Eaton caregivers recognized for excellence at Fulton Awards

CHARLOTTE, MI – Three caregivers have received Sparrow Eaton Hospital’s highest honors for their exceptional contributions to patient care and the hospital’s success.

The winners of the Fulton Awards of Excellence are:

• Brandy Harmer, registered E.D. nurse, who received the clinical service award.
• Linda Bongiovani, release of information coordinator, who received the non-clinical service award.
• Sandra Dargatz, office supervisor for SMG Charlotte Family Medicine, who received the leadership service award.

The trio were recognized during a recent ceremony that included Sparrow Eaton’s executive team, Barbara Fulton (on behalf of the Fulton family) and Ed Dobbs, chairman of the Sparrow Eaton Board of Directors.

Harmer, who joined Sparrow Eaton in 2015, was nominated for the clinical service award because she is consistently recognized by patients and caregivers for her natural ability to treat and provide care.

“I did not choose the profession, it chose me,” she said as she explained her journey from applying to the EMT program to becoming a paramedic to eventually becoming an ED nurse. She said she feels grateful to help people during some of the most stressful times in their lives.

Bongiovani began working at Sparrow Eaton in 1987. What began as a means to provide for her family quickly evolved into a passion for working with the public and contributing to the community she was born and raised in. She was nominated for the Fulton Award due to her tireless work to do the best job she can every day, with good humor, respect and dignity, according to Bongiovani’s supervisor, Jan Bannhard. “Linda is quick to admit mistakes, which are seldom.”

The trio were recognized during a recent ceremony that included Sparrow Eaton’s executive team, Barbara Fulton (on behalf of the Fulton family) and Ed Dobbs, chairman of the Sparrow Eaton Board of Directors.

Harmer, who joined Sparrow Eaton in 2015, was nominated for the clinical service award because she is consistently recognized by patients and caregivers for her natural ability to treat and provide care.

“I did not choose the profession, it chose me,” she said as she explained her journey from applying to the EMT program to becoming a paramedic to eventually becoming an ED nurse. She said she feels grateful to help people during some of the most stressful times in their lives.

“When I was 11 years old I was hit in the left orbit with a steel baseball bat. I suffered a concussion, had 120 stitches, over three hours of suturing and surgery later that week,” Dargatz shared. “There was a kind hand that appeared through the blue sterile drape covering my face [post surgery] that held my hand the entire time. It was that moment that I knew I wanted to be part of the warriors in the field called medicine.”

Dozens of caregivers are nominated annually by peers, patients and leaders for the Fulton Awards. The recognition is based on consistent and outstanding customer service skills; innovation and creativity at work; and willingness to go beyond the call of duty.

The Fulton Award is named in honor of Robert Fulton for his many contributions as a member of the hospital’s board of trustees. He was well known for helping bring to reality what was then-Hayes Green Beach Memorial Hospital’s dream of offering quality, local care. He took great pride in the annual award ceremony – not because it was named after him, but because he wanted to honor the nominees and recipients and the “excellence radiating through HGB.”

Sparrow Eaton Hospital has been the community’s choice for healthcare for more than 85 years. The hospital is committed to working together in health to provide quality care and enhance the vitality of the community.