Day in the life: Sourcing specialist in Talent Acquisition
August 2020
Meet Bridget Hanley, sourcing specialist in Talent Acquisition (TA) at Northwell Health. Focusing on perioperative, labor and delivery, and emergency nursing, among other specialties, Bridget identifies top talent for much needed roles across the organization using a variety of sourcing strategies and recruitment tools. As one of many roles in Human Resources, sourcing specialists are focused on finding the best talent to join our organization to deliver the best level of care to our patients.
Bridget, like many of our non-clinical team members, had to adapt to a new way of working remotely due to COVID-19 to ensure the well-being of our team members and their families. As one of Northwell’s department wellness liaisons, Bridget played a particularly important role since the beginning of the pandemic to ensure wellness was top of mind for all of our talent acquisition team members during this challenging time by providing tips, strategies and opportunities to stay healthy both physically and mentally while working from home in this new environment.
Follow a day in her life working remotely as a sourcing specialist:
Starting her day with morning stretches, Bridget then fuels up with a smoothie and coffee. She reads the news, checks professional social media accounts , and keeps an eye out for any recent healthcare trends—all to help her better connect with candidates for careers at Northwell. “One reason I enjoy working remotely is more ‘me’ time in the morning. I can start my day with different healthy habits, which is a welcome change from the daily commute,” says Bridget.
As a member of Talent Acquisition, Bridget uses different tools and strategies to find potential candidates and engage with them.. Beyond available shifts and locations, Bridget helps educate them about all the benefits and resources that come along with working within our organization, a Fortune 100 Best Places to Work. Here she is speaking with a nurse about one of Northwell’s major perks – tuition reimbursement!
As a Northwell wellness liaison, Bridget shares daily emails with the team highlighting wellness programs, healthy recipes, exercise tips and more. Taking a five-minute break, she practices a daily stretch recommended by our Employee Wellness team in collaboration with the myHealthyBody app that our team members have access to use. “Our department can be very fast-paced and I love providing tips and resources to help us remember to focus on our own wellbeing.”
Beyond sourcing, Bridget partners with other teams across Northwell to help educate candidates on best hiring practices. Volunteering for Northwell’s new Career Development Certificate Program, Bridget presented on how to build your personal brand, including networking and social media tips. “Over 400 students and professionals attended the live session, and I was impressed with the engagement and questions they presented during the Q&A session. I’ve already had someone thank me on LinkedIn for helping them be prepared for their Northwell interview!”
Presentation over, it’s back to sourcing. Enjoying the warm weather, Bridget steps outside for a few scheduled calls with interested candidates. What is Bridget’s favorite part of her job? “I enjoy meeting and speaking with new people and helping them in their career. Every candidate I talk to has their own story and teaches me something new. Sharing the opportunities Northwell has and figuring out how the candidate will best add value to our organization is exciting. I feel lucky to play a part in their journey.”
As Bridget’s role has expanded, so have her responsibilities. In addition to sourcing, her afternoon often involves testing new Human Resource systems, piloting sourcing tools and recruitment platforms, and enabling for an improved candidate and recruiter experience through new technology. Working with recruiters across the health system from Westchester to Riverhead also means weekly phone calls and team meetings are necessary to stay updated on candidates, staffing requirements, and anticipating hiring needs within Northwell.
Work day over, Bridget embraces Northwell’s commitment to wellness by engaging in physical activity. Running has the added benefit of helping her prepare for Northwell’s next Walk To.. step challenge where Northwell teams compete to reach a step goal to win prizes.
Find a job that’s a perfect fit for your lifestyle at Northwell Health. Get moving and apply today!
Johanna Moustouka embraced the Northwell Heroes Challenge as she continues her wellness journey
August 2020
When Johanna Moustouka started her career journey at Northwell Health 11 years ago she looked forward to a career as a nursing assistant and to developing her skills professionally. She never realized the impact that the organization would also have on her personal life, especially on her wellness journey. Today, Johanna is a wellness champion and liaison at Northwell and also at home, and she is a triathlete who is always striving to reach her professional and personal goals.
Starting out at Glen Cove Hospital in the Rehabilitation Unit and eventually transitioning to the Emergency Department at Huntington Hospital, Johanna has gained career experience caring for patients with different illnesses. Along her Northwell career journey, she also became more aware of her physical and mental wellbeing, realizing that by living a healthier lifestyle she could help provide better care for her patients. Northwell has helped Johanna achieve her wellness goals by offering a great environment for leading a healthy lifestyle.
“I have always loved the wellness awareness and initiatives that Northwell provides to their employees such as, the yearly walking challenges, the wellness app, and the many events that Northwell sponsors as additional motivation,” she says.
Being a Northwell wellness liaison, Johanna also shares her wellness experiences with her colleagues at Huntington Hospital. She encourages her teammates to exercise including three-minute workouts on their breaks and going for walks. She realized if she was healthy and strong, she would be able to provide better care for her patients and her family. She also wanted to teach her five kids good wellness habits and instill in them that you can do anything you set your mind to, but you must lead by example. And, Johanna did just that.
Leveraging Northwell’s benefits, Johanna was able to instill healthy habits such as clean eating, clean shopping, and being physically active. This helped her family to adapt a healthy lifestyle! Johanna explained that her kids enjoyed partaking in her journey as a triathlete and training for the half marathon. They have done multiple 5k runs, completed races, and they go to the gym together. “I absolutely love how on board they are with all of this because it’s keeping them healthy and it’s extra bonding time for us,” she says.
Johanna leads a very active life and understands the true meaning of dedication. “Being a triathlete or a runner requires a significant amount of determination and discipline. You have to be able to balance work, family time and training. That could mean doing an open water swim or run at 5:00 am before punching into work at 6:45 am or a late afternoon or evening bike ride or run before bed,” Johanna said.
While working in the Emergency Room Department during the COVID-19 pandemic, Johanna saw how hard her team members were working and wanted to give back to her fellow heroes. She decided to participate in the Northwell Heroes Challenge during the first weekend of August. This wellness Challenge allowed employees to get moving while raising money for the Northwell Heroes Caregiver Support Fund, which provides programs and services to team members in need of emotional, psychological or financial support and more.
Johanna is a Northwell hero who goes above and beyond for her patients, the organization, and her family. Northwell’s culture and wellness encourages our employees’ growth professionally and personally, and Johanna is Made for this.
Phelps Hospital wins Northwell Health’s 2020 Chefs Challenge
August 2020
Five Northwell Health hospitals recently competed in the 2020 Chefs Challenge at Glen Cove Hospital! Chefs, cooks and one certified dietitian worked together to prepare a healthy and delicious three course meal within 90 minutes. After presenting their wild sea bass appetizer, Long Island duck entrée, and strawberry dessert to our judges for tasting, Phelps Hospital was awarded first place in the competition. The Northern Westchester Hospital team came in second while the Huntington Hospital team placed third.
You’ve already met this year’s teams, now take a look at their delicious meals!
First Place: Phelps Hospital
A humble hero of America’s COVID-19 response
August 2020
Written by: Brian Donnelly
In one 29-hour period, a nurse practitioner assessed and treated some of the earliest COVID-19 patients in the US stuck aboard a cruise ship off the coast of California.
Bouncing back and forth in nautical step with the rough tide of the San Francisco coast, Bryan Lovejoy, DNP, 37, and his eight-person team passed under the Golden Gate Bridge; then the Bay Bridge in a small US Coast Guard patrol boat.
It was March 8, 2020.
“It was actually a nice little cruise when you get right down to it,” Mr. Lovejoy said, despite the sounds of seasickness surrounding him. “There were whales at one point, just kind of jumping around out there.”
Passing Alcatraz, the nurse practitioner at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) — now farther than 3,000 miles from home — knew they were getting close to their destination — a 1,000-foot, 14-deck luxury cruise liner carrying 2,300 passengers and 1,100 crew members. The Grand Princess had been stuck 50 miles off the coast for days due to COVID-19 spreading rapidly among those onboard.
“I was kind of nervous about it. I saw the news,” he said. “The plan at the time was to try to keep this novel coronavirus out of the US as much as we could. Of course, we soon found out community spread was inevitable.”
The father of two and Smithtown, NY, resident is part of a 30-member disaster medical assistance team (DMAT). On behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, DMAT responds to areas impacted by a health care crisis, like natural disasters, when local response capabilities are impaired.
In 2017 Mr. Lovejoy spent two weeks in both Houston and Puerto Rico in response to deadly hurricanes.
“You just don’t know what you’re going into entirely,” he said. “The situations are very dynamic.”
But, from March 8-9, an eight-person DMAT contingent faced a threat unlike any they had seen before.
“Our main objective was to identify how prevalent COVID-19 was on the ship before taking passengers off,” said Mr. Lovejoy, who joined DMAT in 2007. “Not many people had any experience with this virus yet, and definitely not on a cruise ship.”
Bryan Lovejoy treats a patient at North Shore University Hospital, where he is co-chair of the Collaborative Care Council for the advance care provider team.
Being prepared
Mr. Lovejoy’s coworkers at NSUH saw their first COVID-19 patient March 7, while he was heading out west to his next mission.
“Especially under the circumstances we are in during a crisis, it takes a leader like Mr. Lovejoy to put aside his personal priorities and become actively involved in a life-threatening mission like this,” said Susan Wirostek, nurse manager at NSUH.
There are two months each year during which a DMAT volunteer can be called into service, which is why Mr. Lovejoy keeps a bag packed with some basic necessities.
“You never really get used to it,” said Mr. Lovejoy’s wife, Dawn, 39. “Every situation is different. They’re all anxiety producing in their own way.”
The call for this latest mission came just before midnight on March 6. After spending a day with their kids, Julia, 9, and James, 5, he and Dawn were watching a movie — John Wick 2.
“Sometimes I have very limited notice,” he said, adding he still hasn’t seen the end of that movie. “I’m given my travel orders, I pack my bags and I’m out within a day going to wherever this is.”
Boarding the Grand Princess
Mr. Lovejoy was on a plane by 8 a.m. the next morning. Leaving his family, he said, is often the most difficult part of his work.
“This one definitely stood out as the worst,” Dawn added, “because as time progressed the virus got worse and worse here in New York. I was scared.”
With the Grand Princess in sight, the team of eight braved high swells and dangerous conditions to board a life raft sent to their US Coast Guard transport – the first of two “high consequence, zero margin transfers,” wrote Robert Kadlec, MD, assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR), in a letter of commendation to Mr. Lovejoy.
“After safely boarding the Grand Princess, Mr. Lovejoy quickly demonstrated his clinical competencies and selfless focus on the mission as part of the HASTY rapid triage team, which executed near continuous operations for 29 hours, while wearing bio-containment equipment,” the high-ranking DHHS official wrote.
Jumping from the lifeboat onto the cruise ship ladder, Mr. Lovejoy’s team scaled the massive vessel, rung-by-rung.
“It’s big,” he admitted, quick to downplay the feet. “It didn’t take too long. I just remember thinking, ‘don’t look down and don’t let go.’”
Playing a crucial role
Starting near 7 p.m., Mr. Lovejoy worked through the night and into the next day, performing medical assessments and triage of more than 1,100 US citizens — breaking only for emergency rehydration. Mr. Kadlec wrote that their effort, “played a crucial role in the pre-positioning of critical medical assets, supporting personnel and operational planning by federal, state and local emergency responders.”
With his mission complete, the Grand Princess was allowed to dock and passengers to disembark from the ship. Those that showed symptoms of the virus had to be isolated and those that weren’t had to be quarantined — data now known thanks to Mr. Lovejoy and his team.
“And because of the nature of everything I ended up getting quarantined myself,” said Mr. Lovejoy, whose entire team spent 14 days at the University of Nebraska. “And fortunately we never ended up showing symptoms or getting sick.”
Both in quarantine and upon his return home and to work in late March, the lifelong Long Islander had a heightened fear, Dawn said, of contracting the novel virus.
“I have asthma, so I didn’t know how well I’d respond if I did get it,” Mr. Lovejoy added.
A quiet hero
When he left the Grand Princess March 9, there were 647 reported cases of COVID-19 in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By the time he returned home March 23, there were more than 44,000 cases. That number nearly doubled when he returned to work a few days later.
Knowing this – and his particular risk — Mr. Lovejoy knew, still, where he needed to be. Like walking door-to-door on the Grand Princess, he floated from COVID unit-to-COVID unit at NSUH throughout the crisis, treating the explosion of patients showing up daily.
“When he went on the mission and when he goes to work every day, he knows how vulnerable he is,” Dawn said. “So, I consider him just a quiet hero, leading in his own way.”
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