Service Star of the Month

Cheryl Heffner, respiratory therapist

Service Star

Cheryl Heffner, respiratory therapist

A family’s members faced the most difficult decision of their lives—whether or not to remove their father from a ventilator. They found comfort and solace from respiratory therapist Cheryl Heffner. For 10 days, Heffner developed a special bond with the patient and family.

She continued to offer support when the father was moved from intensive to palliative care, and she insisted the family page her whenever necessary. Heffner received a call in the early morning from the patient’s daughter on the day her father died. Heffner came to the patient’s bedside and provided support and comfort until the rest of the family arrived.

The family said thanks in a special card, writing: “The words ‘Thank You’ aren’t enough to express our deepest gratitude for your kindness to our father and our family…You were an angel in our time of need.” Adds Heffner’s nominator, Ellie Peluso: “Cheryl is a remarkable human being.”

Things to remember when nominating a Service Star:

• Choose one or two colleagues, not a group
• Tell a story. Specifically explain how the colleague did something extra special.
• You don’t have to provide direct patient care to be a Service Star. All colleagues can be nominated.

To nominate a star, go to the intranet at lvh.com. Go to the “What’s New” box and click on Nominate a Service Star.

Congratulations to Award Nominees

• Kay Young, R.N., labor and delivery
• Regional Burn Center colleagues
• Laurie Griesel, R.N., and Donna McNamara, R.N., labor and delivery
• Tim Carpency, Heather Lauer, patient transporters and dispatchers
• Pleasant Valley Family Practice colleagues
• Iva Campbell, 5K
• Joyce Litwak, R.N., transitional trauma unit
• Dawn Pingyar, R.N., 5T
• Patti Starr, Muhlenberg Primary Care

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