News

Maria Sullivan Honored as Recipient of Vail Health Elevate Award

RN nominated for exceptional care

Vail, CO (Sept 25, 2024) - Maria Sullivan, a post-op registered nurse at Vail Health, has been named the 10th recipient of the Vail Health Elevate Award. Vail Health created the Elevate Award in June 2022 to give patients and their families an opportunity to nominate and thank employees who have touched their lives in some way.
 
Sullivan likes to ski, snowboard, hike, read and go to concerts, and she moved to the Vail Valley from Boston because of her love of the mountains and Vail Health’s appeal as a community hospital.
 
“I really enjoy being able to take care of my neighbors and locals in our community,” said Sullivan. “I greatly appreciate the relationships I am able to form with patients and co-workers. Vail Health, as a community hospital, allows me this opportunity. A city hospital has more of a clinical feel, and here is more community.” 
 
Sullivan has been with Vail Health for eight months and has already made a tremendous impact on her patients, including on Terry Giasson’s father. Giasson, from San Antonio, Texas, nominated Sullivan following her father’s hip replacement surgery.
 
“While my dad was in surgery, his wife, who had been in hospice, passed away,” said Giasson. “When Maria called me back to sit with him, I told her what had happened, and she was very compassionate and supportive. Once I relayed the news, Maria was so supportive, allowing him to go on and on with stories, and she was able to make him laugh as they reminisced.”
 
Giasson raved about Sullivan’s attentiveness to her father’s needs, including bringing him warm blankets and making him cocoa when he was cold, providing a phone charger when a cell phone battery was low, and even offering Giasson a mini flashlight to walk back to the hotel alone after dark. 
 
“This all goes beyond her nursing duties, where she also provided phenomenal support,” said Giasson. “We wanted you to know how much we appreciated Maria's support, service, compassion, and professionalism.”
 
The Elevate Award directly aligns with Vail Health’s mission of elevating health across our mountain communities. Past Elevate Award winners include: Erin Perejda, the supportive care services manager and licensed clinical social worker at Vail Health Shaw Cancer Center, June 2022; Susan Vickerman, MD, a family medicine physician at Colorado Mountain Medical, August 2022; Meghan Gallegos, Howard Head Sports Physical Therapist, December 2022; Allie Morgan, Patient Care Unit Registered Nurse, April 2023; Christi Sewell, RN, OCN in the Patient Care Unit, June 2023; Jacey Hagen, a labor and delivery nurse in the Family Birth Center, September 2023; Joe Drew, a nurse practitioner at Vail Health Behavioral Health, December 2023; Scott McCorvey, MD, a doctor in the Vail Health Emergency Department doctor, March 2024; and Elie Sabins, a physical therapist with Howard Head Sports Medicine, May 2024. 
 
Patients and family members are encouraged to nominate staff who made a meaningful difference in their health care experience. Nominees can work in any area of the Vail Health healthcare system—including admissions, laboratory, surgery centers, Howard Head Sports Medicine, Shaw Cancer Center, Colorado Mountain Medical, Eagle Valley Behavioral Health and more.
 
To nominate Vail Health, Colorado Mountain Medical, Eagle Valley Behavioral Health, Howard Head Sports Medicine and Shaw Cancer Center staff, visit VailHealth.org/ElevateAward.