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UVA Health’s BEE (Being Excellent Everyday) Award recognizes medical center team members who work alongside our nursing teams to deliver expert, compassionate care. This special program symbolizes the relationship between nursing and other UVA Health team members — the same way bees and flowers depend on one another.

At a recent UVA Health Special Event Medical Management (SEMM) team meeting — Nelson Figueroa, UVA Health Administrator of Emergency Services, surprised the SEMM team member with a BEE Award. The valiant story was described in the initial BEE Award nomination of SEMM team member Ernie Vitolo by UVA Health colleague Patrick Watson:

"Ernie — along with UVA Health SEMM team members Ronnie Sweet [not pictured above], Brian Allen, Brittany Schoeb, Scott Parkinson, and Kevin Carter [not pictured above] — were closing down after a UVA basketball game when an [events contractor employee] collapsed in the locker room. Two [events contractor employees] immediately started CPR and called for medical ... which responded very quickly ... immediately connecting the patient to the AED [automated external defibrillator] and delivering a shock. The patient regained pulse and was transported to UVA Health. The patient ... regularly attends UVA sporting events as a spectator — as early as 20 days after the cardiac arrest.

Given just how extraordinary the Demar Hamlin event during an NFL game was, these people deserve recognition since fewer than 10% of people survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and of that, fewer than 1% make a recovery like this patient has! This is all thanks to the quick action of SEMM that provided such high quality and expeditious care."

Know a deserving team member?

The Nursing Professional Governance Organization honors up to two UVA Health University Medical Center team members each month with the BEE Award.