Lotus Award honoree Mandi Lombardi-Ball is shown third from left with Michael Perdoni, Vice President of Clinical Services, Rebecca Dominguez, CCIS Director of Patient Care, Darla Harmer, Chief Nursing Officer, Nahomie Marcenat, BSN RN, Director of Patient Care, AP3, Stan Evanowski, Administrative Director of Behavioral Health, and Laura Bourque, MSN, RN, PMH-BC, Behavioral Health Educator, during the surprise award celebration held March 14th.
Long Branch, NJ, March 20, 2022 – A Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) Mental Health Associate (MHA) praised for her extraordinary compassion, intelligence, kindness, and dedication to the hospital’s youngest behavioral health patients has been honored with an excellence in caring award.
Mandi Lombardi-Ball, an MHA on the Children’s Crisis Services (CCIS) Unit, was recently honored with the Lotus Award, which was created to honor an MHA, Patient Care Associate or Patient Care Technician that has provided extraordinary, compassionate, patient/family-centered care. The CCIS team nominated Mandi for the wonderful attributes and the high quality therapeutic care she provides to our patients and their families, noting that most days she comes on the unit with special items for the patients that she picked up while she was out shopping for her own family.
In nominating Mandi, they wrote:
An amazing MHA must have the unique combination of compassion, dedication, intelligence, kindness, and fearlessness, and Mandi is a perfect example of an amazing MHA. The CCIS unit (all RNs, physicians, and social workers) are nominating Mandi Lombardi-Ball for the Lotus Award because of her wonderful attributes and the high quality therapeutic care she provides to our patients and their families. On Mandi’s break you will find her separating Skittles into colors for a therapeutic activity promoting improved self-esteem with the kids for group. Most days she comes on the unit with “items” she picked up while she was out shopping for her own family — items that include unique stress balls, silly tooth brushes to encourage the younger kids to brush their teeth, or just a bag of Hersey Kisses to remind the kids that there is always something sweet in each day, no matter how challenging it is. At home, on her own time, Mandi will research new and exciting group activities to keep the kids engaged. Some days she comes in to work after a day off, with arms full of snowflakes she cut out to hang in our dining room. Each snowflake represents how unique and special each patient is to her. Everyday a youth tells me the highlight of his or her admission was Mandi’s groups, or one on one time with Mandi. She approaches each patient as if he or she were her own child, giving him or her the same attention, respect, and kindness. There is no end to the compassion Mandi provides, not only to the patients, but to her peers as well. Mandi is the first to jump in when staff needs support or guidance. These are just a few examples of Mandi’s compassion, dedication, intelligence, kindness, and fearlessness — just a few examples of why she is truly an amazing MHA!
The Lotus Award is a new quarterly recognition program at MMC, with Mandi being the third recipient. Lotus Award nominees’ names are all blinded and the nominations go through the hospital’s Patient Care Coordinating Council, which includes staff from Administration, Nursing Leadership and the Chairs of MMC’s Shared Governance Councils.
CONTACT: Kathy Horan
(732) 546-6317
Kathy.Horan@rwjbh.org