A pharmacist known for dispensing smiles, kind words and helpful advice has received Johnston Health’s top honor for employees.
Donna Dewberry, who was instrumental in setting up the Johnston Health Outpatient Pharmacy, was named Johnston Health Ambassador of the Year during the Red Carpet Awards Banquet last Thursday night at the Johnston County Agricultural Center.
In presenting the award, CEO Chuck Elliott said Dewberry, who has worked with Johnston Health for 12 years, excels at getting to know her customers.
“Her work is always accurate and her concern for patients is genuine,” he said. “People in the community compliment and remember her by name.”
Dewberry and her coworkers have made the pharmacy a tremendous success, he added. Until it opened in its new digs in 2015, the pharmacy operated from a tiny space on second floor of the Bright Leaf tower, and filled about 50 employee-only prescriptions a day.
Nowadays, the staff fills about 150 prescriptions a day, mostly for patients who have been seen in the emergency department or behavioral health, or who are being discharged after a hospital stay.
This year’s event featured a new venue and the addition of employees celebrating five-year anniversary milestones. There was something extra, too, for the Ambassador of the Year: a special trophy and a gift certificate to a bed and breakfast in Asheville. As in years past, the recipient also receives eight hours of paid time off.
In other remarks, Elliott praised and thanked employees for putting in extra effort, and for using initiative and teamwork to work through obstacles.
He talked about how Johnston Health employees serving on the Champions 5K & 10K committee, for example, redrew the route two days before the race to avoid sections that were flooded.
Elliott said a board member of the Johnston Health Foundation seemed surprised that the race went on as planned. “He was amazed that our employees never thought about delaying or canceling the event,” he said.
“But that’s what health care workers do every day,” he said. “They find a way to take care of those extra patients, to do those extra projects, to stay those extra hours. They do it day in and day out.”
Bobby Parker, chairman of the Johnston Health Services Corp., thanked employees for their loyalty. “It’s rare for employees in any industry to have long tenures,” he said. “I appreciate your commitment and dedication.”
Parker has served 14 years on the board. His appointment will end this fall.
Also at the banquet, employees celebrating milestone anniversaries and retirements were recognized and honored.
Employees and their milestones were: 30 years— Paula Allen; 25 — Gail Hudson, Melanie Hulth, Daniel Kelley, Sheila Nixon; 20 — Patsy Stewart; 15 years — Dana Banks, Gaylian Barbour, Hural Barnes, Jr., Anthony Beasley, Mary Bolton, Holly Brewer, April Culver, Kimberly Daughtry, Kelly Dickinson, James Howell, Shelley Hughes, Lisa Johnson, Vicky Lindsay, Carla McDaniels, Rebecca Richmond, Jennifer Sanders, Rhonda Stallings, Michelle Stephenson, Julie Sutherland, Kristie Willis, Heather Wilson, Nichole Wilson; 10 years — Susan Allen, April Anderson, DeWitt Banks, Benjamin Beasley, Betsy Beasley, Michael Berumen, Mary Canupp, Rita Cook, Tera Eason, James Edmundson, Marlyn Geeding, Amy Hamby, Tina Hargis, Susan Helms, Carmie Heritage, Joshua Hoover, Willistine Joyner, Barbara Killette, Katrina King, Crystal Lee, Laura Looney, Shannon Melvin, Charlene Meyers, Jennifer Norris, Sharon Orr, Susan Parrish, Tammy Paul, Melanie Ramsey, Kathryn Scott, Donna Sinclair, Pamela Spell, Deborah Stephenson, Erin Sullivan, Lori Sutton, Kay Taylor, Michael Taylor, Regina Tedder, Elizabeth Thurston, Randall Tolbert, Jessica Toole, Alicia Van Camp, Overly Vivas, Lisa Webb, Annette Williford, Nicole Winstead.
Employees recognized for 5-year milestones were: Henry Alana, Joanna Alznauer, Natalie Barbour, William Barnes, Karen Barwick, Miranda Bocchino, Angela Brogden, Amy Brown, Beth Bullock, Hannah Burnette, Ashley Canada, Myrna Cassion, Brenda Comer, Ivan Cooke, Sheila Creekmur, Kimberly Crews, Nicarra Darden, Shelley Davis, Amanda Foxworth, Ashley Hageman, Elizabeth Haggans-Parrish, Pamela Hand, James Hines Karen Holt, Amanda Horne, Arthur Jackson, Robin Jackson, Hannah Johnson, Jennifer Kaleel, Lynn King, Cynthia Kyle, Tempe Lampe, Mary Lee, Mary Long, Melissa Maynard, Jivan Moaddeb, Mariana Panova-Gizdarska, Cherie Paonessa, Daphne Pendley, Tiffany Perdue, Huynh Pham, Heidi Poole, Meagan Puckett, Cassandra Raynor-Simpson, Krista Respess, Kimberly Rieg, Jessica Roberts, Melynda Roberts, Sheree Sawyer, Amy Skinner, Marylynn Smith, Johnny Stafford, Amber Stanley, Laura Stearns, Jamie Stewart, Howard Strickland, Darlene Tew, Deborah Thompson, Lillie Vanover, Pamela Vargas, John Wensley, Opal Whittington.
Retirees recognized were: Paula Allen 30 years; Gregory Garris, 29; Patsy Stewart, 20; and Patricia Weaver, 31.
