Connect

"Kim Williams is one of the most disciplined humans you'll ever have the privilege of meeting!"

A physical therapist is wrapping up her career, including 12 years at UVA Health, by earning a BEE Award for making patients and their families "feel seen, heard, cared for, and deeply respected" — and being "supremely generous" with her time and knowledge to mentor colleagues.

UVA Health University Medical Center Associate Chief Nursing Officer Veronica Brill, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, and BEE Award Committee Chair Samantha Shifflett surprised Kimberly Williams, Physical Therapist, with a BEE (Being Excellent Everyday) Award.

Renee Fuller, Occupational Therapist, nominated Williams:

"Kim has been a physical therapist at UVA Health for 12 years and there isn't enough space to describe the multitude of ways in which she has so loyally, compassionately, and selflessly served this institution!

"Traditionally in our Rehabilitation Department, team members have been either nominated for or received a BEE Award for a single, outstanding act. However, the acronym stands for “Being Excellent Everyday.” Kim Williams has indubitably approached her practice at UVA Health in the most excellent of ways — serving patients and colleagues each and every day. Recently, she decided to retire, and is so deserving of this new chapter so she can now take care of herself!

"Kim is one of the most thorough and attentive therapists that I've ever had the pleasure of working alongside. She is highly skilled, knowledgeable — a unique, “outside the box” thinker. This has served the UVA Health patient population well during Kim's dozen years of service here as she consistently works to leave no stone — heck, no pebble — unturned when addressing the needs of her patients and their families. It is through this thoughtful, pragmatic, creative approach to care that she has helped countless patients in their progression throughout their hospital stay, facilitating well executed and optimized discharges benefitting everyone.

"Kim is also an excellent teacher with so much wisdom and practical experience to share from her many years working as a PT. She is supremely generous with her time to help foster growth in new — and also not-so-new therapists such as myself. But I have worked with many great therapists over my years — and that's only a small part of what distinguishes Kim as a standout UVA Health team member.

"What's so deeply impressive and inspiring about Kim goes far beyond her vast array of clinical knowledge, clinical skill, and high-level professionalism: it's her NO FAIL commitment to making patients and their families feel seen, heard, cared for, and deeply respected. She epitomizes literally EVERY facet of each of UVA Health’s ASPIRE core values. There is literally nothing she would not do to make a patient feel more safe, more comfortable, more cared about and more cared for. She does this DAILY!

"She's working in overdrive the minute she shows up for work and I assure you, she is working long past time for her to depart — each and every day. She embodies the very best of what it means to be a healthcare provider, and takes this approach to every aspect of her patients' health, not just their physical care needs. Kim refers to this approach that guides her practice as “humanitarian aid.” She makes dignity a priority when serving her patients — even if a patient’s particular need may have nothing to do with her specific role as a physical therapist.

"In one case, when she and I shared a patient on the trauma service, the patient had extensive and multiple orthopedic injuries and was feeling quite depressed. The patient desperately wanted to wash her hair, but she could not transfer into the (inaccessible) shower in her assigned room because of multiple weight-bearing restrictions from her injuries. It was upon Kim’s gentle insistence that we — and by 'we,' I mean Kim —problem solved a way to make this work for this patient and help lift her mood. The actual task took an inordinate amount of time. We both left the room soaking wet, but the patient was SO happy, felt SO much better, and was beyond grateful. This is what it looks like when you dignify each and every patient’s right to be treated as deserving of care, time, and attention.

"This is the approach that Kim brings to each and every day she works, and to each and every patient she serves. Empathy is a discipline, not a personality trait. Kim Williams is one of the most disciplined humans you will ever have the privilege of meeting and working with!

"It is for these reasons — and so, so, many more — that I respectfully ask that you honor Kim Williams with the BEE Award for her exemplary, never ending, extraordinary acts of compassion, kindness, and deeply earnest service to both patients and fellow UVA Health team members."

Know a Deserving Team Member?

The BEE Award recognizes UVA Health University Medical Center team members who work alongside our nurses to impact patients' experiences — just as bees and flowers depend on one another.

Every month, the Nursing Professional Governance Organization (NPGO) honors up to two UVA Health University Medical Center team members with this award. Submit a nomination.