This award brings recognition to a respiratory therapist who is nominated by his or her peers, who in a blended and balanced fashion brings all or most of these qualities and expertise to the job each day:
- Excellent clinical skills and communication skills
- Competence in all the aspects of care provided
- Compassion for the individuals they provide care to and fellow health care colleagues
- Promotes teamwork and collaboration both within and outside the department
- Often a resource to members of the department – mentoring colleagues and students
- Member of their professional organization, the AARC and related organizations that support and promote the profession, i.e. NBRC
- Volunteers time and expertise to the HSRC or other non-profit organizations; participates in continuing education programs to maintain competence and knowledge base
- Possesses a positive attitude, a good work ethic and a sense of humor
“Singled out by their colleagues and physicians who have worked alongside them and their department manager; these individuals have distinguished themselves as “Role Models for the Respiratory Care Profession.” They are recognized for their excellent clinical and communication skills; compassion; professionalism; teamwork; volunteerism; mentoring; positive attitude; work ethic and sense of humor. Qualities modeled by Steve in his roles as educator; mentor, author, leader and practitioner; and which he has nurtured in his students since 1990 as Program Director of the RT Training Program at Kap’iolani Community College, Diamond Head Campus.”
In summary, the recipient of this award should be a Respiratory Therapist who stands out as a professional and is an excellent role model for other Respiratory Therapists. This colleague is the respiratory therapist that you would want at a loved one’s bedside administering respiratory care and working along side you to cover the shift’s workload and those unforeseen events.
Wehrman “Practitioner of the Year” Award Recipients:
- 2011, Lynn Ann Turner RRT-NPS, C-NPT, LRT – Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children
- 2012, Diva Garcia, BASC, RRT – The Queen’s Medical Center
- 2013, No nominee
- 2014, Denise Wheatley, AS, RT, LRT – Castle Medical Center
- 2015, Catheen A. Lee, RRT – The Queen’s Medical Center
- 2016, Michael McGuire, RRT – Straub Clinic & Hospital
- 2017, Kimiyo Yamasaki, RRT, ACCS – Adventist Health Castle
- 2018, James “Kimo” Calhoun – Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children
- 2019, Jennifer Sterlacci, RRT-NPS, BA, MBA – Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children
- 2022, Keith Sasaki – Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Center
The award recipient receives:
1) A commemorative plaque.
2) Registration paid to attend the following year’s state conference.
3) The honor of displaying the “Practioner of the Year” Award perpetual trophy in their department for the year, until the next conference when he/she will present the trophy to the new awardee. Each year, the name of the awardee will be engraved on the perpetual trophy. Requirement, the trophy must remain in Hawaii. Should the awardee have to relocate away from Hawaii, the trophy will remain with the awardee’s department manager until it is time to be presented to its new recipient.
Criteria:
- Nominee must be a respiratory therapist who is licensed to practice in the state of Hawaii.
- Nominee must be a current member of the AARC/HSRC.
- Nominee cannot be a Manager.
Nomination Requirements:
To nominate, there are four documents required which together comprise your “Nomination Packet”
- The nomination form, where all sections must be addressed by the person spearheading the nomination (Complete NOMINATION FORM), in addition to;
- A letter of support from the department manager
- A letter of support from a physician who works with the nominee & has knowledge of nominee’s talents
- A letter of support from one other respiratory therapist colleague
Submitting your “Nomination Packet”
Send us these four required documents as PDFs with the form below by August 30th, 2019. Alternatively, you may send us these documents by email or mail.