Three Gardens of St. Francis employees exemplify humankindness

RECOGNIZING THAT MANY of their staff members go above and beyond to bring joy, hope, and kindness into other people’s lives, CommonSpirit Health, one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States, launched the annual Acts of Humankindness Awards to acknowledge and celebrate these extraordinary individuals.

According to Rebecca Hilton, Vice President of Mission Integration for Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), the senior living division of CommonSpirit Health, the Acts of Humankindness Awards campaign is rooted in the tagline “Hello Humankindness,” an important element of CommonSpirit’s branding. “It’s one of the many ways we encourage our employees to embrace and reflect our organization’s values,” she says.

Hilton further explains, “The awards initiative was begun two years ago because we have staff who do extraordinary things—as well as little, everyday things—to make kindness known in the lives of our residents, and we needed a way to highlight the people who do their best to bring our mission to life.”

During the nomination period for the Acts of Humankindness Awards, employees are asked to look around at their coworkers to see who goes above and beyond to show kindness. The stories of these exceptional individuals are then submitted to a committee for review to determine who the award recipients will be. All the nominees’ stories are posted on a website so team members can take inspiration from them, as well.

“The nominating stories serve two purposes,” Hilton states. “One is to help bolster our faith in humanity. The other is to encourage all our staff members to find ways to show kindness and to remind them that they have the power to choose to be kind all day, every day.”

For the year 2023, 61 CommonSpirit employees were nominated for the Acts of Humankindness Awards and awards were ultimately given to nine individuals. Of the nine winners, three are employees of The Gardens of St. Francis, a CHI Living Communities facility located at 930 S. Wynn Road in Oregon, Ohio. They include Heidi Hoffman, Jayme Fronk, and Tina Braun.

Hoffman, who is Director of Mission Integration at The Gardens of St. Francis, and Fronk, an STNA at the community, distinguished themselves by taking resident Eleanor Cochenour to visit her summer home in Michigan, knowing she dearly missed her lakeside home as well as her friends and family there. They performed this selfless act of love on their day off in order to bring a measure of joy to the resident’s life—joy that they got to share in as well.

Braun is a housekeeper at The Gardens of St. Francis who does cleaning for the Assisted Living residents and, according to the individual who nominated her, “does an amazing job.” She far exceeded expectations by forging a bond of friendship with a relatively new resident who is introverted and, despite the encouragement of multiple team members, seldom left his room for activities, meals, or simply to enjoy the beauty and amenities the community has to offer. Braun noticed that the resident had been declining and not eating as much and so took it upon herself to spend her lunch break with him whenever he ate his lunch. As a result of her one-on-one care and attention, the resident formed a special trust and relationship with Braun and his overall health and mood have improved.

This is just a small sampling of the many stories that can be shared about CommonSpirit employees who go above and beyond in caring for residents and supporting their fellow team members. “All these individuals reflect who we are and what we value,” Hilton says. “The desire to make a difference in the lives of others is the reason we chose to pursue healthcare as a career.” ✲