Carol Battaglia, AVP of Benefit Operations continues to grow her career with Northwell’s tuition reimbursement program
September 2020
No matter what stage of your career, there’s always room for continued growth and development. Just ask Carol Battaglia, AVP of Benefit Operations, who is currently benefiting from Northwell Health’s tuition reimbursement program to earn her master’s degree.
Since starting here 18 years ago as the team lead of Benefits, she’s grown her Human Resources career with a passion for helping others. Throughout the years, she has overseen Benefits, the HR Service Center, HR Processing and the myRecognition program, which all help to engage and reward our team members.
Today, Carol is responsible for the oversight and management of the benefits, retirement, leave of absence, tuition and physician/executive total rewards teams, where she strategizes new ideas to enhance processes and techniques to improve the overall experience. In addition to her daily operations, she is also responsible for the employee discount program, system-wide-blood drives and child care offerings.
Continued growth at every step of her career
Benefiting from the programs she helps develop, Carol is currently enrolled in a Human Resources master’s program at St. Joseph’s College. “Obtaining a master’s degree has been top of mind and something I always wanted to accomplish,” says Carol. “Pursing this degree will provide a sense of personal accomplishment.”
Beyond tuition reimbursement, Carol has also been able to participate in various programs unique to Northwell, such as being a culture leader and participating in the High Potential Program that develops future healthcare leaders. She plays an active role in our Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) as co-chair of the GreenBERG and recently became chairman of the Caregiver Support Fund, which provides resources to team members in need including programs and services related to emotional, psychological and financial well-being. She was also published in Closing the Engagement Gap-How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results, a book about how organizations can inspire, inform and reward employees in order to get superior results.
For Carol, earning her master’s degree is just one more way to better serve our team members. “With this degree, I hope to grow my career and broaden my knowledge within HR. I’m always looking to attend workshops and conferences to stay on top of best practices and look for new ways to enhance the team member experience. Knowledge is power.”
Get moving with a career that grows with you at Northwell Health. Apply today!
Appointment With: Joseph Castagnaro, VP, Lab Services Integration and Operations
September 2020
Joseph Castagnaro has grown in his laboratory services career at Northwell Health from being the laboratory administrative director at Southside Hospital (soon to be South Shore University Hospital). From overseeing the pre-surgical testing and patient experience departments at Southside to being promoted to senior lab administrative director and overseeing all of our community hospital labs, Joseph’s well-rounded experience has given him the skills he needs to be successful. Today as vice president, of Lab Services Integration and Operation, he is responsible for all hospital lab operations, including our health system owned labs and non-system labs we manage in other local communities. We sat down with Joseph to discuss the variety of careers in clinical laboratory and what makes working in Northwell’s labs so unique.
How has the work of our laboratory team members been vital to our organization and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and as we recover?
This past year has been one of the biggest challenges the laboratory services teams have ever seen. The COVID-19 pandemic was, and continues to be, at the forefront of every person and patient in every community nationwide. Luckily we had the fortune of building a brand-new, state-of-the-art lab a year earlier in Lake Success, NY, which ultimately gave us the ability to enhance and expand our molecular department this year in order to meet the COVID-19 testing demands in our area. Our health system has always had a great lab team and has always worked well together. This past year we had to work together in a fashion unlike ever before. The pandemic brought out the best in all of our laboratory healthcare heroes. The resiliency and teamwork of our lab staff across the health system was unprecedented.
What are some of the careers for laboratory professionals within our hospitals and Northwell Health Labs?
We have a variety of clinical labs in Long Island, New York City, Staten Island and the Westchester areas that range in size and scope and we operate 24/7 across 365 days a year. Whatever type of lab or shift you’re looking for, we have it available. Aside from the MDs, pathologists, pathology assistants, cytotechnologists, PhDs, laboratory technologists, technicians and phlebotomists, we have many other types of positions from entry level to very specialized areas which include:
- Lab Accessioner
- Data Analysts
- Lab Information System Specialists
- Lab Informatics
- HR Specialists
- Project Managers
- Quality Managers and Specialists
- Lab Support Associates
- Route Service Drivers
- Materials Management
- Finance
- Medical Billing
- Medical Coder
What makes working at Northwell Health unique?
Working at Northwell is unique in so many ways:
- Our health system laboratories handle EVERY aspect of lab services and testing.
- We are the largest, not-for-profit health system reference lab in the region.
- We’ve developed a partnership with the NYC Health + Hospitals lab services and created the largest joint venture lab in the country.
- We have two core lab facilities, our automated lab and our microbiology lab that specializes in infectious disease.
- We also have careers in tertiary care hospitals, small community hospitals, physician offices, cancer centers and other ambulatory settings. Whatever kind of lab you would like to work in, we have it for you!
The most important and unique thing that we do is to work as “one” lab amidst many locations. One way we did this was by establishing joint standards/methods committees. This is where we bring the experts within each lab discipline together on a regular monthly basis to network, brainstorm and determine best practices within their respective areas. This is then shared among all of our sites.
Our employee development programs are second to none. Our Center for Learning and Innovation teaches project management courses such as, LEAN and Six Sigma and basic leadership essentials classes for those looking to enhance their leadership skills. We also have an established High Potential and Lead Next program for staff already in leadership positions and our lab created a leadership development program, L-Lead (Laboratory Leadership), which is designed for new, current and future lab leaders.
Are there any exciting initiatives on the horizon for our laboratories?
We are in the process of developing a Medical Technology program with Hofstra University. Recruiting and finding laboratory staff has been difficult industry wide across the nation so we decided to grow our own. We’re also constantly upgrading our lab equipment system wide. This coming year we’ve selected new blood gas analyzers to roll out across our entire health system. The remainder of this year and well into next year, we will be addressing the probable collision of influenza and COVID-19 and how we will best be prepared to ensure we meet all of the clinical care patient needs related to laboratory testing.
Interested in joining our laboratory team? Get moving and explore clinical laboratory career opportunities today.
Join the next generation of leadership at Northwell Health
September 2020
Meet Ralph Thomas, a program manager for Clinical Transformation who is responsible for implementing strategic initiatives focused on process improvement, operations and performance across our organization.
First starting at Northwell as an intern with our IT Project Management Office in 2015, Ralph collaborated closely with cross-functional teams and received a great introduction to tech project management in healthcare – an introduction that would make a lasting impression on him. After gaining experience elsewhere, Ralph knew he wanted to return to Northwell and to the work that we are doing here every day to make a difference in our communities.
Accepting a position as a project manager on the Clinical Transformation team in 2017, Ralph had the opportunity to successfully advance clinical programs such as his work on the Sepsis Taskforce which works to reduce sepsis mortality within the organization. Ralph also plans and coordinates two internal learning sessions a year to gather all task force members to discuss and report out on breakthroughs. Since the inception in 2008, the task force has successfully decreased Northwell’s sepsis mortality rate by 64%. It’s an important project that Ralph still works on in his role as program manager.
And as program manager, Ralph is continually creating and implementing new clinical programs that help increase the skills of our team members and the efficiency of our facilities in innovative ways. Recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ralph developed and taught the first virtual improvement science program for the Behavioral Health service line that included educational sessions, interactive activities and coaching.
Building leadership skills at Northwell
Northwell’s Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI) also played a major role in teaching him new skills and developing the leadership qualities his own manager saw within him. CLI provides development courses for all our team members, including project management classes and programs Ralph enrolled in such as LEAN, Six Sigma, Intro to Project Management and the Change Acceleration Program. He credits these programs for teaching him processes that help him identify opportunities and barriers in a project and effectively brainstorm to create new solutions.
Along with providing Ralph important tools and methods for project management, CLI’s programs gave him the opportunity to work on projects within the organization. As part of the Six Sigma program, Ralph was assigned to co-lead a project at Glen Cove Hospital that created a standardized discharge process for patients from inpatient to subacute rehabilitation facilities. Ralph and his team used the tools he had learned in the Six Sigma course to work on this project which successfully led to a decrease in unnecessary transfers to the ED and readmissions while improving patient satisfaction.
According to Ralph, in order to succeed we must always be continuously learning. “Northwell has a wonderful resource for employees to develop their skills in the Center for Learning and Innovation. These classes were beneficial to building my professional skillsets along with learning the organizational structure.”
Connecting Northwell to our communities
Beyond leading projects, Ralph is co-chair of Northwell’s African American/Caribbean Business Employee Resource Group (BERG). Open for all team members, the role of our BERGs is to provide resources to ensure we have an inclusive environment where all feel accepted and respected. For Ralph, one of the most exciting parts of being a co-chair is being able to cultivate a trusting and safe work environment for all.
Beyond supporting diversity and inclusion within our organization, Ralph is passionate about the work our BERGs do to organize and drive events for the individuals we serve within our regions. “Being a co-chair of a BERG allows me to be a part of a bigger initiative that directly impacts our communities in and out of the workplace,” says Ralph. “I suggest all team members join a BERG to engage with others across the organization while making an impact on disparities in our communities.”
The experience Ralph has gained at Northwell has expanded what he does outside of our organization as well. Ralph not only serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Chair for Healthcare Leaders of New York but is an active member of the National Association of Health Services Executives, a prominent non-profit association of Black health care executives. Last summer, he participated in the Greater New York Hospital Association Summer Enrichment Program where he mentored a graduate student through a 10-week program to discuss professional development, work/life balance in the healthcare industry, and future planning.
“Healthcare and our world are changing every day, and I am part of the next generation of leaders that will elevate the delivery of quality healthcare services,” says Ralph. “I’m proud to work for a truly patient centered organization where we think about the communities near our hospitals and the NYC metro region as a whole.”
Join the next generator of leaders at Northwell Health. Explore career opportunities today!
The angel of environmental services
September 2020
Written by: John Baez, Environmental Service Worker, Staten Island University Hospital
Environmental services is much more than keeping a clean environment. We are helping keep patients and their families remain comfortable.
I’ve faithfully worked for Staten Island University Hospital for 11 years, and travel three hours each way from my home in Yonkers on public transportation to help care for patients.
I’m not a clinical care provider, but my dedication to patient safety in the Environmental Services (EVS) Department is what I strive for. My coworkers and I are at the top of our field when it comes to bedside manner and being spirited patient professionals.
Unfortunately, our team is no stranger to a crisis. We saw the hospital through the evacuation ahead of Hurricane Irene, the aftermath from Superstorm Sandy the following year and even the Ebola crisis in 2014.
But COVID-19 was something entirely different and something we never faced before. It put the EVS team on the front line to help contain and eliminate the virus, which tested all of our abilities.
When the crisis was at its peak, I remember seeing one case after the other. People begging for their life, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” Before coronavirus, I would always try to befriend and comfort the patients. During the crisis, I showed them love when their loved ones couldn’t be at their bedside.
Then there was one day that would change me forever.
The faithful man
It was a regular day, and then one of patient care associates (PCAs) told me that this person is going to pass away. I knew the patient. I met her days earlier.
It was the end of my shift and I was ready to take my first bus home, but I said to myself “I can’t let this woman pass alone. I’m going to be there for her.”
I walked into the room and leaned over the patient and said, “It’s me, John. If you hear me, squeeze my finger. She did. I told her I want you to go with God. I want you to relax and once you see the light, I want you to go to it. I’m going to hold your hand until you go.”
The PCA cried alongside me.
I told the patient I would pray for her. On her third breath, she passed.
The doctor came in and checked her vitals, and confirmed what I already knew — she was gone.
I took the two busses and three trains home, replaying the day in my head. It’s always going to be with me and sad that she couldn’t have a loved one with her, but I couldn’t let her die alone.
I did what many health care heroes battling COVID-19 did: make the patients their second family and be their loved one.
During this crisis, my mother was begging me to quit because we’re dealing with something that’s new and scary. But we all have to be here. It’s our job. It’s what we signed up for.
John Baez works in the Environmental Services Department at Staten Island University Hospital.
