Employee Health Leader and Team Stepped Up to Respond to Pandemic Challenges

SMH’s Leader of the Quarter Michelle Perala, manager of Employee Health, seated center in the white jacket, is surrounded by the exceptional EH team, including, back row left to right: Jacqueline Thompson; Lisa Ann Loyet; Brittany Williams, Jacqueline Miller, Viktoria Csepregi; Vanessa Caropepe; Kelly Taylor; Cathy Burkstaller; Alana Wheeler; Patricia Whalen. Front row left to right: Frances Gumpper; Terri Buscher; Michelle; Sharon Kruse; Denise Hunter. Not pictured: Becky Sysouvanh, Maria Manzo and Nancy Hipps.

Sarasota Memorial’s Employee Health (EH) Department touches just about every member of the health system, providing excellent care for staff’s injuries and illnesses, administering immunizations, monitoring employee health and wellness trends, and offering training and support.

Over the past year and a half, the EH team stepped up to play a truly invaluable role in our response to COVID-19.

From the early days of the pandemic, the department — let by Manager Michelle Perala — has been front and center, helping to lead the way during SMH’s most difficult times. Despite unprecedented challenges and constantly changing guidance, the EH team rose to the occasion and implemented new programs, procedures and protocols to help keep staff as safe as possible, in collaboration with other departments and hospital leadership.

The EH staff has worked around the clock to:

create an employee COVID-19 hotline that is monitored seven days a week.
arrange for thousands of employees to get tested for COVID-19, answer staff’s questions and provide notification. of test results. For employees who test positive, the department tracks each case and potential contacts, monitors the individual’s health, and provides guidance on quarantine and return-to-work status.
conduct N-95 fit-testing and CAPR donning and doffing training for the increased number of staff requiring a higher level of PPE.
help set up vaccination clinics for staff and the community.

The list goes on and on.

All of these efforts occurred amid the department’s “regular” responsibilities, which didn’t let up during the pandemic, including non-COVID workplace injuries and illnesses, immunizations and other employee health and safety initiatives. In recent months, the team also has helped to bring on board and conduct health screenings for hundreds of new employees for Sarasota Memorial’s new hospital in Venice and the new Oncology Tower on the main campus in Sarasota.

In recognition of her department’s outstanding work and her role as the team leader, SMH recently selected Michelle as the organization’s Leader of the Quarter for the third quarter of 2021.

A longtime employee who joined the SMH team as a Med-Surg nurse in 1982, Michelle’s connection to Sarasota Memorial goes back even further, as she was a hospital volunteer as a teenager. Michelle also served as a nurse in an OB-Gyn practice and in the Emergency Care Center before moving to Employee Health.

Nominations submitted by her peers note that Michelle has been a vital resource and a wealth of information throughout the pandemic, as she continually monitors CDC guidelines and consults with Infection Control experts to determine best practices.

Her top priority is everyone’s health and safety, and she remains focused 24/7 on best practices to protect staff and patients. Michelle is often the first person to arrive at work and the last to leave, and despite her demanding schedule, is always supportive, cheerful and positive.

In addition to her excellent management skills and clinical expertise, Michelle is known for her caring and compassion. Colleagues say she has an amazing talent and ability to connect with employees at every level. She is described as an inspiring leader who makes everyone feel special, and always thanks staff and volunteers for a job well done.

Thank you, Michelle, for your unwavering dedication to SMH, and your outstanding leadership throughout this health crisis!