Just a few years ago, HealthKeeperz launched the Barnabas Awards program, designed by our leadership team to have our employees select the people who, on a quarterly and annual basis, inspire them to be their best by living the values of our Barnabas Culture.
 
Barnabas, a disciple of Jesus Christ, serves as a Biblical example of the many attributes necessary for HealthKeeperz to operate as a strong, vibrant, Christ-honoring organization. Our approach to providing the highest standard of community-based health care services to the people of North Carolina, defined as our Barnabas Culture, seeks to promote and recognize HealthKeeperz team members who have served our company, our patients, and our people by being a Barnabas. 
 
Colleagues recognized quarterly, as well as at our annual Barnabas Awards banquet contribute to the HealthKeeperz mission of caring for all people for the glory of God. The ultimate goal of the Barnabas Culture at HealthKeeperz is to build a community of caregivers who are caring, selfless, humble, and encourage their teammates.
 
In this series, Portraits of Barnabas, we are highlighting the winners of the award. In the last few months, we’ve honored Janet Locklear of our hospice services division, Timmie Stultz of home medical equipment, and community health educator Tito Massol. In addition, we learned about 2018 Super Barnabas Winner Hortensia Ray Alston-Hayes of our northeastern NC office, as well as 2017 quarterly winner Crystal Strickland.
 
Today, let’s enjoy a look at the life and work of Cara Hammonds winner of a quarterly Barnabas Award in the third quarter of 2017. Cara, like our other cherished Barnabas Award winners, exemplifies our mission and values on a daily basis as she goes about her work in our customer service department.
 
Caring:  “From the first time I met Cara,” shared one of her teammates, “I could tell that she was a young lady with a loving heart. When she talks, you can hear and see in her face the love she has for both her family and her work family. Whenever there’s a special event or someone is feeling down, she always wants to be there for that person, doing something for them to make their day brighter.
 
Another nominating teammate explained, “Cara has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know. She goes out of her way to help others.”
 
Selfless:  If Cara Hammonds is consistent at anything, it’s selflessness. According to one of her teammates, “Cara exhibits selflessness on a daily basis. She is one to make you laugh, just being herself. Cara always wants to help out in any way possible—it can be just listening to a coworker or donating money to a cause. You can definitely tell when she’s not there, because her positivity and personality is so missed. Another teammate shared how Cara is continuously putting others first:  “Cara is always giving to others. She loves to see others happy and will do whatever it takes to make that happen.”
 
Humble:  Cara is a very humble person, according to those who know her best. “She goes about her day helping everyone on her team and everyone she encounters,” shared a colleague. “Cara always has others’ best interests at heart. Whenever something impacts her personal life, her first thought is always her team, not wanting to let them down or put more of a burden on them.”
 
Encouraging:  Positivity rules the day when Cara Hammonds is involved. “Cara exhibits the same outlook day-in, day-out,” shared a friend at HealthKeeperz. “When there’s an idea for an event, she says ‘come on, y’all, that sounds fun!’ in her southern twang. Cara enjoys bringing the team together, not only in her own department, but the whole building.” And another teammate pointed out that “Cara is the most encouraging person you’ll ever meet. She has the most bubbly personality and knows how to brighten everyone’s day. There are no bad days around Cara—she inspires everyone she meets.”
 
People like Cara Hammonds, who exemplify the power of positivity and putting others first, are the reason we have a special company at HealthKeeperz. Our work can be very tough on everyone involved, caregivers, families, and patients alike. It takes special people like Cara Hammonds to set the example, challenging all of us to give our best as we care for all for the glory of God each day.
 
Stay tuned to learn more about our other previous Barnabas Award winners in the coming months.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Barnabas Awards began a couple of years ago, designed by our leadership team to have our employees select the people who, on a quarterly and annual basis, inspire them to be their best by living the values of our Barnabas Culture.
 
Barnabas, a disciple of Jesus Christ, serves as an example of many attributes necessary for HealthKeeperz to operate as a strong, vibrant, Christ-honoring organization. Our approach to providing the highest standard of community-based health care services to the people of North Carolina, defined as our Barnabas Culture, seeks to promote and recognize HealthKeeperz team members who have served our company, our patients, and our people by being a Barnabas. 
 
Colleagues recognized at our quarterly and annual Barnabas Awards contribute to the HealthKeeperz mission of caring for all people for the glory of God. The ultimate goal of the Barnabas Culture at HealthKeeperz is to build a community of caregivers who are caring, selfless, humble, and encourage their teammates.
 
In this series, Portraits of Barnabas, we are highlighting the winners of the award. In the last few months, we’ve honored Janet Locklear of our hospice services division, Timmie Stultz of home medical equipment, and community health educator Tito Massol.  
 
Today, let’s enjoy a look at the life and work of Hortensia Ray Alston-Hayes, named winner of a Barnabas Award in the fourth quarter of 2017, as well as our annual “Super Barnabas” Award in 2018, at our recent Barnabas Awards Banquet. Hortensia, like our other cherished Barnabas Award winners, lives our mission and values on a daily basis in her work as a CAP social worker in our northeastern NC office in Elizabeth City.
 
Caring:  According to her co-workers at HealthKeeperz, Hortensia is a deeply caring person who, without fail, sends birthday cards and sympathy cards to all of the clients of the northeastern NC office. One of her teammates said, “She always puts others’ needs before hers, even if it means staying late or working through her own lunch just to listen and advise others.”
 
Selfless:  In one of the ultimate acts of selflessness we’ve seen among many at HealthKeeperz, Hortensia recently discovered that a deceased client’s son didn’t have a suit to wear to his mother’s funeral. According to her teammate, Hortensia gave the client’s son a selection of her late husband’s suits, so that he would have something nice to wear to the funeral and church.
 
Humble:  One teammate said that she often “hears about the blessings that Hortensia’s care bestows on others from THEM, not from her.” And while clients, their families, and co-workers value her expertise, Hortensia “never acts like anyone is imposing on her or is interrupting her workflow.” Truly, she lives with a servant’s heart.
 
Encouraging:  Hortensia is one of those folks who realizes that even with a great team at HealthKeeperz, we often rely on community partners to do our jobs well. Never taking these partners for granted, one of her teammates noted that Hortensia “paid to have cupcakes made for all of the area DSS Medicaid workers, hand-delivering them with a letter saying how much we appreciated their assistance at HealthKeeperz CAP.  She constantly promotes HealthKeeperz and our CAP program in the community, while inviting other entities in to explain their services and encourage CAP referrals.”
 
The HealthKeeperz family would like to again congratulate Hortensia Ray Alston-Hayes, winner of our Super Barnabas Award for 2018.  She’s had a huge impact on our company and those of us who have had the privilege of working with her, as we share the love of the Barnabas Culture with our clients, patients, and families.
 
Stay tuned to learn more about previous Barnabas Award winners in the coming months.