Posted on November 16, 2023 by Lexi Gonzalez

Tower Health at Home Certified Nursing Assistant Wins Award for Care

The award was established to recognize a member of the healthcare community who displays a deep commitment to patients and their family members through effective communication and care.

Tower Health at Home Certified Nursing Assistant Wins Award for Care

by Reading Hospital – Tower Health

Maricelys Ortiz, a Tower Health at Home Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), views her patients as family members in need and, therefore, treats them with respect and dignity.

“My family has taught me to offer kindness and warmth even in the worst of circumstances,” Ortiz said. “I am sure to offer the best I can of myself, as our patients deserve nothing less.”

Ortiz’s compassion is among the reasons she was awarded the 2023 Russell S. Bickel Jr. Award for Excellence in Communication and Caring to Patients and their Families by the Reading Hospital Foundation.

“It’s surreal and a great honor to be recognized,” Ortiz said. “I’ve worked really hard to be where I am today, and receiving this award motivates me to continue to strive for more each day.”

The award was established in 2017 by Barbara Swoyer, sister to the late Russell S. Bickel Jr., and her family to recognize healthcare workers who consistently demonstrate excellence in communication and provide high levels of quality care to patients and their families. Ortiz, the first CNA to receive the award, is being recognized for her display of care and attention she provided a patient in hospice care. Barbara Swoyer, MSN, FNP-BC, and her daughter, Mary Swoyer, MSN, FNP-C, attended the award presentation to congratulate Ortiz.

“As the first CNA to receive such a prestigious award, I feel I am representing all CNAs across Tower Health at Home,” she said. “Though our work often seems mundane, it can make a significant difference in a patient’s life. Furthermore, I am representing the Hispanic community in giving it my all each day to better my family in achieving my goals and making our community a better place.”

Ortiz has been a part of the Tower Health at Home team since 2002 and takes extreme care in preparing for each day to ensure all her patients are comfortable. She was recognized for her outstanding communication and support of a family in mourning in October 2023. The family expressed their utmost gratitude for the level of excellent care they received from Ortiz that day.

“It is never easy to bring a loved one under hospice care,” said Sheila Baublitz, Chief Nursing Officer for Tower Health at Home. “Our dedicated staff often must have hard, tragic conversations with families about their loved ones. We strive to offer our patients and their families the highest levels of care and comfort during this time. We are so proud of Maricelys, who has consistently displayed outstanding levels of care for this patient and their family.”

The award is received just in time for National Homecare and Hospice Month, which is celebrated in November and recognizes those who bring safe, comfortable care into the homes of our friends, neighbors, and family members, and most vulnerable patients.

Tower Health at Home provides a comprehensive range of services that allow patients to recover from a short-term illness or manage chronic conditions in the comfort of their own homes. Tower Health at Home staff members work to deliver high-quality, compassionate care that supports home health and hospice needs.

Tower Health is a regional integrated healthcare system that offers compassionate, high-quality, leading-edge healthcare and wellness services to communities in Berks, Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties. With approximately 11,500 employees, Tower Health consists of Reading Hospital in West Reading; Phoenixville Hospital in Phoenixville; Pottstown Hospital in Pottstown; and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, in partnership with Drexel University. Tower Health is strongly committed to academic medicine and training, including multiple residency and fellowship programs, the Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health, and the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences in West Reading. The system also includes Reading Hospital Rehabilitation at Wyomissing; home healthcare provided by Tower Health at Home; TowerDirect ambulance and emergency response; Tower Health Medical Group; Tower Health Providers, our clinically integrated network; and Tower Health Urgent Care facilities across our service area. For more information, visit towerhealth.org.

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