Oaklawn announces 2018 employee honors

MARSHALL – Syed Quadri, M.D., has been honored as Oaklawn’s 2018 Physician of the Year and Susan Cole has been selected as Oaklawn’s Employee of the Year.

The selection of Quadri and Cole was celebrated during a gathering Jan. 10 of Oaklawn staff members at the Franke Center for the Arts. The event included the presentation of service awards to 107 other employees.

Oaklawn interim President and CEO Gregg Beeg and Marla E. Stuck, Oaklawn’s executive director of human resources, made the top award presentations.

Beeg praised the medical service demonstrated by Quadri, who is a psychiatrist and medical director of Oaklawn Psychological Services. He joined Oaklawn’s active medical staff in early 2015.

“The purpose of this award is to not only acknowledge a physician that exemplifies the culture and values of Oaklawn, but to also honor an individual that is inspiring to members of their profession and dedicated to the needs of their patients,” Beeg said.

Cole joined Oaklawn in 1996 and has served the health-care organization for many years as its mailroom clerk. Stuck described Cole as famous among Oaklawn staff for her compassion, consideration and going “above and far beyond for any staff member who needs help.”

Cole, a Marshall resident, received an honorary pin, a monetary award and use of a special parking space. During the presentation, Cole was joined on stage by her husband Mike and son Jason. Cole enjoys fishing, snowmobiling, hunting, antiquing, and going to rock concerts.

Oaklawn has bestowed the top-employee honor annually since 1978. Last year’s recipient was Chris Bailey.

Cole and Quadri each received a designated parking space for the entire year, a bouquet of a dozen red roses and an engraved plaque.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award,” Quadri said after the presentation. “I love working for Oaklawn. It’s the people I work with – the attitude, the love, the dedication they show to their work and the patient care they provide. It’s an amazing feeling.”

Quadri is the eighth recipient of Oaklawn’s Physician of the Year Award. José Valle, M.D., received the inaugural award in 2011. Other recipients were Thomas Neidlinger, M.D., in 2012; J. Summer Liston, M.D., in 2013; Hassan Beiz, M.D., in 2014; Steven Yuill, M.D., in 2015; Aajay Shah, M.D., in 2016; and Subhash Thakur, M.D., in 2017.

Beeg praised Quadri for being “always willing to step up and take on new tasks and responsibilities, whether it be taking on more patients or expanding services to other locations.”

 Quadri, a native of Chicago, went to medical school at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore, India. He completed his residency through the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, Kan., during which he completed multiple rotations in all levels of psychiatry, and chose to focus on the adult psychiatric population.

Quadri obtained his certification from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 2015. He is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Psychiatric Association and National Alliance on Mental Illness.

In his spare time, Quadri enjoys working out, cooking and movies. As this year’s honored physician, Quadri will direct a $500 donation to a charity of his choice, and his name will be placed on a plaque displayed in the hospital’s main entrance.

The physician award was established to recognize a physician who has demonstrated their commitment to Oaklawn’s culture and values, and to the community. To be nominated, a physician must have been a member of Oaklawn’s active medical staff for at least three years, and may be nominated by hospital staff, medical staff or members of the Board of Directors. Members of Oaklawn’s Medical Executive Committee made the final selection.

Beeg said those who nominated Quadri for the honor made such comments as these: “… has a smile on his face, has a wonderful personality and is a true blessing to work with” … “goes out of the way to make sure that our office is running smoothly and that everyone has what they need to operate on a daily basis, both professionally and personally – treating all of us as though we are family” … “calls in while on vacation to make sure everything is OK. …”

Another highlight of the program was the presentation of service awards to 107 employees for specific levels of service. The awards were given as follows:

40 years: Rosemary Harvey, Sally Quilhot and John Miller

35 years: Donetta Fence-White.

25 years: Sharon Thomas-Boyd, Ruth Locke, Angela Heisler, Kimberly Swafford, Brian Thomas and Donna Young.

20 years: Deborah Campbell, Donna Fausz, Carolle Hicks, Kristine Johnson, Ernest Jones, Matthew Lueck, Jeanna Madej, Shirley Martinez, Lori Meny, Connie Monroe, Twyla Newsome, Elaine Sims and Brooke Sisco.

15 years: Rochelle Barnum, Sarah Born, Thomas Brownell, April Fisher, Susan Ford, Tammy Gore, Irene Johnston, Dawn Lazarus, Jeffrey Lillrose, Brandon Looney, Durrie Parker, Kelly Parkinson, Gladys Proctor, Jennifer Putnam, Christine Rasey, Sherri Seifert, Kristin Stout, Allison Strand, Lori Sturdevant and Janice Walton.

10 years: Andre Allen, Kymberley Andrews, Josephine Bartolacci, Tammy Buelow, Heather Cooper, Tabitha Foster, Terry Fugate, Lisa Gingerich, Leslie Hagerty, Linda Hampton, Alan Herman, Amanda Hoyt, Sarah McCarrick, Catherine Neidlinger, Terri Pauken, Marta Peren, Kari Scarbrough, Julia Shirey, David Spranger, Amanda Sundberg, Joanna Tarkiewicz, Amanda Thatcher, Patricia Thompson, Cynthia Timmins, Joni Walsh, Heather Watson, Rebecca Weyer, Pamela Wolfersberger, Brenda Young, Mark Young and Lori Zettell.

Five years: Lynette Birch, Sharon Boyce, Teisha Burghdoff, Richard Compton, Susan Connell, Ashley Deal, Adam Dimoff, Dorothy Esterline, Susan Evans, Charles Frary, Paul Fronsman, Hope Frye, Jordan Gilg, Andrew Gordon, Stacy Gould, Tina Green, Katrina Groat, Rachael Hankey, Sandra Jones, Dessie Koehler, Josalynn Leach, Yolanda Mathews, Mark McClanahan, Torre Senft, Laura Shafer Kase, Aajay Shah, Jennifer Smith, Annette Snyder, Subhash Thakur, Steven Tharp, Caron Warnsby, Brittany Weaver and Tracy Wheeler.