Doug Ortano is the December 2011 Employee of the Month. Doug works as a Client Technologies Specialist in Information Technology and has been with All Children's since 1996. Outstanding Service Excellence is not new to Doug - he was also Employee of the Month during 2006. Doug was recognized for his Service Excellence this time by his Department Director who said:
Doug was getting ready to leave the All Children's Outpatient Care facility in Tampa, and while loading equipment he heard a frantic woman screaming for help from across the parking lot. Doug rushed over to see what was going on and the woman said, ‘My child is choking!' Doug began to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the woman's little boy and after a few seconds was able to get the obstruction cleared from the boy's throat and the boy began to breathe normally again.
While delivering first aid is not an essential function of the IT Department, Doug's quick response was second nature to him, and his speedy actions averted a potentially serious situation. Doug consistently provides Service Excellence as part of his daily IT job duties, but on this day he went above and beyond the call of duty of what is normally expected of a ‘computer guy.' Doug said he just reacted and did what was necessary at the time. He said he doesn't want to be thought of as a hero, but just an All Children's employee that did what we would all do in that situation. The IT Department is very proud of him and his quick actions to help a child in need.
Doug, thank you for your wonderful Service Excellence, for all you do to keep our PCs running, and for all you do for our patients and their families in a time of need. Congratulations for receiving the All Children's Hospital Employee of the Month honors!
