Oaklawn’s Employee of the Year, translator Sanaa Alshamari, ‘loves’ helping patients

Sanaa Alshamari, who works as an Arabic translator at Oaklawn, had been nominated for Employee of the Year the previous three years and last fall learned she had been nominated again.

On Dec. 13, Oaklawn held its annual awards ceremony virtually where they honored many staff for their years of service and also named the 2023 Physician of the Year and Employee of the Year.

“I had been nominated the last few years and I figured I wouldn’t get Employee of the Year,” said Sanaa, who was not able to watch the virtual awards event online that day. “Then, all of a sudden, my phone started getting message after message. Many of the staff were texting me and congratulating me on being named Employee of the Year. I couldn’t believe it. I was so happy.”

Sanaa who works at the Oaklawn Medical Group Tekonsha Office, was praised for her professionalism and courtesy with patients and for her ability to help solve problems quickly, noted Oaklawn President and CEO Gregg Beeg.

“You have an incredible talent that has aided so many patients over the past six years of your service,” said Beeg during the awards ceremony. “Even when patients have been rude to you and fellow staff, it is reported that you continued to serve, so the patient got the best care and returned for several days to continue that care. No area is beneath your help.”

“I’m here to do my job,” said Sanaa. “Sometimes, patients and family members can get emotional, and some get angry, and they get the impression that I work for them. And I’ve been told I don’t have to interact with those people, but I can’t do that, because in the end, it’s my job and I can’t take things personally. There are good days and bad days, like any other job. But in the end, I love to help people.”

Sanaa, who is from Yemen, came to the United States when she was 17 and has lived in the Marshall area the past 20 years, with her children attending Marshall Public Schools.

She started with Oaklawn on a part-time basis six years ago, initially working in data entry.

Prior to that Sanaa had been a supervisor at Team One Plastics in Albion for six years.

Sanaa said that Oaklawn Chief Medical Officer Dr. Summer Liston-Crandall approached her and asked Sanaa what she thought of the idea of being a translator.

“I think you’d be good doing that,” Sanaa said Liston-Crandall told her.

At the time, Sanaa was attending Kellogg Community College for nursing when she shifted gears to become a translator.

“I realized I couldn’t do both; I needed to make a choice,” said Sanaa. “I figured there are so many nurses, but they needed me as a translator, so that’s what I did.”

She added that she “loves” being a translator.

“I have learned so much,” said Sanaa, who did take courses to become a translator. “I know 17 (Arabic) dialects. I can tell if the person I am speaking with is from Yemen, Jordan, or Egypt. My mom’s side of the family is from Egypt, and I have an accent like I’m from Egypt. When I speak to someone from Egypt, they can’t tell I’m from Yemen.”

Going between Arabic and English when on the job can get challenging at times.

“I’m able to go between Arabic and English fairly well,” she said. “But once in a while, I’ll end up talking to the doctor in Arabic. Sometimes your brain is going too fast back and forth.”

As stated earlier, Sanaa works in Oaklawn’s Tekonsha office, but she is sometime in the Coldwater office as well as at Oaklawn in Marshall with Oaklawn Medical Group and occasionally at the Birth Center.

“I just see how many patients I have in which office,” said Sanaa. “If I have more Arabic patients scheduled at one office, that’s where I’ll go… Many of the patients have my number and will call or text me. It’s like being on call 24/7.”

Staff try to schedule those needing an Arabic translator for the same day in a particular office when Sanaa will be there.

“I love making our patients happy,” said Sanaa. “When they leave Oaklawn, they know what is going on…These are people in need, and I so enjoy helping them.”

She added that she loves working at Oaklawn.

“I am so thankful for what I do and so thankful for the people around me,” said Sanaa. “And being named Employee of the Year, it’s so nice to be appreciated and recognized for what I do. Not everybody knows what I do. Now, everybody knows how hard my job is. I was so happy to learn I was Employee of the Year. It was like, ‘They notice me.’ It’s a great feeling.”