Five short years ago, the president of HealthKeeperz, Tim Brooks, introduced a new organizational initiative known as “The Barnabas Culture.” Intended to foster a spirit of encouragement and caring for all for the glory of God, this culture was modeled after the disciple Barnabas – a role model of faith and compassion. With this new culture came a new recognition program: the quarterly Barnabas Award. Since 2015, employees have been encouraged to nominate a coworker each quarter who embodies HealthKeeperz’ core values of:
- Be Compassionate
- Purse Excellence
- Take Ownership
- Put Family First
In this series, Portraits of Barnabas, we highlight the winners of this prestigious honor. Today, we’ll introduce you to Shaneese Smith, Outreach Coordinator for the Fayetteville area and winner of our fourth quarterly Barnabas Award for 2019.
In her year and a half at HealthKeeperz, Shaneese has already made a tremendous impact on the organization and larger Fayetteville community. As Outreach Coordinator, she markets home health, hospice, and medical equipment services to hospitals and HealthKeeperz offices throughout Cumberland County. Having previously worked in hospitals for eight years, she brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in working with people during their most stressful and difficult times.
Like many previous Barnabas Award winners, Shaneese was taken by complete surprise when she found out she won.
“They told us we had an emergency meeting, so I was like, ‘Uh-oh, I’m in trouble,’” she recalled. “But then Tim said he was about to announce the Barnabas Award winner, and I’m thinking, ‘What?!’ He announced that it was me and I was just so shocked. I’m a crybaby, so of course I cried. I was just shocked and honored.”
Again keeping in fashion with past winners, Shaneese thought for sure it would go to one of her hardworking colleagues. “There’s a social worker that was nominated as well, and another marketer, and I feel like they very much live that Barnabas culture,” she said. “So I just knew it would be one of them.”
Evidently, Shaneese was wrong – happily so. “It was so exciting,” she said. “It was a very special moment, just to know that my coworkers would think to nominate me. I still feel like I’m pretty new here, so for them to vote for me and believe that I’m an example of the culture, it was an honor.”
In her work doing outreach and marketing, Shaneese applies HealthKeeperz values on a daily basis. Talk to her about her work for just a few minutes, and you’ll quickly see why she was named a Barnabas Award winner.
“I try to be patient with everyone and to always have a smile on my face,” Shaneese said. “That’s number one. Even if I’m not having the best day, I always try to have a smile on my face, because you don’t know what someone’s going through in their day-to-day. So I always try to be nice and thoughtful of others – whether it’s my customers, my fellow coworkers, or our patients.”
Shaneese wants to share this honor with the home health and hospice team, who “always welcomes me in as one of their own,” and the marketing team, which she describes as “very family-oriented.”
“Some days when I feel down or don’t feel very Barnabas, they bring me up,” she said. “We always give each other that boost. Recently I had the flu, and everyone checked in on me and sent me cards. They don’t have to do that stuff, but they do.”
She also said that having the Barnabas Culture behind her helps her be a better marketer. “Our number one priority is to make sure all our patients and customers are taken care of,” Shaneese said, “and that’s easier to do when you have this culture standing behind you, acting as a role model for you to follow.”
Shaneese’s favorite thing about working at HealthKeeperz? The family environment. “I feel like we’re all family,” she said. “They’re my sisters and brothers. I could talk to them about anything, and I love when they talk to me about stuff going on in their lives. The family vibe is everything.”
We’re thrilled to congratulate Shaneese on this big win, and want to thank all those on the marketing and home health/hospice teams who provided support along the way. Stay tuned for further announcements on Barnabas Award quarterly winners!