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Wyandanch, NY – HRHCare Community Health is pleased to announce that Carol Hicks, RN, Nurse Manager of HRHCare Wyandanch, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center, has been awarded the October 2017 HRHCare Planetree Spirit Award for Excellence in Patient Care. The HRHCare Planetree Institute presents these awards to exemplary employees who work to make health care more personalized, and create a warm and welcoming environment for all.
“Carol exemplifies the true meaning of compassion and caring, and is the definition of what a nurse should be,” said HRHCare Director of Nursing Services Janice Castaldy. “Carol has touched my heart, and the hearts of countless others. Thank you, Carol, for all that you do!”
Born in Jamaica in the West Indies, Carol Hicks knew she wanted to be a nurse from as far back as she can remember. After graduating from Immaculate Conception High School and working at the Royal Bank Jamaica Limited, she moved to the United States to work at Chase Manhattan Bank while pursuing her dream of nursing. After graduating from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center School of Nursing, she served patients at South Nassau Communities Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center. It was through Good Samaritan that she came to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Center in Wyandanch, which joined the HRHCare Community Health network in 2014.
Since joining the HRHCare family, Carol has been praised by patients and staff alike for her compassion, strength, and dedication to treat all the needs of her patients. One notable example is when a patient in Wyandanch had lost all forms of identification during Hurricane Sandy, making it seemingly impossible to obtain health insurance. On top of this, the patient needed chemotherapy. Carol spent a tremendous amount of time working one-on-one with her, until she got everything she needed to receive insurance coverage and treatment.
“In my estimation, patients need three important things from their health care provider,” said Carol. “Access to care when they need it, continuity of care from a team they know and trust, and health care that is individualized. What separates HRHCare from other community health providers is the commitment of staff at every level to the organization’s mission of addressing the health care needs of the underserved and vulnerable.”
Carol holds a BS in Nursing from SUNY Downstate, an MS in Nursing through the ANP Program at SUNY Stony Brook, and has received numerous awards for her outstanding patient care. Carol provides blood pressure screenings at church events, and served as adjunct faculty at the Nassau Community College School of Nursing during the 2016-17 academic year. In her free- time, she enjoys road trips, skyscapes, museums, Caribbean beaches, the Discovery Channel, and British comedies.
Planetree is the global leader in advancing patient-centered care solutions, integrating the technology of modern medicine with the healing dimensions of compassion, comfortable surroundings, shared knowledge, and freedom to make educated choices. HRHCare has been an affiliate since 1996, and is one of the few Federally Qualified Health Center to be a part of this alliance. The HRHCare Planetree Institute was established in 2012 to provide state-of-the-art training to staff on delivering passionate and personalized care
