Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham Names Andy Donato Employee of the Year
Annual Employee Recognition Event Honored Donato for his Commitment to Securing PPE During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Needham, Mass. – Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Needham (BID Needham) has named Central Supply Supervisor in Materials Management, Andy Donato, its Employee of the Year, in recognition of his commitment, positive outlook and enthusiasm toward making sure the staff of BID Needham have the proper tools, equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) to care for patients safely, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year, so many of our employees rose to the challenge to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in extraordinary ways,” said John M. Fogarty, president of BID Needham. “It was my pleasure to present this year’s Employee of the Year award to Andy Donato whose hard work and commitment to securing PPE is a true testament of his dedication to our employees.”
This year’s employee recognition event was held virtually and the award was presented to Donato by John Fogarty, Nancy Hoffmann, Chief Financial and Support Services Officer at BID-Needham, and Kevin Collins, Director of Materials Management at BID-Needham.
During the pandemic, Donato and Collins, alongside Infection Control Nurse Natasha Glushko, RN, began ordering extra PPE in February to ensure that BID Needham had enough stock to carry the hospital through the first difficult months of the pandemic.
“Andy worked tirelessly to make sure that BID Needham was always on solid footing,” said Collins. “He’s been an instrumental member of our team this year, stepping in without hesitation. BID Needham is very lucky to have an employee like Andy.”
“This is an extraordinary honor that I do not take lightly,” said Donato. “Throughout the pandemic, I have really taken my job as seriously as I’ve ever taken it in my career. I have felt like I have had a personal responsibility to take care of our employees here at BID Needham. Their safety has been so important to me. I’m grateful for this recognition and proud to be an employee of BID Needham.”
As the Central Supply Supervisor in Materials Management, Donato runs daily supply chain management and works to ensure that all staff are properly protected during the pandemic. Donato has been a valued BID Needham employee since 2017 and lives in Bellingham with his wife, Kasandra and their three children, Ava, Austin and Katherine who were able to virtually join the awards ceremony.
The Employee of the Year selection is based on peer nominations submitted to a committee that evaluates each nomination for consistent demonstration of the hospital’s core values of accountability, compassion, professionalism and respectfulness.
About Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital–Needham
Beth Israel Deaconess-Needham (BID Needham) is a licensed 73-bed acute care community hospital. BID Needham has served residents in Needham and surrounding communities for more than 100 years. The hospital has been recognized by several organizations for quality and safety, including five-out-of-five stars from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), an “A” grade from the Leapfrog Group, the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission and the 2019 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Quality Achievement Award.
Beth Israel Deaconess-Needham is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, a health care system that brings together academic medical centers and teaching hospitals, community and specialty hospitals, more than 4,700 physicians and 39,000 employees in a shared mission to expand access to great care and advance the science and practice of medicine through groundbreaking research and education.
