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UVA Health recently launched a new recognition program, the BEE Award, which is an acronym for "Being Excellent Every day." This special program recognizes excellence among the clinical support team members who work alongside our nursing teams delivering expert, compassionate care. This award program was adopted by UVA Health this past May to symbolize the relationship between nursing and other members of the care team — the same way bees and flowers depend on one another. The Nursing Professional Governance Organization (formerly PNSO) honors up to two UVA RNs each month with a DAISY Award, and with the addition of the BEE Award, other members of the care team will now be recognized, too. 

The first-ever BEE Awardee at UVA Health is Mary Carpenter, Administrative Assistant, Nerancy Neuro Intensive Care Unit (NNICU). A colleague nominated Mary for her dedication to patients and fellow team members even as her roles changed on the unit. Read the full nomination below. Congratulations, Mary! 

“Mary has been such an incredible asset to our unit in many capacities over the years. She started as a PCA/PCT [Personal Care Assistant/Patient Care Technician] and was amazing in that role and always went above and beyond for patients, families, and staff. She came with experience of caring for stroke patients, which truly showed in her skills and bedside manner.

“Unfortunately, about two years ago, Mary had to transition from PCT to a HUC [Health Unit Coordinator] position due to a work-related injury. Although this was devastating to her to no longer be able to care for patients at the bedside, Mary continued to help care for them and their families as much as she could in her current role. She always has a smiling face and compassionate voice for patients and visitors that come through the unit or call in, which is extremely important in this unit due to the amount of sadness and hardship that occurs to our patient population. She was so great at the HUC role, that she was then promoted to the unit's Administrative Assistant role, which she currently fulfills. In addition, she covers the HUC role on the NN and our sister unit, 6 North, when there are call-outs. 

“Mary deserves this award for many reasons. She goes above and beyond still, not only for patients and families but also all staff that come onto the unit. Mary is diligent in making sure that all supplies needed are available, whether they be office supplies for daily use, special order supplies for patient use, or ensuring that the clean utility room is always stocked with what we may need. She also encourages those in the HUC roles to help with that as well, because having the necessary supplies is always helpful in providing safe and efficient patient care. Whenever Mary is working and there is a patient who is on comfort care/end-of-life care, she always volunteers to help with whatever is needed to make it easier on the family members and staff involved. She is often our go-to person for when we make hand tracings on the beautiful Rainbow Poems we give to family, not only because she has an incredibly steady hand, but because she loves to help provide this support. She also is extremely helpful when children are involved with these situations and tries to find them activities and stuffed animals to keep them occupied. She has collaborated with the pediatric team to obtain supplies to make hand molds for a patient with a tragic outcome.

“Even though Mary is no longer in the PCT role, she keeps up with all of her necessary education/certifications, and when there are emergencies, helps out in any way she can in her current capacity. Her enthusiasm to always be a team player and her expertise in Neuro Critical Care often comes in handy when our unit is short staffed and/or busy. 

“Mary is always extremely helpful with staff with difficult scheduling needs and always tries her best to ensure everyone's needs are met. She also is always friendly and helpful with missed punches, PTO use, and other timecard changes. She will go out of her way to help ANY staff member out with a scheduling change or shift swap, knowing the importance of staff satisfaction AND safe staffing.  One thing Mary does every day that she works is that she makes us fresh, ‘fancy’ coffee (that she buys with her own money), sometimes multiple times a shift, to ensure that we are always caffeinated. This may seem like a small gesture to some, but to us, this always makes the beginning of our day start off right, which can be a big deal!

“Mary has been an integral part of recognizing staff throughout the year and participates in our unit recognition subcommittee.  She worked with our unit manager and a clinician 4 to prepare a daily fun meal for our nursing staff, such as salad and potato bar and scooping ice cream. She also helped order gifts to acknowledge our PCA staff.

“Mary is also an exceptionally great listener! Everyone knows that you can always go into Mary's office and talk to her/vent when needed, and not only will it make you feel better, but you know that she will make you laugh and keep the information private. 

“There are many shifts that I have worked that I don't know how I would have gotten through if it was not for her humor and support. She is fully invested in the success of this unit and does everything she can to help — whether staff, patient, family. Her favorite phrase is ‘I got you!,’ and she truly does ‘have’ each and every one of us as she helps us along through our day.

“As you can see, there are many reasons that Mary is an incredible colleague and asset to UVA and she greatly deserves this award!”

Know a deserving team member?

The Nursing Professional Governance Organization honors up to two UVA clinical support team members each month with a BEE Award. This special program recognizes excellence among the team members who work alongside our nursing teams delivering expert, compassionate care and symbolizes the relationship between nursing and other members of the care team — the same way bees and flowers depend on one another. Learn more.