Hospital staff member honored as ‘Tenet Hero’ for military liaison work
Eleze Armstrong recognized for work as military liaison to Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts
Eleze Armstrong
Eleze Armstrong, the director of Imaging Services at Twin Cities Community Hospital, and the hospital’s military liaison to Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts, has been named a 2014 “Tenet Hero.” Tenet Heros are selected by leaders from each of their hospitals. Tenet heros exemplify the Tenet values of quality, integrity, service, innovation and transparency. Eleze Armstrong was inducted into the Tenet Hero’s Hall of Fame on May 13, 2014.
Armstrong has a Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Administration from the University of Ottawa (Kansas) and showed her mettle at Twin Cities Community Hospital in the fall of 2013 when she volunteered to assume Twin Cities’ Management Planner position, which had unexpectedly become available just two months before a statewide drill.
According to Tenet, Armstrong quickly developed an action plan that would meet the two drill requirements and spent many hours leading the requisite exercises, managing multiple cost centers and serving as the military liaison to Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp Roberts, while still maintaining her responsibilities as the Director of Imaging Services. She also worked with local agencies, the Tenet Incident Command Center and the hospital’s mass notification system to significantly increase the percentage of hospital employees who participated in the drill.
“Because of Eleze Armstrong’s preparation, the hospital received very high marks for its efficient, professional and appropriate response during the drill,” says Twin Cities CEO Mark Lisa. “Going far beyond her normal duties, she exemplifies Twin Cities’ values for incredible work ethic and dedication in the pursuit of excellent healthcare for our community.”
Armstrong and Lisa, who is a 20 year veteran of the United States Navy, lead the Twin Cities Community Hospital effort to provide healthcare support to local military soldiers. Lisa says they regularly host large-scale training exercises for the military, and that the hospital continues to demonstrate its ease of access, service and efficiency for the army’s healthcare needs. Having held multiple rounds of tours for army officials, it is also teaming up with Camp Roberts and National Guard officials to provide healthcare support to their soldiers.
The statewide drill was not the first example of Armstrong’s tenacity and analytical thinking. In July of 2013, she was also responsible for initiating a digital solution for scoliosis imaging that is unlike any other in the area. Making use of new hardware (an upright mobile cassette holder, and a cassette with digital imaging plates) and software that reads the digital image, Armstrong was able to reduce the procedure time and the patients’ exposure to radiation, while producing an image of the entire spine on a single digital image. The new procedure enabled the hospital to accommodate walk-in patients and to provide referring physicians with a convenient CD of the image.
“I am proud to serve my community and the patients of Twin Cities Community Hospital,” Armstrong says. “It’s an honor to be recognized by Tenet Health for doing what I am passionate about: helping the hospital to provide an orderly, efficient and effective environment for the best healthcare possible to our community.”
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