Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Michael Callagy, County Manager
Subject: Employee of the Month for October 2019
RECOMMENDATION:
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Honor Jennifer Hoang as Employee of the Month for October 2019 and authorize the President of the Board to sign the commendation.
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BACKGROUND:
The Employee of the Month program was established in December 1984 to recognize and honor County employees who consistently demonstrate an outstanding level of performance.
Our Employee of the Month for October 2019 is Jennifer Hoang, a Senior Public Health Nurse, in County Health.
DISCUSSION:
Jennifer was hired in November 2017 in the Communicable Disease Control Program of the Public Health Policy and Planning Division. Prior to coming to the County, she worked as an Emergency Department RN for another medical center. Jennifer brought her clinical experience to the program, along with her excellent service and ability to maintain a calm and professional demeanor, even in the face of urgent health issues. She has the ability to communicate effectively with providers as well as residents during disease investigations and community outbreaks of infectious diseases.
Most recently, a County employee was bitten by a raccoon over a weekend and went to an emergency room at a local hospital for medical treatment. The hospital staff began the rabies vaccine and the human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) treatment. A few days later, Jennifer received the report of the incident and followed-up with a phone call to the employee and discovered that the injections were not administered correctly and advised her to return to the hospital to begin rabies post-exposure injections again. The employee returned to the hospital and walked away frustrated and very concerned after waiting several hours because the hospital staff could not figure out where and how to administer the HRIG antibodies injection. Thankfully, with Jennifer’s intervention and constant contact with the hospital, the employee was able to return to the hospital to begin treatment. Jennifer remained vigilant on the case and even sent reminders for the next round of injections. Jennifer ensured the employee was informed and was readily available for any questions. Jennifer was proactive to resolve the situation.
The employee had this to say about Jennifer: “If Jennifer had not caught the error, no one would have known that I essentially never received the rabies HRIG antibodies or vaccine and the breach in protocol. I forever will be grateful to Jennifer!”
Our County is fortunate to have Jennifer Hoang as an outstanding employee.