Local Doctor Goes Above and Beyond for Her Patients

COLTON >> Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) announced it's first Ida M. Cannon Social Services Awards Ceremony, which honored individuals for their exemplary care of ARMC patients and their families. The awards ceremony was held March 30 at the hospital. Award recipient Susan VanDeventer, palliative care nursing coordinator, was honored for her compassionate and tireless efforts on behalf of ARMC’s palliative care patients. Palliative care aims to make a patient more comfortable, similar to hospice care, and includes curative efforts as well. ARMC began its Palliative Care Service program with a grant from the California Health Care Foundation in 2009. The program provides medical treatment to patients with serious, life-threatening or terminal ailments, while focusing on improving an individual’s quality of life. Patients are also able to receive medical treatment from home, so they can spend more time with their families. VanDeventer joined the palliative care team in 2013, and was nominated for her service by her professional colleagues, Corliss Rockett, medical social worker, and Anu Sood, licensed clinical social worker. VanDeventer received ARMC’s inaugural Ida M. Cannon Award in the category “Dignity and Worth of All Persons.” The namesake of the Ida M. Cannon Award pioneered the field of medical social work and founded the American Association of Hospital Social Workers in 1918. The mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values including: service, social justice, dignity and worth of all persons, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. “Her level of kindness and empathy far exceeds that shown by most helping professionals,” said Rockett. “She walks alongside her patients and their families as they navigate scary, chaotic paths, while instilling hope, providing warmth, and showing compassion to all those she serves,” added Sood. “We’re pleased to be honoring Susan who has done so much for others, for treating each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural diversity, and for always being cognizant of the dual responsibility to patients and to the broader society,” said ARMC Palliative Care Medical Director, Dan Miulli, D.O., Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. Other award winners at the ceremony included: Floyd Segura; Mary Lee; Dr. James Ericson; Marlene Hayes; Frank Arambula; and Dr. Claudia Landis.