Adventist Health and Rideout Celebrates Spring 2026 BE Award Recipients, Part 2

The BE award recognizes associates who exemplify Adventist Health "BE" statements (Be Love, Be a Force for Food, Be a Mission Owner, Be Welcoming, Be Curious, Be Brilliant). All Adventist Health and Rideout associates at the hospital, outpatient clinics and skilled nursing facility are eligible for nomination.

BE Award Recipient: Lisa Brown
Department: Courtyards
Submitted by: Maria Woodard Sanders
BE Statement: Be Welcoming

Maria Woodard Sanders: “Lisa has a natural welcoming spirit and leads with kindness. She treats everyone one of our residents with respect and believe in the value and dignity of every person. She truly embodies a "be welcoming" attitude in our assisted living community. She recognizes the dignity and value in every person and approaches residents, families, and coworkers with genuine warmth and respect.

Her kindness and hospitality make people feel comfortable, seen, and cared for. She always treats everyone with the same patience and compassion she would offer a cherished friend, helping create an environment where resident's feel safe, welcomed, and valued. She is a strong advocate for our resident's and consistently goes above and beyond to ensure their needs are met. Whether a resident needs extra support, comfort, or even something as simple as a snack, she is always attentive and willing to help.

She takes the time to truly listen, lending a caring ear and making resident's feel heard, valued, and respected. Her compassion and dedication show in the way she puts resident's first and creates a supportive environment for them. She is also a dependable team member who is always willing to help cover shifts and support her coworkers whenever needs. She is definitely an asset to Adventist Health - Courtyard Assisted Living!"

BE Award Recipient: Dione Chapman
Department: Interventional Cardiology
Submitted by: Michelle Martinez
BE Statement: Be Welcoming

Michelle Martinez: “Dione has been with the organization for 10 months now. She works as a Patient Access Representative in the Yuba City Interventional Cardiology clinic. She is one of the first faces patients see upon arrival to the clinic. She welcomes everyone with a smile. One of the remarkable things about Dione is that she is always willing to help, put other first and she shines bright. Her dedication, commitment, and the care she provides every day to patients is truly genuine. Her commitment to excellence impacts her team daily in a positive manner and helps to create a supportive environment in the clinic.

Dione consistently welcomes patients with a warm smile and treats every patient like family. Patients thank her for her help and compassion regularly and shower her and the clinic with treats and gifts. She truly represents be welcoming and be love with every patient and staff interaction. Her daily contributions make lasting impacts on the patients and staff. During recent 1:1's with staff, Dione’s name came up several times as someone they would like to thank for all the help and positivity she contributes to the team.

She is a valued and integral part of the Yuba City Interventional Cardiology team, and we are grateful that we have the privilege to get to work alongside of her every day. She is much deserving of this award."

BE Award Recipient: Gary Odom
Department: Emergency Department
Submitted by: Brittnee Drawver
BE Statement: Be a Mission Owner

Brittnee Drawver: “Gary has gone above and beyond to assist me with First receiver operations and First Receiver awareness for ED technicians, and the Hospital Emergency Response Team. Without Gary help, I wouldn’t be able to do it. He is a team player, always willing to help, he provides me feedback on PPE or equipment we need for a hazmat response. Our HERT team had dissolved and with Gary and his diligence he has been building our HERT team back up. If our community had a major hazmat event we would be able to better serve a HERT response for the community and patients coming to the hospital. I want to recognize him, he is a valuable person to have on the AH and Rideout Team."

BE Award Recipient: Brystal Romero
Department: Laboratory
Submitted by: Laboratory Leadership
BE Statement: Be a Mission Owner

Laboratory Leadership: “Brystal joined the lab as Director during the week of a CAP inspection—a defining moment that marked the beginning of profound and positive change. From that point forward, the lab has advanced steadily for the better.

Brystal brought immediate stability, structure, and a strong commitment to quality. Her professional, caring, and determined leadership has transformed the lab in countless ways. She ensured that the Lab’s Quality Assurance program aligned with CAP and CLSI standards and held herself and the supervisory team accountable to our mission. Under her guidance, processes were strengthened and standardized to support the highest level of patient care.

Through Brystal’s leadership, lab management has been placed on a clear path of learning, professional growth, and success. Leaders are empowered to develop their departments, and that excellence has carried through to all laboratory associates. Staff feel encouraged and empowered to share ideas and feedback through care boards, huddles, and open communication with supervisors.

Under Brystal’s direction, the lab has successfully implemented new coagulation, chemistry, urinalysis, and molecular instrumentation. She initiated the procurement and planning of an automated, phenotypic blood culture detection system.

Through her collaboration with Facilities, Administration, and System Leadership, the Blood Bank has been fully automated—an achievement that has fundamentally improved departmental operations and transformed laboratory workflow as a whole.

Brystal leads with kindness, clarity, and authenticity. Her financial acumen, operational insight, and deep understanding of laboratory medicine are invaluable. Her impact is felt not only within the lab walls but well beyond them. She shines most in moments of challenge, consistently stepping forward when circumstances seem insurmountable—clearly demonstrated during the water crisis this past January.

On behalf of laboratory leadership, Dr. Reichman and all lab associates, we are deeply grateful to have Brystal as our Laboratory Director. Of all the directors I have worked with throughout my career, the best truly was saved for last. Thank you, Brystal for being a Mission Owner."

BE Award Recipient: Dr. Supple
Department: General Surgery
Submitted by: Candy Canga Picar
BE Statement: Be Love

Candy Canga Picar: “I am honored to nominate Dr. Supple for embodying our “Be Love” mission through his actions and presence during this morning’s Surgery meeting.

During a discussion on High Reliability Organization (HRO) and High Reliability Practice (HRP) documentation, Dr. Supple demonstrated what it truly means to “Be Love” in the workplace. His communication style reflected genuine respect, compassion, and attentiveness to every individual at the table. He created an environment where all voices were valued and heard.

Dr. Supple’s calm demeanor, thoughtful tone, and measured pace of speech brought clarity to a complex conversation and helped foster mutual understanding among team members. His ability to remain composed while guiding meaningful dialogue exemplifies kindness in action and reinforces a culture of trust and psychological safety.

Through his professionalism and authentic presence, Dr. Supple serves as a role model for living our mission every day. He reminds us that leading with respect, empathy, and intention is how we bring “Be Love” to life in our organization.

For these reasons, I am proud to nominate Dr. Supple for this recognition."

BE Award Recipient: Elizabeth Reynoso
Department: Cancer Center
Submitted by: Paloma Ybarra
BE Statement: Be Curious

Paloma Ybarra: “Elizabeth, or Eli, as she is known by her coworkers is a great example of "Be Curious". When I think of someone who is curious, I think of some who is eager to learn and searches for answers.

Here at the cancer center we have patients who come in with a varying number of diagnoses, not just cancer. With this information in mind, there are a large and ever-growing number of treatments options available to our patients.

At times Eli works as one of the nurse schedulers. The nurse scheduler ensures the patients treatment dates are set appropriately. This is not an easy task. The nurse that works at this particular desk has to have a solid foundation of the different disease process and the medications used to treat them.

We recently had a new patient start a regimen of medication which is not commonly given. This patient is someone the physician wanted to begin urgently due to her disease staging. Eli worked very hard to schedule this patient. She was mindful of making sure the patient was receiving all of the necessary medications within this regimen. In her curiosity to ensure the right and necessary medications were scheduled for this patient, she questioned a few members of this patient's care team. She was looking out for the patient.

Eli did not just accept, and process information provided to her, she paused, she used critical thinking, and she questioned.

Questioning helps to ensure things are done correctly. Curiosity helps foster patient safety. Employees like Eli are a tremendous asset to this organization, especially here at the cancer center."

BE Award Recipient: Naythen Kankiewicz
Department: Patient Access
Submitted by: Stacy Villafranco
BE Statement: Be a Mission Owner

Stacy Villafranco: “I am proud to nominate Naythen for the BE Award – Be a Mission Owner. Naythen is highly deserving of this recognition and consistently demonstrates exceptional ownership, leadership, and commitment to our mission.

As our primary telephone operator, Naythen truly shines in his role. He goes above and beyond his core responsibilities and is always willing to step in and support not only our team, but other departments as well. His extensive knowledge makes him our go-to resource whenever something is needed, and his reliability ensures that operations continue to run smoothly.

On many occasions, Naythen has taken the initiative to assist other departments by troubleshooting phone calls that are being transferred incorrectly and ensuring communication issues are resolved quickly and effectively. He also plays a key role in patient care coordination by helping to ensure patients receive the proper consent forms. This includes proactively calling nursing units to verify whether patients are alert, oriented, and able to sign. Naythen organizes and orchestrates this process daily, demonstrating outstanding ownership and attention to detail.

In addition, Naythen manages call-outs and takes responsibility for helping to ensure adequate coverage is in place. His willingness to step up during staffing challenges reflects his dedication to the team and his understanding of the broader operational impact of these situations.

Naythen consistently maintains a positive attitude and is not afraid to make decisions that are in the best interest of the team. He works closely with the compliance team during audits, gathering required reports and ensuring they are delivered accurately and promptly to the appropriate departments. He also takes it upon himself to identify opportunities for improvement or updates, bringing innovative ideas to leadership that help the department operate more efficiently.

During emergency situations, Naythen remains calm and composed, never becoming overwhelmed. His steady demeanor and strong decision-making skills are evident in his work and have earned him numerous compliments from staff across the hospital.

Naythen is a true leader and a team player. He consistently exemplifies what it means to be a Mission Owner, and his contributions make a meaningful impact on our department and the organization as a whole. I wholeheartedly recommend him for this award."