HRHCare Patchogue Phlebotomist Receives Planetree Award

HRHCare Community Health, a nonprofit system of Federally Qualified Health Centers offering a range of medical services for underserved communities throughout the Hudson Valley and Long Island, is pleased to announce that Maria Pabon, a phlebotomist at the HRHCare Health Center at Patchogue, will be presented with the March 2016 Planetree Spirit Award for excellence in patient care. The HRHCare Planetree Institute presents these awards to employees who go above and beyond to make health care more personalized and create a warm and welcoming environment for all.

Maria Pabon has been a dedicated worker in the medical field for nearly 12 years but has been a part of the HRHCare family in Patchogue for just a little over a year. Not only known to her patients for her dedicated service as a phlebotomist, Maria also has a reputation for being an incredible listener and a source of sound advice. She also extends this compassion to her fellow employees, often covering for her colleagues in an emergency or coming to work early or on a weekend whenever she is needed. Maria always makes sure that the Patchogue lab can remain open the maximum number of hours, even staffing it alone if need be. After HRHCare welcomed the Health Center at Patchogue into its network of care in 2014, Maria saw a positive reaction from patients and an increase in the quality of care provided. "What separates HRHCare from other health care providers is its location in the heart of the community and our quality of care," said Maria. "While the health care industry is growing, so are the numbers of our patients who need care. It is so important that we are there for them." When she is not serving HRHCare patients, Maria enjoys spending time with her family and catching up on Netflix. She also donates her time on the Saturdays she is not at the Health Center to her church, cooking for and feeding the homeless in her community.

"Maria has consistently worked to cover for other employees in the lab, coming in on her days off or early in the morning," said Dorothy Ruhs, Nurse Manager at the HRHCare Health Center at Patchogue. "She does this frequently with very little notice and always with a smile. I'm sure that everyone who knows and works with Maria would agree that she is most deserving of this award."