President's Circle Award - A Dance for Kelly

Each year, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) recognizes Associates who have truly lived out our organization's C.H.A.N.G.E. Values through their exemplary actions. Our C.H.A.N.G.E. Values, which stand for Customer Satisfaction, Honor & Respect, Accountability, New Ideas, Growing Continuously, and Excellence, are values that each of our Associates commit to implementing in their actions and attitudes at PVHMC. We are proud to honor and share each of their stories.

"A Dance for Kelly"

Each of our patients brings with them the story of their journey. And sometimes, a patient’s story touches deeply in the hearts of their care providers. While our Associates connect with every patient and their family during their admission, closer relationships are often formed with oncology patients, as their care typically covers many weeks or months.

This is especially true in the case of Kelly Sousa. Kelly was admitted to our medical-surgical floor (MedSurg-4) as a leukemia patient in March of 2017, and returned three weeks each month for chemotherapy until her discharge date on September 14, 2017. On this day, the department surprised her with a special “discharge dance performance” in celebration of her last round of chemotherapy.

The dance performance was organized by Kelly’s husband, Narcie, and her two daughters, Jenna, a dancer, and Riley, a soccer player, both of whom were homeschooled daily by their mother during her chemotherapy treatments. They worked closely with Sheena Bernardo, a staff nurse, to involve more than 25 Associates in the performance. This effort required days of learning and practicing coordinated moves from a video sent over by one of the daughters, Jenna.

On the morning of Kelly’s discharge day, Associates from the department, as well as family and friends of the Sousa’s, arrived in matching “#TEAM KEL” t-shirts. As a Nurse escorted Kelly down the hall in her wheelchair, everyone danced around her in unison to Katy Perry’s “Roar,” which they had designated as Kelly’s fight song – a message of her coming out on top despite her struggles, which include a past battle with breast cancer.

We hope that this small tribute performed by our MedSurg-4 Associates for Kelly and her family will forever fill their hearts with the love of our Associates, and that the video will serve as a reminder that they will always have family here at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.

Our MedSurg-4 Associates’ desire to make a difference was displayed through our CHANGE Values of Customer Satisfaction and Honor & Respect to this family. This is what has made the department a recipient of this year’s President’s Circle Award.

View the full dance video on the Sousa's YouTube channel: "Kelly's Chemo Journey - Final Exit"