The Albert E. Dyckes Healthcare Worker of the Year Award is given each year to one Ohio caregiver who personifies a leader who gives back to the community and routinely goes beyond the call of duty. All nominees will be honored at the June OHA Recognition Banquet in Columbus.
Jana Schnippel, Family Birth Center director, is the 2016 Wilson Health nominee for the Ohio Hospital Association’s (OHA) Albert E. Dykes Healthcare Worker of the Year Award.
Jana Schnippel, director of the Wilson Health Family Birth Center, has made a positive impact on countless moms and babies over her 12 years at Wilson Health. Averaging close to 900 deliveries per year, Jana has created a birthing experience attractive to families throughout the region. Jana’s positive, caring attitude trickles down to her staff and patients. She is passionate about providing safe, quality care to mothers and babies and encourages her staff to treat each patient with respect and compassion. Jana embraces change and has led initiatives such as the Calming First Bath, Kangaroo Care, OHA’s Safe Sleep program and the Imagination Library to support early literacy. She also helped Wilson obtain the Healthy Ohio Breastfeeding Friendly Employer award. Jana has been instrumental in the implementation of LEAN process improvements in the Birth Center. Under her leadership Wilson’s Family Birth Center proudly delivered its 10,000th baby in October of 2015.
Great Leader
Jana leads the Family Birth Center staff by example. As one of her co-workers put it, “Jana is a great leader who doesn’t dictate, but rather provides the tools and education to guide others and help them grow.” She has developed a very active shared governance model in the Birth Center, as well as a very in-depth education/competency program for the staff.
Jana has a relentless pursuit to continuously improve. Improve herself and improve not only the patient experience, but also the staff experience. Her drive comes from her faith that we are all here to serve a higher purpose than our own. The Patient Experience scores from Jana’s department, the birth center, regularly rank in the 90th percentile in the country.
Goes Beyond the Call of Duty
Jana’s co-workers said that she is the first to throw on a pair of scrubs and help the staff when there is an influx of patients. Jana is also open-minded to changes in the OB world. One recent example of this is the implementation of The Calming First Bath. This replaces the typical first sponge bath. “Babies are in the mother’s womb in amniotic fluid for nine months. The Calming First Bath allows the baby to take his or her first bath in water, which puts the baby in a familiar, peaceful environment,” Jana stated. Approved by pediatricians at Wilson Health, tub bathing is found to be more beneficial to the newborn’s health. Tub bathing decreases heat loss, minimizes friction to the skin and provides relaxation to baby. Patients and babies have responded quite positively to this program.
Reflects the mission and values of organization
Jana lives the mission and values of Wilson Health by caring without limits for each and every one of the patients who walk through the Birth Center doors. She cares for her fellow staff members the same way.
The Wilson Health Family Birth Center recently delivered their 10,000th baby. The 10,000th baby wasn’t a “typical” birth. The baby had to be transferred, where she spent the next 8 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Jana kept in touch with the mother over the 8 week period checking in with her and getting updates on baby’s condition. After learning of the baby’s plans for discharge from Dayton Children’s Hospital, Schnippel quickly began planning behind the scenes to have an “official” celebration for the family upon their return home.
“I made a special connection with the family,” said Schnippel. “I wanted them to know how special they are and even though it was eight weeks later, we still wanted to celebrate this special occasion with our patients and staff.”
Gives Back to the Community
Jana gives back to the community by doing all she can to give families the best, healthiest and most positive start to a new life that she can. She strives to treat her patients the way she would want to be treated and the way she would want her four young children to be cared for when they entered the world.
Jana is a member of the Family & Children First Council for Shelby County, and Child & Infant Mortality Review Board for Shelby County. Jana teaches 3rd grade Catechism at Immaculate Conception church in Botkins, Ohio. She is a Sleep Safe Champion and also a member of the following organizations: AWHONN, OONE, PNMA and PCEO. Jana was also the 2013 nominee for the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year.