| Conger
is employee of the month
Kevin Conger, DTR, Dietary Manager at St. Mary’s Hospital, was chosen as the September Employee of the Month. She joined the SMHC staff in June, 2008. She is a Registered Dietetic Technician who received her training at Front Range Community College in Denver, Colorado. Her internships were completed at Swedish Hospital, the Colorado Department of Education and Applewood Manor Assisted Living Center. 
“I like working in a hospital setting with fellow employees and patients. I started working in a hospital kitchen in Elko Nevada when I was 16 years old. I enjoy cooking and learning new things in the dietary field, especially about special diets designed to improve a patient’s quality of life or help them live with diabetes or to successfully manage their weight,” said Conger. She and Becky Ewing, Certified Diabetes Educator, are planning a series, Healthy Horizons, that will begin in October. The hour long sessions will be held every other week from 5:30-6:30 on Tuesdays in the Cottonwood Medical Clinic and Wednesdays in the Kamiah Medical Clinic. She and Ewing will talk about nutrition topics including portion control, making positive behavioral changes, weight management, carbohydrate counting, calorie counting and the plate method of making healthy eating choices. Each session will begin with a confidential weigh in so participants can celebrate successes. The date for the orientation and subsequent sessions will be announced in the near future. My responsibilities include consulting with patients to determine the best way to meet their nutritional requirements and managing the St. Mary’s kitchen and its excellent staff, said Conger. One of her nomination forms described her as ‘considerate and kind.’ Another said, ‘she goes out of her way to help others’ and ‘bubbly personality.’ She was also described as having to sometimes ‘deal with difficult people and situations, but does it with a smile.’ One of the SMHC customer service team members cited a time when she was sick and “Kevin took it upon herself to prepare some food she knew would help me heal and feel better. It made me better not only physically, but emotionally to know she cared enough to go out of her way to help when I needed it.” Conger and her husband, George, spent four years in Bolivia and Peru where he worked as an environmental engineer. He is currently a teacher at Clearwater Valley Elementary School in Kooskia where they reside. Their two oldest sons, Scott and Kyle, live in Arizona and their youngest, Bradley, lives in Elko, Nevada. When not working, Conger enjoys cooking, knitting, camping, bike riding, sewing, gardening and winter time reading. |
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