EDITOR'S NOTE: At its 123rd annual meeting, Cooley Dickinson Hospital recognized staff members for their contributions to the institution. The hospital provided the following release:

HOLYOKE - At Cooley Dickinson Hospital's 123rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees, President/CEO Craig N. Melin told the roughly 150 gathered at the Log Cabin restaurant that he wasn't going to frame his address around health care reform.

"I don't know what to expect. I don't know what's coming," Melin told the crowd. "What I do know is that we want to take care of patients, so I'm focusing my address on the people at Cooley Dickinson Hospital who take care of patients and, who, over the past year, have helped us make improvements in the organization in areas we care about # patient safety and quality."

In a PowerPoint presentation organized in calendar style, Melin recognized 25 individual staff members and staff teams for making improvements in areas ranging from eliminating certain infections and providing excellence in nursing care and nursing supervision to making community connections and preparing healthier food for patients and staff.

Also recognized at the gathering were Shirley Hennessy, Auxiliary President, and Tryna Hope, coordinator of the hospital's Behavioral Health Response Team, who were presented with the William E. Dwyer Distinguished Service Awards. These awards are given annually to outstanding individuals whose service on behalf of Cooley Dickinson exemplifies loyalty, leadership and dedication to improving the health of our community.

The hospital's 2009 BECOME Award was presented to Darcy McGuire, an occupational therapist with Cooley Dickinson's VNA & Hospice. The BECOME Award is given to an employee or medical staff member in the organization who lives out the hospital's values and sets standards for others to aspire to.

Years of Service Awards were also presented during the Annual Meeting to the following physicians: for 20 years of service # Steven, B. Esrick, Melissa A. Greenspan, Joanne Levin, Ann K. Markes, Laura Price, Jeffrey Zesiger; for 25 years of service # Jay S. Fleitman, Andrew Mackey, Norman S. Perr, R. Allison Ryan; for 30 years of service # Bruce S. Bleiman; for 45 years of service # Warren H. Fisher; and Emeritus, Syda G. Budnick, Robert A. Stein and Donald W. Abel.

Business session

During the business portion of the meeting, the following people were elected to three-year terms of the Board of Trustees: John Nunnelly, Charles Staelin and Dr. James Donnelly. Current board members re-elected to three-year terms are Thomas Caine, William Gorth, Margo Welch and Jennifer Reynolds. Nominated for the slate of officers were Eric Berkowitz, chair; Matthew Pitoniak; vice chair; Nancy Reeves, secretary; Charles Staelin, treasurer; Edith Peter, assistant treasurer and Craig Melin, assistant secretary. One trustee, Dr. Catherine Bartlett has transitioned off of the board and Shirley Hennesy, President of the Auxiliary and liaison to the Board will also step down as her term as Auxiliary President ends at the end of October.

Employee recognition

Employees recognized in Melin's address were: Michele Craig, a nurse in the wound care program, for establishing a program that has virtually eliminated the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure sores; Ann Lebron, RN, clinical director on the Telemetry Unit, for modeling excellence in nursing supervision and quality patient care; Kathleen Sullivan, RN, in the Surgical Day Care unit, for improving the timing and flow of patients moving through the operating rooms; Christine Parrish, Linda Riley and Dr. Joanne Levin, of the Infection Prevention program, and Daniel Barrieau, director of Respiratory Care Services, for implementing processes that have greatly reduced the incidence of various infections.

Also, John Wiseman, Jim Walsh and Scott Johnson of the Facilities Department for keeping patients at the forefront of their work; Gary Weiss, executive chef, and Dr. Jim Kirchhoffer, cardiologist, for providing healthier meal options; Georgia Moore of Development for creating community connections; Cynthia Jackson, executive assistant for Human Resources, for her dedication to the organization and for her infectiously cheerful demeanor; Kipling Morris, Information Systems, for making technological improvements that saved costs and improved patient care; Robin Kline, director of Volunteer Services, for gracefully managing the hospital's volunteer and Auxiliary programs; Dr. Tor Krogius, president of the hospital's Medical Staff, for excellence in leadership with physicians; Drs. Mark Bidga, Rich Lawlor, Lindsay Rockwell, and Simone Topal for offering their medical services abroad to those in need; and Executive Vice President/COO Carol Smith for her warm and respectful leadership style.