Frere Hospital manager wins service excellence and innovation awards
A case manager at Frere Hospital in East London, Rae Adkins, received an award last Thursday for her 13 years of dedicated service.
Adkins was awarded for managing and coordinating activities relating to case management at the hospital.
She was previously honoured with the Premier Award Certicate of Excellent Service by the national Department of Health in August 2018, Silver Certificate for the Best Employee in the Office of the CEO in November 2018 and the Case Management Association of SA (CMASA) – Case Manager of the Year Award 2019.
Expressing her appreciation for the recognition, Adkins said: “It’s not the prestige that matters but how it makes us feel. Awards are an acknowledgement of a job well done and justification for the agony, the self-doubt, and the hard work that went into winning them.
“I am so proud, happy, overwhelmed, and delighted. Thank you for encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone,” she said.
The ceremony, hosted by CMASA, was held in KwaZuluNatal at the 10th annual National Case Awards Management conference.
The Department of Health congratulated Adkins for her continuous excellent work and for bagging a second national award, this time for Service Excellence and Innovation for 2022.
The department said she served on Frere Hospital’s Executive Management Committee, giving her in-depth understanding on operational processes.
“She was able to contribute to the strategic development of Frere Hospital that culminated in the hospital receiving international recognition for quality improvement,” department spokesperson Yonela Dekeda said.
Dekeda said Adkins’ responsibilities included advocating for the needs of patients, the hospital and the funder in order to promote positive, cost-effective outcomes, as well as encouraging appropriate use of health care services.
“She has vast experience and has played a noteworthy role in case management for over 15 years in both public and private institutions.
“She has served the department as the case management coordinator since May 2013, and represents the ECDoH on the National Case Managers Steering Committee. She assisted with the development of National Standard Operating procedures and protocols while providing guidance and assistance to the case managers in our provinces.”
Adkins is currently deployed to the e-Health team to assist the department with the roll out and implementation of the innovative HMS2 health management system in the province, focusing on patient registration, digitisation of adverse events and strengthening of revenue management.
The head of department, Dr Rolene Wagner, congratulated Adkins for her well-deserved achievement.