Five employees from the American University of Beirut (AUB) were honored with the President’s Service Excellence Awards for their outstanding service to their institution during a ceremony at College Hall on June 14. Lili Haydar Abillama, Ghada Hamdar Hamati, Nicolas Haddad, Reine Koussayer, and Michel Touma were the recipients of this year’s awards that aim to recognize and reward AUB employees for their valuable services. Present at the ceremony were President Peter Dorman, Provost Ahmad Dallal, and a number of University officials and faculty members.
Abillama has worked at the AUB Medical Center as a registered nurse since 1994. She has been the nurse manager of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Step Down Unit (SDU) since 2001. “She exercises 24 hour availability and is constantly reachable for problem-solving needs. During times of political unrest and war, she totally devoted her time to the hospital by covering the shifts of her absent colleagues,” said President Dorman.
When reviewing Abillama’s personal achievements one cannot but mention the joy she brings to her patients’ lives, noted Dorman, giving examples of her engagements with the patients from helping them celebrate their birthdays, to arranging a private tutor for a 9-year old patient who has been in hospital since birth. One of the medical team members described Abillama as “…a great comfort to the families of patients, the house staff, [and] the nurses.”
Haddad was also honored for his outstanding work at AUB’s Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC). He was appointed as crop production and plant protection supervisor at AREC in 2002. He assisted professors in the labs and taught a class on farm practice. In 2004, he established and ran the first Genetic Resources Unit (Seed Bank) in Lebanon. In 2007 and 2008, Haddad was appointed as acting farm manager and then interim farm manager. He also worked on improving available water resources and on renovating teaching and lodging facilities.
“Thanks to Nicolas, a research/education collaboration agreement between AUB and Mississippi State University (MSU) was established after he paid a visit to the MSU campus for training on new agricultural techniques,” said Dorman. He added that in May 2008, Nicolas assumed responsibility of AREC’s creamery and operated it in collaboration with the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences. Today these dairy products are sold to the AUB community, to Healthy Basket and to a commercial diet center. In October of the same year, Nicolas was appointed as AREC farm and facilities manager.
Faculty members were keen to praise Haddad’s services, with one of them stating: “I have seldom seen at AUB a staff member with so much dedication and commitment to his/her work…”
Another award recipient, Hamati, joined AUBMC in 1990 and currently works as a registered nurse in the Operating Room. Throughout her years at AUBMC, she has worked continuously on her self-development and on mastering new techniques. Commending Hamati’s dedication, Dorman said: “Staying beyond office hours has never been a concern for her as long as her duties are completely performed.”
Over the years, she has received many letters of appreciation from her patients and their families for attending to their emotional needs, for being calm, and for providing explanations of the medical procedures they are about to undergo. “Ghada is also a meticulous technical and administrative person who pays extra care in preserving the durability and proper usage of the equipments under her responsibility…and her participation in the OR renovations was a major contributor to the success of the project,” added Dorman. “All in all Ghada is a valuable example of the nurse who devotes herself to creativity, and to promoting patients’ rights, privacy and dignity.”
The fourth Excellence Service Award recipient, Koussayer, has worked as a floor clerk at the Emergency Department of the Medical Center for the past five years. Although her job is to ensure that all charges are billed and supplies are well stocked, Koussayer goes well beyond the call of duty: her follow-up is exemplary; so is her feedback to patients.
“Reine is always punctual, joins meetings beyond her scheduled work hours and stays late to ensure everything is completed and under control. She also helped develop an online charging system that benefits the patients as well as the institution. Although her residence is in Jounieh, Reine was present on a daily basis during the July 2006 war, doing her job in addition to covering for the absence of colleagues who could not reach AUBMC,” said the AUB President.
Koussayer is also a great communicator and problem solver. Always bearing a smile on her face, she is patient with her “customers,” takes her time to explain lab and x-ray results to the patients, and goes out of her way to complete the admission papers for those who need her help, observed Dorman. An administrator added that “the institution would be a better place if it was filled with clones of Reine Koussayer. [Then] our patients would receive the best care available anywhere in the world”.
Michel Touma, a senior technician at the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics was honored for his long service at AUB. Touma joined AUB in 1961. Throughout his 50 years at the University, he has worked in various departments with generations of students, faculty members and staff.
“From the letters of recommendations that were written to support his nomination to the President’s Service Excellence Award, a common thread can be traced: Mr. Touma’s undeniable sense of camaraderie for his fellow colleagues and deep rooted loyalty for his Department,” said Dorman. Although his position is that of a senior technician, he has been carrying out the duties of the secretary, administrator and everything else that needs to be done to keep the department running smoothly. “He takes on tasks and completes them without any complaints,” one of his customers said. Dorman concluded “His colleagues voiced concerns on how they will be able to manage, when Mr. Touma retires in September of this year.”
AUB started a service excellence initiative in 2000 and began a series of training modules for all staff to enhance customer service. Soon after, the University created a unit responsible for institutionalizing service excellence throughout its various offices and departments. The Service Quality and Organizational Improvement office was established with Mr. Andre Nahas appointed as its head.
Recipients of the President’s Service Excellence Awards are granted a medal with their name engraved on it. In addition, a plaque with their names is engraved and placed on the western wall of College Hall. The awardees are also granted a sum of $2000.