find staff with Debbie because of her ability to make people feel comfortable, important and at ease. She has a natural ability to give advice and is a gifted listener. 

Christina Dagbovie, Lakeside

Christina is always choosing the right path and making the best decisions for residents. She always gives thought to what the best decision is, and for the right reasons, before jumping to a decision. Christina treats all responsibilities equally; it does not matter the level of duty, and she views all responsibilities just as important as the other. She fulfills her job requirements and then goes above and beyond just to be a good person and fellow team member.

You can see integrity in her role through special things Christina does, such as bath time with a memory resident, making it truly a “spa like” experience for the resident. Christina is there every week, smiling and ensuring the best experience for the resident.

Christina has stepped up to be the Lakeside HIPAA representative, a role which she does not take lightly. She has attended meetings, evaluated her surroundings at the community and identified areas for potential improvements. Communicating concerns she had, she reached out and asked for assistance in making needed improvements. Not taking the easy way out, Christina has stepped up, showing integrity in performing this extra duty to the best of her ability and the community is better for it.

Christina works diligently to make improvements in her area by working with the dining department to have a good plan in the memory department. These extra duties improve the dining experience for the residents.

Christina is continually looking ways to improve herself, her department and peers. She believes we need to always offer the best care because we have the best people to serve!

Kathy Lewis, Immanuel Pathways Omaha

Kathy has been with Immanuel since 2005, starting at Lakeside and transitioning to the Dietary Manager at Immanuel Pathways Omaha in 2019. Coworkers say that Kathy is someone who you consider yourself blessed to have worked with during your career. She volunteers to help others on a daily basis, whether in her department or another.

Kathy demonstrates a servant heart in her work. During her time at Lakeside (14 years), Kathy never had a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day off, not because she had to be at work, but it was important to her that the residents were well cared for and these special occasions went as planned.  

Kathy oversees the monthly distribution of food pantry bags provided by Project Hope.  She been known to put together a collection of groceries for participant with little resources. Kathy volunteers to go to appointments with participants that require an escort.

As the dietary manager at the Omaha PACE, Kathy had to roll with a lot of changes with COVID beginning just months after starting. During COVID Kathy had to adjust her days and spent more time on the phone with participants, calling to check on them and make sure they were doing okay when the center was closed, and forming relationships with those who were isolated. As the center slowly reopened, Kathy took on a new role of cooking, preparing meals for the participants who were in the building.  When it was suggested that IPO hire a cook and do the cooking in house (which had never been done before), Kathy took on the challenge of setting up the kitchen so that a larger number of meals could be prepared.

Kathy has also had Superior ratings from the Health Department on her last two inspections. She also buys special cupcakes to keep in the freezer so that each participant can feel special on their birthday.  When there was a couple in the center celebrating their 60th Anniversary, Kathy made sure there was a cake available for their special day. It's all the little things that Kathy does on a daily basis that help to fill participants' buckets and enjoy their day.

Kathy has a heart for the needs of people.  We can always count on her.

Jordan Bowley, Lakeside

Jordan exemplifies teamwork in all he does. Through his actions and special efforts displayed during COVID, until now, Jordan is always stepping in to help where needed. 

Jordan was always more than happy to assist with mass COVID testing and our COVID vaccination clinics.  He has helped with vaccine clinics as a scribe, for every vaccine clinic for staff and for residents.  He has worked as a CNA due to staffing shortages in assisted living, moving to every floor to help so the care partners could complete the med passes. He helped with testing regularly which allowed the floor staff to continue their daily tasks and kept the testing process moving along quickly.

Jordan has helped to cover the receptionist desk many times when the front office was needing assistance. Every morning he helped with the breakfast delivery and jokes now that he can still recall the resident’s orders to a “T”. With less than a day notice, and no hesitation, Jordan took his DOT physical to be able to be a driver, allowing him to run transportation for two weeks, while the team was quarantined for COVID. 

With so many departments relying on Jordan’s help you can be sure Jordan also made sure his role as Wellness Coordinator was not ignored, ensuring residents were staying as active as possible by leading porch and hallway "Sing and Stretch," delivering home exercise totes and providing endless number of creative and fun home wellness games and activities.  He has been a valuable member of the wellness team for some time and while doing that he has volunteered for every extra assignment available.  Jordan has stepped up to be a wellness member for the nurse navigation program, assisting to develop an amazing program!

As our operations are getting back to a “new” normal, Jordan is highly instrumental in assuring our residents, and soon our Thrive Members, feel safe and confident returning to the Wellness Center, as well as new exercise regimens that cater to their individual needs. Jordan has also brought a phenomenal “Wellness” presence to Immanuel's Care Navigation Program. He is very much looking forward to participating on the Immanuel Green Committee, and being a "Green Champion" for Lakeside Village Campus.

Jordan is a joy to work with! His excitement, positive energy and dedication to our teams and our residents certainly shines through with his joyous attitude and smile, as he creates a sense of one big team!

We are extremely lucky to have Jordan as part of Lakeside Village AND the Immanuel family.