Enumclaw Community Hospital recently honored 28 employees for their years of service at a recognition celebration. Combined, they have given more than 400 years of service to the hospital and community.

&#8220Nearly half of those recognized have been with the hospital for over 15 years, which speaks well of employee satisfaction and their dedication to the community,” said Rozanne Martin, chief human resource officer.

Honored this year for the longest work history was Monica Reynolds, a registered nurse who has worked in almost every nursing department in her 30-year career.

Recognized for 25 years of service were Roberta Dutcher, clinical lab manager; Virginia (Ginny) Lessig, R.N.; Larry Villa, R.N., medical/surgical unit; Wanda McArthur, respiratory therapist; and Nannette McKie, R.N., emergency department.

Administrator Dennis Popp and clinical lab medical technologist Susan Guillen were honored for 20 years of service.

Fifteen-year staff members recognized included business office patient account representatives Joyce Dao, Laurie Eaton and Betty Woolcott; Joy Turner, R.N., utilization review/discharge; and Lee Smith, respiratory therapist.

For their 10 years of service, the hospital acknowledged Karen Hoyt, imaging X-ray assistant; Marge Myklebust, housekeeping; Jody Oster, payroll/accounts payable manager; Steve Shobe, maintenance supervisor; Sue Steinmetz, human resources coordinator; and Teresa Underwood-Lemoine, R.N.

Staff members with five to 10 years of hospital employment include Marilee Castro, R.N., day surgery; Rich Cook, food services manager; Denice Goldade-Baxter, LPN, emergency department; Nancy Hoksbergen, transportation assistant; Lori Martin, imaging X-ray technologist; Rex Nielsen, CPR Instructor; Margaret Werth, R.N., women and infant services; and clinical lab medical technologists Nora Roper and Jennifer Rosenbam.

&#8220Hospitals are very competitive and can have similar equipment,” Martin said. &#8220But it is the dedication and commitment of the caring employees who make the difference. The key to our success as an organization is our employees.”

Taking steps to improve

employee satisfaction

Research shows that employees who feel cared for by their organization and are satisfied with their work environments deliver higher customer satisfaction and are less likely to leave. Enumclaw Community Hospital hired an independent consulting firm specializing in employee surveys in 2003 to begin a bi-annual employee surveying process to address recruiting and retention issues. &#8220Not only do we want to identify opportunities for improvement,” Martin said, &#8220but we want to identify those things that we do well and replicate them in other areas enhancing our delivery of quality care.”

Completed anonymously by employees, survey results were compiled by the consulting group. Eighteen satisfaction dimensions - including overall job satisfaction, work satisfaction, co-worker cooperation, equity issues and training - were measured. Subsequent focus groups were held to generate employee ideas in each area.

&#8220We implemented a number of changes as a direct result of our last employee survey,” Martin said. When the survey was repeated in 2005, hospital administrators found scores were more favorable in 16 of the 18 dimensions measured than in 2003.

&#8220When compared with hospitals nationally, our 2005 scores revealed that ECH scored higher than the national average in 11 of the 18 surveyed dimensions including work satisfaction, co-worker performance/cooperation, supervisory consideration,” Martin said. The survey process will be repeated in 2007, she added.