Tessie Bell Honored for 50 Years of Service; Perioperative Staff Members Recognized
Tessie Bell received the Arkansas Diamond Award from the Secretary of State’s office this week for more than 50 years of service. Tessie has been a general surgery nurse at the Infirmary since 1967.
This award has been given to only 3 other people since it was created in 2016.
The award honored Tessie for caring for thousands of patients during her 50-year career, making her “the most tenured employee in all of Catholic Health Initiatives.”
During the award ceremony, 26 perioperative staff members were also recognized by the Secretary of State’s office for their service to CHI St. Vincent and the surgical patients of the state of Arkansas.
Coworkers receiving the Service Recognition for more than 25 years of service:
- Angelia Thomas
- Barbara Owens
- Brenda Billings Ward
- Earlene Torrance
- Evarn Hutchins
- Jeanette Danfort
- Lori Smith
- Pamela Colclough
- Rhetta Bennett
- Sharon Dewease
- Shirley Love
- Stephen Crane
- Tina Sanders
- Yuk-Sim “Jane” Esseny
Coworkers receiving the Capitol Citation for more than 30 years of service:
- Darla Tiner
- Deborah Hicks
- Deborah Tucker
- Jean Cox
- Jorge Lavina
- Joyce Lyons
- Marianne Flammang
- Melissa Overturf
- Pamela Wood
- Sandy Carter
- Zenobia Smith