October Newsletter

Birthdays and Anniversaries!

The Howard Center in the Community!

On Tuesday, October 10th, The Howard Center participated in the 2023 Carnival of Knowledge which was held at Southern Regional Technical College in Tifton! Participants were placed on different trivia teams and put their knowledge to the test to see who would be trivia champs!
What a great group picture of everyone! It looks like you guys had an amazing time!

Congratulations Corner!

Congratulations to Kaytlyn Varnadoe on passing her OB/GYN Registry!! She is now, Kaytlyn Varnadoe, RDMS!!! We’re so proud of you, Kaytlyn!!!
AkeyJah (Key as we call her) had a surprise visit from Dr. Drew, Mrs. Sherri, Harvin and Greer at one of her health fairs last week and she knocked it out of the park! Key, your marketing sisters wanted to congratulate you on a job well done and tell you that they’re SO proud! We’re all proud of you, Key! Great job!
Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Cole Taylor! Our Medical Assistant, Carolina, is now a married gal! She and her husband, Cole, tied the knot on 10/28/2023!! Congratulations, Carolina!! We wish you both many many years of love and happiness!!

Save the Date!

It’s time to break out the neon colors, tease your hair and get ready to have a total RAD time as we go Back to the 80’s at this year’s Christmas Party!

Mark your calendars for Friday, December 1st from 6:00pm – 09:30pm at the UOG Conference Center here in Tifton (15 RDC Rd, Tifton, GA 31794)

Come on out, let your hair down, dance, gamble, win some prizes and have loads of fun!

Be on the look out for an email from Melisa Newell with event and RSVP details coming soon!!

Oh Baby!

On October 9th, we showered these two beautiful Mommies-to-be!

Melisa will be bringing sweet baby Liam into the world on November 14th!

Summer welcomed her beautiful baby girl into the world on October 20th at 09:01pm! Her name is Kylie Ann Griggs and with Summer’s permission, here is her picture! Congratulations, Summer!! She’s precious!

Well Wishes to Tracey!

Earlier in October, we celebrated and said, “This is not good-bye…it’s see you later” to one incredible employee!

Tracey Washington, our Patient Care Tech in WCAS, worked her last day with us, and her WCAS family, of course, had to make sure that she went out with a BANG!

We sure will miss Mrs. Tracey and her bright smile and contagious laugh and personality, but we know that she’s going to excel in everything that she does in the future and we wish her well in all of her future endeavors!

2023 Breast Cancer Warrior & Survivor Event!

With 60 Breast Cancer Warrior and Survivors (and more than 30 supporters that came with them) in attendance on 10/05/2023, we are BLESSED to say that our 2023 Howard Center Breast Cancer Event is in the books!!

Words can’t express how full our hearts are to have had all of these beautiful, strong and courageous women at this event! To hear their stories and to see them dance, sing, laugh and smile….it’s just so heartwarming and it makes you realize just how strong and amazing these women truly are! They’re an inspiration to us all!

We’re so thankful to be able to host this event every year and we look forward to many many years to come! Thank you so much (again) to all of our incredible staff members that helped make this event happen! It couldn’t have happened without all of the incredible teamwork that took place!

Our beautiful 2023 Howard Center Breast Cancer Event cruise winner, Shonda Clark!! Ms. Shonda and one guest will embark on a 4 day, 3 night cruise to The Bahamas in 2024!! We love this so much for her! We can’t wait to see pictures!

HooHoo Halloween Bingo Night!

We had SCARY good time at this month’s Halloween HooHoo Bingo Night!

We turned our break room in to a spooky scene! Ate some spook-tacular treats and played a couple of rounds of Bingo! We even had a costume contest!

Our winners were:

Best overall – Jessica Whitley (Witch)

Funniest – Hannah Dorsey (Pickle)

Cutest – Mason Whitley (Dinosaur)

Thank you so much to ALL of our amazing employees that were able to come and hang out with us! We always have such a great time celebrating you guys and ALL that y’all do! We are so so thankful! You are appreciated!

2023 UOG Halloween!

Y’all showed up and showed out in your costumes this year and we were HERE for it!!

Shout out to our Insurance Department and everyone in the IT Building at Main for their hard work turning their departments into truy immersive Halloween experiences for our staff and our Trick or Treaters!

As we do every year, we had a Halloween Costume Contest and the winners were as follows:

First Place: Ashley Meyer – Lipovite Injection

Second Place : Paulo Vargas – 70’s Hippie

Third Place : Anna Mettendorf – Sia

We’d like to send a special shout out to the Waycross Office Girls as well! These Scream masks and knives were all bedazzled by hand and each color represents the ribbon colors for gyn cancers.

Pink (breast), Peach (uterine), Teal/White (cervical), and Teal (ovarian).

Janet, their NP, was sporting the Green Howard Center mask with the lotus flower marquee!

Outstanding job, ladies!! We know that took a lot of time to do, so shout out to y’all!!

To see all of our staff Halloween costumes, visit our Facebook page! Great job, everyone! You guys certainly made us so, so proud!

Volunteer Opportunities!

Ms. Debbie Hill and her family are hosting a Thanksgiving food give-away on Saturday, November 18th from 10am-2pm.

Ms. Debbie and her family gave out about 150 bags of food and they hope to give out that much or more this year!

If anyone would like to donate food items/canned goods, these items will be accepted before and on this day! Or, if you know of a family in need, please make them aware of this kind and generous event!

For more information, please email Debbie at debbie.hill@howardcenter.com

Ruth’s Cottage & The Patticake House is hosting it’s annual Hope for Kids Holiday Project!

What is the Project for?
The Hope for Kids Holiday Project supports many of the children who have been served through Patticake House and Ruth’s Cottage. The children have been sexually, physically, and/or emotionally abused including bein witness to domestic violence or violent crime.

What are they giving to the children?
Each child will receive a personalized duffle bag. Each duffle bag will have at mimimum
– 2 Changes of Clothing
– 2 Sets of Pajamas
– 2 Sets of Undergarments
– At least 2 items off of the child’s personal wish list
The duffle bags are provided by the Patticake house.

How Can I help?
– You can adopt a child by getting their sizes and wish list and purchasing items to go in a duffle bag.
– You can adopt a child by giving $200 and letting the Patticake House do the shopping for you.

If you are interested in giving monetarily or getting a child’s Wishlist so that you can purchase items, please let Melisa or Bekka know and we can help you get the information you need. The deadline is Dec 1st.

You can also call 229-382-4141 for more information.

This would be a great project for a department to do together this season!!! These kids do not have much, so please consider helping out!

Taishi’s recipe of the Month!

Creamy Herb Chicken

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For The Chicken:
·         4 chicken breasts (pounded 1/2-inch thin)
·         2 teaspoons each of onion powder and garlic powder
·         1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
·         1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme and dried rosemary*
·         salt and pepper , to season

For The Sauce:
·         4 cloves garlic , minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
·         1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley
·         1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme and dried rosemary
·         1 cup milk (or half and half)*
·         Salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
·         1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water , until smooth
 
1.             Coat chicken breasts with the onion and garlic powders and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.

2.            Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until opaque and no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness). Transfer to a plate; set aside.

3.            To the same pan or skillet, heat another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté garlic, with parsley, thyme, and rosemary, for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.

4.            Stir in milk (or cream); season with salt and pepper, to taste.

5.            Bring to a boil; add the cornstarch mixture to the center of the pan, quickly stirring, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken more.

6.            Return chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with extra herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

New to the UOG Crew!

employee photoShakyra Robinson-PrinceCNM
employee photoAmber HowellMarketer – Athens
employee photoImani MorrowMedical Assistant – TWC
employee photoEmily FlowersFront Desk – Main
employee photoCambrey McDanielUltrasound Tech- Athens
employee photoKristina WingateMarketer- Valdosta
employee photoMorgan DillardFront Desk – Main
employee photoAshlee HonMarketer – Warner Robins
employee photoAmanda Logue Mammo Tech- Main
employee photoRhonda Ewing Marketer Covington
employee photoStephanie MaganaUltrasound Tech Float – Lawrenceville
employee photoAshley HernandezFront Desk – Moultrie

October Employee’s of the Month and the Shining Star!

WCAS: Dominique Hill-SappDominique Hill-Sapp is an amazing asset to our team. She is a very knowledgeable scrub tech that makes sure our Doctors are happy and have what they need. This month she has definitely gone above and beyond!!! She has learned how to help the doctors in the clinic and has also helped us cover shifts in Covington. Many times this month she has come to me asking what she can do to help wherever we need it. She is the definition of a team player!!
Front Desk: Keeli WellsKeeli has shown out this month!!! She is in the OB Clinic. She truly has blown it out of the water. This past month we have asked her to schedule deliveries for our OB patients while we have been short staffed in the scheduling department. She has worked at the front desk many days alone without any help. She has missed lunch to make sure our patients are taken care of. She is running circles in the OB office and I appreciate all that she is doing for our patients and office! Thank you, Keeli. YOU are a BLESSING!
Ultrasound: Kaitlyn YawnKaitlyn has done an amazing job getting settled into her new position as an ultrasound tech at the Douglas office. I have heard nothing but compliments from Rose since she started this month. Kaitlyn is sweet, eager to learn and organized. You can tell that ultrasound was truly her calling and that patient care is her priority. She shines bright and radiates positive vibes. We are excited to have you at The Howard Center and we can’t wait to see the impact you make on women’s lives.
Provider: Shelby Colson, NPCongratulations to Shelby Colson NP for winning the Provider Excellence Award ! Shelby has been part of our family at the Tifton office. She will soon be the provider at the Valdosta clinic. She has excelled in her performance and has taken care of many patients. Never has a negative remark . Asked her to cover a week In Valdosta before training was completed, not a hesitation ~ yes I’ll be there! Always a smile and a sweet face! Thank you for being a part of our UOG Family!
Surgery Coordinator: Shelly MartinezNormally we do not give this award to more than one in the department but I couldn’t pick due to Shelly and Niki going above and beyond in October. Our recent success in the North clinics would not be possible without you both, Shelly and Niki both went to our North Clinics during fall break, they both worked up patients, cleaned rooms, covered where they were needed. Shelly and Niki are always willing to walk the extra mile to make things work! I’m so fortunate to have you guys on my team and with this UOG Family!
Surgery Coordinator: Niki Powell Normally we do not give this award to more than one in the department but I couldn’t pick due to Shelly and Niki going above and beyond in October. Our recent success in the North clinics would not be possible without you both, Shelly and Niki both went to our North Clinics during fall break, they both worked up patients, cleaned rooms, covered where they were needed. Shelly and Niki are always willing to walk the extra mile to make things work! I’m so fortunate to have you guys on my team and with this UOG Family!
Manager: Melisa NewellMelisa Newell is the manager of the month. Melisa is 9 months pregnant and running around like a chicken with her head cut off making sure when she goes out on maternity leave everything is taken care of. This is the act of a true manager! To make certain everything is in order before you leave!!! We are so grateful for her and all the time she has spent on getting our Christmas Party together!!!! She is absolutely the best!!!
Insurance: The Entire DepartmentInsurance employee of the month is the entire department! They all went out of their way to decorate so we could have a fun and great Halloween! I’m very proud of them… They have taken on a lot of decision making on their own because I have been tied up. It may not always be the right answer but at least they are attempting to figure problems out! I’m super blessed to have this team!
Photo of shining star winner

Bekka Reese
Social Media Director
$250.00 and a Trophy!

Day after day, Bekka comes to work and gives her best effort. I value her commitment more than I can say. Her work ethic sets a great example for everyone else, including myself. The dedication she shows to her work is inspiring. We appreciate how you continue to show up and give it your all. I want you to know that I and everyone notices how you go above and beyond in all that you do. You killed it in October by pulling off the Breast Cancer event, The Hoo-Hoo night, Halloween Bash along with keeping up with our Social Media, and helping our marketers with supplies. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. You don’t stop until you’ve completed a job well done.