River Parishes Hospital Employee of the Month

Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 31, 2013

River Parishes Hospital announ-ced Michele Pomes, RN, risk manager/employee health nurse, as its July Employee of the Month. Pomes was presented with balloons, an Employee of the Month Certificate and a check for $100. She will also have her picture displayed on the Employees of Excellence wall in the main front entrance of the hospital.  
Pomes was employed as a Reg-istered Nurse in Surgical Services from 2000 to 2005. She returned to River Parishes Hospital in August 2012 as the risk manager, and took on an additional responsibility as the employee health nurse in June.
One of Pomes’s responsibilities as risk manager is to serve as the patient safety lead for the hospital’s newly implemented Healthcare Engagement Network. She is responsible for overseeing the hospital’s Harms Prevention Team to ensure all identified harm prevention process improvement goals and action plans are carried through to completion. From the first Harms Team Meeting, Pomes was truly engaging, dressed like a coach with her whistle ready to provide leadership in an informative, fun and nurturing manner. She took a team-centered approach to stress the importance of patient safety and harms prevention and ensured all of the team’s objectives and goals were reached successfully. She went over and above what was expected of her by participating in the executive patient safety weekly rounding to ensure all processes were hardwired in each department, randomly selecting department managers in the leadership meetings to share their successes and obstacles in an effort to learn from one another and even soliciting a patient to participate in the process to further assess positive patient outcomes.
“Michele has adopted the HEN philosophy as her own because of a genuine care and concern for our patients,” said Vanessa Peters, River Parishes Hospital’s chief nursing officer.
During a recent patient safety visit by the hospital’s parent corporation, LifePoint Hospitals, Pomes was out on leave unable to walk without crutches. She felt that the initiatives were so important that she came to the meeting by wheelchair escort to gain firsthand knowledge of the hospital’s progress.
“Success is measured by outcomes,” said Peters. “Our corporate team was so impressed with her outstanding work on this initiative that they asked to feature her in their Quality newsletter, which is shared throughout the company.”
In June, Pomes was asked to assume the responsibility of employee health nurse. She immediately began assembling a clinic in an adjacent office and had it up and running in a few days. She maintained a positive attitude through this new challenge and consistently makes sure all new and existing employees have a pleasant and comfortable experience.   
“Michele believes in excellence and models it every day,” continued Peters. “We thank her for everything she brings to River Parishes Hospital.”
Pomes currently lives in Kenner with her husband, Nick. She has two children, Tammy White-Richards and Jonathan White, who both live in Franklin, Tenn. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, listening to music and going to concerts and working out.