Team Member Recognition

Team Member of the Month: February 2025

The ability to turn potentially negative interactions into positive experiences greatly impacts customer satisfaction within any organization. The February Team Member of the Month has done this for 18 years, assisting individuals calling about the Substance Awareness Traffic Offender Program (SATOP) within the Division of Behavioral Health (DBH).

Lisa Stevens, a Senior Office Support Assistant, supports SATOP in many ways but one of her main duties is to answer the SATOP phone line, which can be 40-50 calls a day. Many of these calls are challenging or confrontational due to the caller’s urgency to meet requirements to have their driving privileges reinstated. Lisa goes above and beyond her duties to help. She will often contact the Department of Revenue, on the callers behalf, to save them hours of time to get all the information needed to have the individual's license reinstated. Typically this includes things like a reinstatement fee, proof of high risk insurance, ignition interlock, and sometimes a compliance letter required for the court.

Recently, one of the callers expressed her appreciation for Lisa by taking the time to thank her personally via email which included a photo of the caller smiling and holding up her license. The individual said, “I wanted to send a personal thank you for all your help during this process. Your patience with my stressed out emotions did not go unappreciated or acknowledged. You were never short tempered with me and you treated me with respect. You never once made me feel as though I wasn’t worthy of your time or my rights to drive based on my offense. The system is honored and blessed to have you as a member on the team. You are a strong and respectable link in their chain and they need more like you! Thank you for being so amazingly supportive and helpful. I appreciate you to the fullest!”

Callers don’t often take the time to reach out to a state agency to express their appreciation for a staff member’s work. Over the years, feedback from callers has been consistently positive of Lisa’s work. Congratulations Lisa!

Team Member of the Month: January

Forensic psychiatric nursing can be a complex job; navigating the balance of medical aspects with psychiatric illness. The January Team Member of the Month does an outstanding job of caring for some very challenging patients at Northwest Missouri Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center (NMPRC). Rebecca “Beckie” Johnson is a Registered Nurse in the Forensic Psychiatric Nursing Unit and her attention to detail led to saving a life.

Recently, a patient sustained some minor injuries during recreation time, but Beckie took the patient’s pain seriously and ran some tests. She ruled out life-threatening issues including an appendicitis. Eventually Beckie advocated for the patient to receive emergency treatment at the local hospital. It was soon discovered at the hospital that the patient needed surgery. Beckie’s thorough assessment and recommendations led to a good outcome for this patient, who is now doing well.

One of her coworkers said, “Beckie is truly a role model.  She is eager to help her peers and patients promptly in any way she can. She is enthusiastic and has a growth mindset, while also maintaining a level of professionalism.”

Congratulations Beckie!