Congratulations to our Winter 2026 Extra Inch Award winner, Briana Smith, RN, case manager at our hospital! Going the “extra inch” is doing something above what is expected in service to a patient or their loved one. Extra Inch Award winners and nominees are those who help improve a patient’s experience by going out of their way to ensure the best possible care.
Briana was recognized by Nicole Kline for going to the bank for a private pay patient so that they could be moved to the McGuire unit of our skilled nursing facility. Her quick action allowed the patient to be moved the same day.
Briana Smith, RN, Case Management
Winter 2026 Extra Inch Award Winner
Briana Smith, RN
“A patient wanted to go to McGuire unit as a private pay patient but had no way to get a check to the McGuire unit. Briana went to the bank and acquired the check for the patient. This allowed the patient to get up to the McGuire unit the same day.”
Nomination by Nicole Kline
Also nominated were Kelly Landis from environmental services, Sydni Taylor from the critical care unit, Joel Brady and Lois Brady from the laboratory, and Melanie Sutton from the emergency room.
Kelly Landis, Environmental Services
Winter 2026 Nominee
“After ER department used the pre-op area for a busy overflow night, Kelly noticed that the pre-op area was left out of sorts, she took the initiative and time to re-dress the beds and put the pre-op area just as it was prior. This was greatly appreciated! It saved as a lot of time by coming into our room that was once again ready to get our surgical patients ready.”
-Leslie Goodlock
“ER was very busy and used pre-op for patients. Kelly happened to notice that pre-op was in disarray and straightened up the department. She put gowns, bags, etc.. on stretchers so everything would be the way we left it and ready for arrival of patients. We appreciated Kelly taking the initiative to go “above” and “beyond” for our patients and team.
I have also noticed that Kelly pays attention to when paper towels or toilet paper is almost out and changes it before the roll is actually empty. Way to be proactive! :)”
-Sharon Rossman
Sydni Taylor, RN, Critical Care Unit
Winter 2026 Nominee
“Sydni is an incredible nurse every single day but recently I witnessed her greatness on another level. Sydni was assigned a 15-year-old patient who was incredibly ill. Sydni did not hesitate toto advocate fiercely for that child. On about day 3 of the patient’s stay, the child was starting to feel a little bit better and was feeling restless. Sydni took it upon herself to track down an XBOX game system and hook it up for the child in his hospital room. It lifted the child’s spirits a great deal and gave him something to focus on, other than how sick he was feeling.
From start to finish, Sydni protected and cared for the patient like he was her own family member. It was awesome to watch. Hillsdale Hospital is lucky to have nurses like Sydni Taylor.”
-Samantha Fix
Joel Brady, Laboratory
Winter 2026 Nominee
“ER staff were having difficulty getting acceptable blood samples from a patient. Blood had been sent to the lab two times and had been rejected both times due to clotting. Joel consulted with Lois and asked if there was anything he could do to assist ER staff in getting acceptable samples for this patient. He went over to ER and assessed the patient to discover that she had very small, deep veins. Lois analyzed the issue and came up with an idea that if the ER nurse (Allie) wanted to try to obtain blood off of the IV site again, Joel could be there to assist. They would use smaller syringes and swap them out quicker and put them into the proper tubes more quickly. This last set of labs were all acceptable and the lab was able to complete all the blood work originally requested.
It should be noted that this occurred on a Sunday evening. Joel had offered to pick up this shift as it was not his usual day to work. He also performed this task after his scheduled time to leave. Lois had also offered to pick up a few hours on this shift as it was not her usual day to work, and she was covering for a call-in. She also helped to complete this patient’s lab work after her scheduled time to leave because she wanted to be assured that the specimens were acceptable and that ER would be able to move forward with treatment for this patient. I’m so proud to have people with this kind of dedication to service and commitment for helping patients and staff. Joel and Lois never hesitate to go the extra inch! Extra shout out to Allie in ER for being open to a teamwork approach with another department to achieve the best outcome for her patient.”
-Autumn Moore
Lois Brady, Laboratory
Winter 2026 Nominee
“ER staff were having difficulty getting acceptable blood samples from a patient. Blood had been sent to the lab two times and had been rejected both times due to clotting. Joel consulted with Lois and asked if there was anything he could do to assist ER staff in getting acceptable samples for this patient. He went over to ER and assessed the patient to discover that she had very small, deep veins. Lois analyzed the issue and came up with an idea that if the ER nurse (Allie) wanted to try to obtain blood off of the IV site again, Joel could be there to assist. They would use smaller syringes and swap them out quicker and put them into the proper tubes more quickly. This last set of labs were all acceptable and the lab was able to complete all the blood work originally requested.
It should be noted that this occurred on a Sunday evening. Joel had offered to pick up this shift as it was not his usual day to work. He also performed this task after his scheduled time to leave. Lois had also offered to pick up a few hours on this shift as it was not her usual day to work, and she was covering for a call-in. She also helped to complete this patient’s lab work after her scheduled time to leave because she wanted to be assured that the specimens were acceptable and that ER would be able to move forward with treatment for this patient. I’m so proud to have people with this kind of dedication to service and commitment for helping patients and staff. Joel and Lois never hesitate to go the extra inch! Extra shout out to Allie in ER for being open to a teamwork approach with another department to achieve the best outcome for her patient.”
-Autumn Moore
Melanie Sutton, RN, Emergency Room
Winter 2026 Nominee
“On 3/16 we had a critically ill patient come to the ER. The patient was a male in his 20’s who had just returned from vacation from Panama City Beach. He was quickly intubated upon arrival. After becoming stable his clothes needed to be removed and put into a gown. He was wearing his brand new souvenir Panama City Beach T-shirt he had just gotten days prior. Instead of cutting the shirt into pieces to get it off Mel took the time to unhook IVs, disconnect the ventilator, and unhook monitors (very briefly and safely) to save his shirt. This small act of kindness reminded me of the compassion that many nurses have here at Hillsdale Hospital!”
-Randi Nash
Extra Inch Award Event Photos
