APRIL 12, 2010

Melton, Allen win Spirit Awards

Prizes are part of Dean’s Recognition Celebration honoring 353 employees at School of Medicine

BY MICHELLE L. BRANDT

When Jeff Melton’s wife recently asked him what his favorite part of his job is, he was at a loss. “I just love my job, but I don’t have a good answer,” said the information systems manager. “My job isn’t like work but more like play — and I look at it more like a great experience.”

With that type of positive outlook and passion, it’s no surprise that Melton was named one of the winners of the School of Medicine Dean’s Spirit Awards. Co-workers in the Stanford Prevention Research Center raved about his “can-do” attitude and technical prowess, and Wes Alles, PhD, director of the Stanford Health Improvement Program, said Melton has the “happiest disposition imaginable.”

Similar things were said about winner Katie Allen, who serves as administrative associate in the Division of Multi-Organ Transplantation. Referring to her as the “true unsung hero of the program,” Oscar Salvatierra, MD, professor emeritus of surgery and of pediatrics, said Allen was the most efficient and effective administrative associate he and others in the division have ever worked with. “If one ever wanted an example of a role model, that would be Katie,” he commented.

Each year, the Dean’s Spirit Award goes to two staff members — one exempt and one non-exempt — who contribute greatly to the “mission and vision” of the medical school. This is the ninth year the school has given out the award, and Marcia Cohen, senior associate dean in finance and administration, reports that 230 employees submitted nomination forms this year — representing the most nominations ever.

Allen and Melton, who will each receive a cash prize of $1,500, will be honored during the Dean’s Recognition Celebration at the new Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge on April 22. The event also recognizes the 353 employees who are marking their five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service at the medical school.

The awardees are also featured on the school’s Employee Recognition Web site, a first-time endeavor that Dean Philip Pizzo, MD, said was launched as a way to have staff recognition “go beyond a single point of time.” The site also lists the employees being honored for their years of service and includes videos about four staff celebrating 35 or 40 years at Stanford. It’ll also feature a Webcast of the celebration event.

“It’s safe to say that it’s the work of faculty or investigators or students that often gets the attention,” Pizzo said in a welcoming video on the site. “But I know that without the dedicated work of our staff,  none of these great accomplishments could take place. The staff constitute the connective elements — the circulatory system that really allows all of these great discoveries and innovations to take place.”

Their colleagues certainly seem to agree that the work of Allen and Melton ensure success in their respective departments. Called the glue holding the multi-organ transplant program together, Allen provides administrative support to Carlos Esquivel, MD, PhD, division chief, and other faculty; works with surgeons, physicians and nurses to facilitate often-complex medical care for both pediatric and adult patients; serves as the primary point of contact for Esquivel’s non-transplant patients; and oversees a number of division activities, including the transplant-surgery fellowship program. The job requires skills and knowledge in administrative, academic and clinical arenas, and one co-worker said she handles the job with “incredible efficiency and poise.”

Allen worked with Esquivel at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco before making the move to Stanford with him 15 years ago. Her approach to the job, she said, is to do her best and treat people with respect. “I try to take every call seriously and appreciate where the caller is coming from,” she said. “I can’t always help people with what they want, but I try to represent the program and medical center well.”

Melton, too, is intent on helping as many people as he can.

As one of only two providers of IT support for the SPRC’s 12 faculty and approximately 150 staff, Melton is responsible for managing and solving problems at every level — from desktop to network — and his colleagues marvel at his technical expertise.

“I have yet to present Jeff with a hardware or software problem that he did not figure out how to fix,” commented one nominator. “He knows a lot, and what he doesn’t know, he knows how to find out.”

Co-workers report that Melton, who is also celebrating five years of service this year, has an “extraordinary ability to reduce the stress and tension” caused by computer problems and is willing to do anything —  come in early, work late or on the weekends, even go to faculty members’ homes — in order to get the job done. “He consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty, and does it with a level of enthusiasm I can only admire,” said Susan Moore, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at the center.

Calling his colleagues a “really nice, really grounded corps of people,” Melton said it’s easy to do a good job when you enjoy the people you work with. And though he said the award was a happy surprise, it sounds like he’s still not sure what the fuss is all about.

“I’m all about getting the work done, getting it right and moving on,” he said.

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions - Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. For more information, please visit the Office of Communication & Public Affairs site at https://mednews.stanford.edu/.