Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center recently presented Mary Spillane with its prestigious Bernstein Award. Theaward was established in honor of the late Marvin Bernstein, MD, to rec­ognize Good Samaritan employees who embody the same virtues Dr. Bernstein personified, such as humanitarianism, compassion and empathy. Employees are nominated by their peers and recipients are chosen by a committee made up of previous award winners. Thefirst Bern­stein Award was given in 1985. Martin Podgainy, MD, a friend and colleague of Dr. Bernstein’s presented the award to Mary Spillane. Spillane, joined the Good Samaritan family in June of 1988 and has worked as the housekeeper on 3 South for 15 years. She demonstrates, on a daily basis, all the qualities that Dr. Bernstein possessed: compassion with patients, empathy and humanitarianism. Spillane is described as one of the most committed Good Samaritan em­ployees. Her smiling face, positive at­titude, humble spirit and Irish charm, makes everyone’s day a little brighter on 3 South. According to her colleagues, Spillane has a heart of gold and goes the extra mile to help patients feel more comfort­able and settled in their rooms. Not a day goes by that a patient, visitor, physi­cian or colleague does not take the time to expresses their deep gratitude for Spillane’s positive presence and thought­fulness.

Shown, left to right, are Lori K. Spina, vice president human resources; Martin Pod­gainy, MD; Mary Spillane, Bernstein Award winner and Charlie Bove´, executive vice president and chief administrative officer. For Spillane, the job isn’t about simply cleaning the room for patients; it’s about taking a couple of minutes to acknowledge patients in their time of need.