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Putnam Hospital Center’s employee recognition dinner honored 146 employees who have spent between 5 and 40 years working for the health-care facility in a variety of departments from facilities to nursing to radiology to administration on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Employees are recognized for every five years of employment. Twelve retirees were also praised for their distinguished service. Among the honorees was Carol Brooks who started in 1974 as a nurse in the float pool and now manages ambulatory surgery and recovery. Opportunities have kept Brooks on board for 40 years, she said.
“It was a very wonderful recognition of our time here,” Brooks said. “They did a very wonderful job.” Brooks was one of six employees who have worked for the hospital for four decades.
Joan Calabrese, director of human resources and the evening’s master of ceremonies, recalled what times were like in 1974, including President Richard Nixon’s resignation, the first double heart transplant, the development of the chicken pox vaccine and the price of a gallon of gas -- 55 cents.
Honored guests were feted with cocktails, hors-d’oeuvres and a buffet dinner at Salem Golf Club in North Salem. Each employee was called up and congratulated by members of the hospital’s senior management team and board of directors. They were given an award of their choosing.
President James Caldas praised the employees for their history with the hospital and their continued future success as Putnam Hospital Center looks to the next 50 years. “With each of you on the team, I am confident we will remain as the Shangri-Las sang in 1964, ‘the leader of the pack,’” Caldas said.
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