Acts of Humankindness
These are the Acts of Humankindness that bring our mission to life.
Join us in honoring our true heroes, those whose selfless acts touch hearts and inspire change. Discover the heartwarming and inspiring stories of our Acts of Humankindness winners, individuals whose kindness knows no bounds. Let their stories fill your heart with hope and warmth. Let's applaud the everyday heroes making the world a better place together. Join the movement of compassion and be part of the magic.
Larry Baker
Larry demonstrates humankindness everyday not only to our patients, but also to his fellow employees. Working with cancer patients everyday as a radiation therapist, he sees many patients who are scared and uncertain about their future. He goes above and beyond to make them feel safe and comfortable. Whether it's his colorful outfits (always a conversation piece), or his kind words or funny stories, our patients always leave with a smile on their face after being treated by him. He is very patient to explain the machine and what their treatment will entail. He will even take a family member back to see the machine, if requested, so they may also feel comfortable about how their family member will be treated. He is always ready with a joke or a funny story to lighten the mood. Larry is also very generous and giving with his co-workers. He is always bringing in treats for us, and if we like or need something, he will often surprise us with those things. He also donates very generously to the Humankindness Club drives for the homeless, schools, food drives, and animal shelters. He is a very giving, compassionate person to our patients, the community, and his co-workers alike.
Melody Casey
For the past three years, Melody Casey has been instrumental in providing handmade Valentine’s Day cards to local nursing homes as well as back to school supplies for local elementary school students in the Sacramento area. She has personally organized, gathered support from the Dignity Health Advanced Imaging staff, collected from the site locations, and then distributed the items to the nursing home and elementary schools. The results have been phenomenal, bringing much joy and pleasure to the residents of the home and much needed support to the students, parents and teachers of the elementary schools, especially during these past few years with higher everyday costs for all. I am so very proud to work alongside Melody each and every day. Her compassion for the underserved and desire to make a difference is very evident by her actions within the community. Her commitment and dedication continues to exhibit a wonderful example of humankindness and represents the core values of our organization.
Yeni Gallardo Aguilar
Yeni is a Community Health Worker (CHW) on the Bakersfield Care Coordination Team. She is an invaluable resource and mentor. She has gone above and beyond to help patients with everything from transportation, social needs, community resources, Christmas gifts, and helping people in any manner she can. She continues to be an advocate for patients and is always putting the patient's needs first. She has a very peaceful, pleasant, and calming manner that resonates with people. She is a strong advocate for Spanish-only speaking patients and getting their needs met. She volunteers in the community to serve others. She is always a go-to person on projects in the department. She freely shares her resources and information with coworkers and acts as a mentor to many. She has trained many employees willingly and successfully. She recently led the way in a new endeavor for Ambulatory Care Coordination. We started a pilot program sending CHW's into the hospital to see patients daily to educate them on care coordination, and to make their hospital follow up visits with their provider. The patients are now leaving the hospital with support they didn't have prior, and their follow up appointment with their provider scheduled. Yeni has done an amazing job with this program, and assisting with workflows and relationships with our inpatient partners. She is always there for patients and family members, and goes the extra mile. There are not enough ways to say how impressed I am by Yeni and her care for others. She truly embodies Hello humankindness!
Brandy Herrera
This employee noticed a need in her community and took action to help. Her neighbors were in need of food and she took it upon herself to provide meals to them. She also reached out to leadership to find additional resources to help the family during their difficult time.
Jody Kinner
Jody spearheads numerous initiatives aimed at bolstering team collaboration and advocating for responsible community stewardship. I will present one illustrative instance of each (although there are many!) Jody has taken the initiative to spearhead donation collection campaigns for charitable organizations, overseeing the coordination of the delivery process as well. One example, she reached out to the entire CSPS Team, soliciting contributions for WEAVE (Women Escaping a Violent Environment). Jody efficiently organized the collection by having employees bring their donations to a spare office in DDO (which was already overflowing with items). Subsequently, she collaborated with W.E.A.V.E. to ensure the smooth transport of these contributions. Jody has taken proactive steps to foster a sense of connection and camaraderie among her team members who are fully remote. By organizing creative activities, she's managed to transcend the physical distance and create a virtual space for team members to interact and bond. Her approach has several benefits: relationship building, improved team cohesiveness, morale boost, inclusivity, stress relief, and a positive team culture. One example of this was hosting a virtual "paint party" by coordinating supplies delivered to their homes, and doing the painting together as a team. While these are two examples, the reality is there are many more. I could list but only have so many characters to submit the nomination!
About CommonSpirit Health
As one of the nation's largest nonprofit systems, CommonSpirit Health now has more than 2,200 care sites and 140 hospitals in 24 states. We serve some of the most diverse communities across the nation and in each location, humankindness leads the way.