SAYING THANK YOU TO OUR HEALTH CARE HEROES
UF Health Shands employees throw out the first pitch at Gator baseball games
The early April sky was clear and a light breeze blew across the infield. The setting sun cast a long shadow over home plate. The Florida Gators baseball team was preparing to face off against the Florida A&M Rattlers. Shenetta Mann, L.P.N., LD-ACU, gripped the baseball in her right hand and approached the pitcher’s mound. She stared down her target — the thick, worn-in leather of the catcher’s mitt.
She winds up and lets the ball fly. It arches upward, hangs in the air as the crowd looks on — then bounces a few feet in front of home plate.
Cheers and applause pour out from the stands.
Mann wasn’t there because of her prowess as a pitcher, but rather as a Health Care Hero and for the compassion, intuition and exceptional clinical knowledge she has demonstrated as a nurse. The honorary first pitch of the game was a success.
Since March, UF Health has been participating in the Gator baseball “Thank you Tuesday” celebration. At each Tuesday home game, the Gators recognize a Health Care Hero for his or her hard work and dedication. Each week’s honoree receives tickets to the game so friends and family can cheer them on as they are thanked by the team and fans while throwing out the first pitch.
Shenetta Mann is a UF Health Physician's medical specialities nurse.
Mann, who is a UF Health Physician’s medical specialties nurse, was tapped to deliver the first pitch in recognition of a recent situation where she ended up saving a patient’s life. Mann, who does phone triage, received a phone call a few months ago from a patient she’s known for six years. She could sense that something wasn’t quite right.
Although Mann hadn’t seen the patient in person, her intuition told her the patient needed more help than he realized. She contacted the patient’s doctor at home, who then consulted with the patient and instructed him to go to the E.R.
Because of this intervention, the patient’s life was saved.
“Even though I don’t interact with my patients face-to-face — I can’t touch them, I can’t hug them, I can’t hold their hand — I still feel a connection to all of my patients,” Mann said.
Not all heroes wear scrubs
While the term Health Care Hero may conjure images of white coat-wearing doctors and nurses urgently tending to patients, at UF Health Shands, heroes come in all forms. The large institution relies on workers of all types to help keep things running smoothly and to provide top-level patient care and quality experiences.
When Quetia “Tia” Revolte, a Food and Nutrition Services assistant, was tapped to throw out the first pitch at the April 19 baseball game, she was in disbelief. But her department leadership said she is one of its hardest workers.
Revolte helps to sanitize and clean the food prep area to prevent cross-contamination while preparing food. She also helps to deliver food to patient rooms and ensures each patient receives the correct meal that aligns with their diet.
“If the patient has good food to eat, then they get better,” she said. “It’s not just, you know, whatever the doctor is doing, but also, it’s nourishment for their soul.”
Quetia “Tia” Revolte is a Food and Nutrition Services assistant at UF Health.
Revolte makes a point to treat all patients with respect and care, and has been known to go out of her way to help patients who may be struggling with getting the nutrition they need while in the hospital.
In one instance, she noticed a patient who struggled to eat the meals she brought him. She went out of her way to locate a bone broth that he could drink instead. When he realized what Revolte had done for him, he was elated to see how much she truly cared.
Revolte’s deep compassion for her patients is a part of her everyday routine, a quality her parents instilled in her from a young age. The assistant prioritizes the unique needs of every individual she encounters because she would want someone to treat her parents the same way if they were in a hospital.
“They’ve always taught me that no matter the social class, no matter who you meet, you need to treat everyone with the utmost respect,” she said. “When you are working, make sure that you do your best.”
Other Health Care Heroes recognized on Thank you Tuesdays include: Luvenia Strawder, a UF Health patient transporter; Dimitri Cromwell, MLS(ASCP)CM, a medical technologist lead; Mario Adderly, Meds-to-Beds program manager; and Mike Thomas, an Environmental Services team leader.
Strawder kicked off Thank you Tuesdays this season on March 8, when she was recognized for the warmth and heartfelt compassion she shows toward patients as she transports them throughout the hospital. Although she’s only been at UF Health for one year, her supervisor said she has already made a notable impact via her interactions with patients and families that demonstrate her enthusiasm for providing patient-centered care.
Meanwhile, Cromwell’s hero status was conferred at the March 22 game, based on his tireless efforts to ensure laboratory testing is completed in a timely manner for our UF Health patients. He does this without complaint and is truly a positive force on his team, according to laboratory leadership.
As manager of the Meds-to-Beds program, Adderly — who tossed out the first pitch on May 3 — said he enjoys helping people get their prescriptions quickly so they can get home and in their own beds sooner. Last year, the Meds-to-Beds program delivered over 21,000 prescriptions directly to the bedsides of people who were going home.
And Thomas rounded out this year’s Health Care Heroes, tossing out the first pitch on May 10. Thomas loves his role with Environmental Services and believes in leading by example. This turned out to be an important attribute when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Thomas volunteered to clean the rooms of COVID-positive patients and demonstrated to his team how to take appropriate precautions and remain safe while helping patients. His leadership and guidance helped reassure his team and emphasized that that their safety was a top priority. His motto is “If you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.”
When Shenetta Mann was invited to throw out the first pitch at the April 5 game, she said she didn’t fully understand why she was being given the opportunity because from her perspective, she was simply doing her job. But, she accepted the invitation in honor of her late mother, who she credits as her inspiration for her work ethic.
“A lot of people just say I’m going to be a nurse,” Mann said. “They choose nursing, but nursing chose me.”
While Mann’s pitch didn’t quite make it over the plate before the game, the Gators went on to defeat the Rattlers 13-3.
