SVMC's Culture Shines During Hospital Week

Hospital Week at Sierra View Medical Center is known for celebrations focused on recognizing the exceptional individuals caring for our community. Last year and this year, the celebration has been a challenge due to strict COVID safety precautions. So, the SVMC Marketing Department behind the event got creative and found fun ways to help make day and night shifts feel special and appreciated, all with the support of the hospital's Senior Leadership Team.

“Our first priority is always to keep our patients and employees safe, so it is nice that as vaccinations roll out across California and the Central Valley, we are able to slowly but surely begin to bring people back together. Still safe and socially distanced, of course!” said the Director of Marketing, Public Relations and Sierra View Foundation, Kimberley Pryor-DeShazo.

Throughout Hospital Week, Sierra View held socially distanced activities where the hospital’s workforce enjoyed sweet treats from local vendors and a little bit of fun in the hospital’s courtyard or in the comfort of their own departments. To help kick off the first day, the Paws4Healing Pet Partners joined to help bring comfort and healing to hospital employees. Prizes were also raffled throughout the week and healing activities focusing on the pandemic were also available to all employees.

Sierra View staff have truly shown up this past year, day in and day out, putting their best versions of themselves out there for each other and our patients. They have been working around the clock to provide services safely. Showing staff appreciation for all of their hard work and effort through delicious food and treats was a way of bringing joy back into employees’ lives this year.

“Hearing that this type of appreciation makes employees feel special means we have succeeded,” says Kimberley. Marketing & Events Specialist, Valeria Reyes-Chavez, agrees. Valeria coordinated the safe arrival and distribution of goodies from multiple local vendors to help bring Sierra View’s hundreds of employees something sweet to smile about. “It’s been so much fun to see everybody enjoying their treats as well as hearing feedback about how much they liked them. It makes it all worth it,” she says.

And just how does the Marketing Department get the celebration to harder-to-reach departments? By rounding and scheduling pick-ups and distributions. The Marketing Department’s team of four and Senior Leadership Team members met SVMC staff throughout weekly courtyard hours to briefly mingle. Throughout the evenings, they took to the floors to visit hospital teams in departments including the ICU, Med/Surg, Critical Care, Labor & Delivery, Food & Dietary, DP/SNF, and others.

SVMC President and CEO, Donna Hefner, joined in on the fun and signed up to round in the evenings. She took a moment to catch up with employees about how they are doing, and because she knows her teams so well – how their families are doing! When asked about the culture at SVMC, Donna said, “It’s the people, and the camaraderie. Knowing that people are working hard taking care of people but still take the time to come together. It’s the togetherness.”

The level of compassion that SVMC health care workers have shown throughout all departments, from clinical to support teams, is what motivates SVMC staff to continue to come together to take care of our community. “Through positive experiences created through celebrations such as Hospital Week and Nurses Week, we can show our health care workers that all of their tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed,” says Kimberley. Creating a culture that embodies Compassion, Collaboration, Accountability, Integrity and Respect is a top priority at SVMC. “When we show up through appreciation, it shows our staff that their accountability to their place of work and the integrity and respect they exude day in and day out has really made a difference.”