Memorial Health

Team members throughout Memorial Health have valiantly cared for patients and met the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.

anne-schniepp

Decatur Memorial Hospital – Forsyth Family Medicine

  • Anne Schniepp, Nurse Practitioner, normally works in the system's family medicine practice. During the pandemic, she was redeployed to work as an inpatient nurse in the hospital's emergency department. Schniepp truly rose to the occasion.

Jacksonville Memorial Hospital (formerly Passavant Area Hospital)

  • Phil Benz, Director, Facilities, was instrumental in converting the ICU and two other units into COVID units in a timely, efficient manner. He collaborated with the contractors to ensure all proper safety standards were met.
  • Kris Cox, Emergency Department Nurse Manager, set up the front-end triage system and respiratory bay treatment area for the hospital's emergency department (ED). She has led the ED through numerous COVID-19 challenges, ensuring staffing coverage by working side-by-side with nurses.
  • Misty Farris, Laboratory Director, has worked nonstop—seven days a week—to support her department. With careful attention to details, she was instrumental in establishing the lab drive-through service, working in the tent and managing its operation.
  • Shawn Ford, Nurse Manager, has demonstrated amazing perseverance and drive to succeed in the COVID crisis. She ensured surgeons could maintain a surgery schedule in a functioning operating room. Always going above and beyond, Ford also got creative to allocate resources for her department.
  • Amber Grizzle, Histology Lab Assistant, performs whatever task is needed. She has been crucial to the hospital's testing efforts and normal lab operations. Grizzle knows no limits in ensuring an optimal patient experience.
  • JoDell Paul, Housekeeper, is an extremely hard worker who shines at her job. She's a true team player willing to help anyone without complaint.
  • Ali Reinhardt, Housekeeper, leads the way in environmental services. She cleans the COVID-19 units, stays late to help colleagues and picks up shifts day and night to get the job done.
  • Sue Schleyhahn, Senior Infection Prevention and Control Nurse, has tirelessly managed the hospital's infection prevention efforts since day one. She has been on call 24/7 to ensure her colleagues have the most up-to-date information to provide the safest patient care.
  • Molly Shryock, Medical Technician, goes above and beyond to cover shifts whenever needed—which is particularly helpful when colleagues are quarantining. Quality is her top priority.
  • Brennan Wells, Registered Nurse, ICU, is caring, knowledgeable and extremely dependable. Since March, he has worked many extra shifts and swapped shifts with little warning. When others were apprehensive about early COVID patients, Wells jumped in to care for them. He has also worked countless hours running dialysis patients.



 

Lincoln Memorial Hospital

Stelle
  • Roxanne Stelle, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, has provided exemplary leadership throughout the COVID-19 crisis. She has routinely worked extra hours to ensure that patients in her community are well cared for and the nursing team is supported. Day and night, Stelle answers colleague questions, facilitates patient admissions and transfers and even takes patient care assignments to cover staffing shortages. Special note: Governor Pritzker recognized Stelle in his Dec. 11 COVID-19 briefing.


Memorial Physician Services ExpressCare, Springfield

  • Hannah Antonacci and Kaitlyn Coulter, Medical Technicians, were some of the first staff to perform COVID-19 swab testing in the respiratory clinics when the pandemic began. They were also key in establishing these clinics to serve patients in Springfield and Beardstown.
  • Anna Richie, MD, Clinical Director, has been integral to establishing Memorial's outpatient response. Her commitment to screening, testing and treating COVID-19 patients in the ambulatory setting is admirable. After contracting COVID herself, she continued her work from home.

 

Springfield Memorial Hospital

  • Hannah Bond, Registered Nurse, volunteered to care for COVID patients at the start of the pandemic. She arranges remote communication so terminally ill patients can see their loved ones. Bond also teaches other nurses about treatment protocols that promote patient recovery and safe discharge.
  • Alex Huddleston, Registered Nurse, always has a calm demeanor when treating an influx of severe COVID patients. As a charge nurse, she puts her team members at ease as they expand their skills to care for a rising number of critically ill patients.
  • Matt Johnston, MD, Emergency Medical Services Medical Director and Assistant Medical Director: Since early spring, Dr. Johnston has gone above and beyond to develop protocols for patients and safe roles for providers. He participates in regular calls with EMS agencies and advocates for patient and provider safety—all with a positive outlook.
  • Franke Kiddoo, Unit Secretary, has dedicated himself to supporting his colleagues on the COVID-19 units. He was a key player in training safety monitors, all with positive energy and team spirit.
  • Peter White, MD, Medical Director of Critical Care, has provided unwavering support to both physicians and nursing staff during the pandemic. He has been very involved in identifying best practices and rapidly revising guidelines to reflect the evolving standards of care for COVID-19 patients.
  • Jaime Yoakum, Patient Care Technician, volunteered in March to work on a COVID unit and has provided great care there throughout the pandemic. She is willing to serve in any support role, stepping up wherever needed. Yoakum has held many patients' hands during their final moments.


Taylorville Memorial HospitalJachino

  • Phyllis Jachino, Laboratory Manager, has met enormous COVID-19 demands on top of her normal workload, implementing ever-changing testing protocols, developing drive-up testing processes and managing results. Jachino fills in wherever she is needed, day or night, to ensure patients receive the services needed to guide their care.

Memorial Health System, based in Springfield, has five hospitals in Illinois, including a Level I trauma hospital and two Critical Access Hospitals.