2 Lutheran physicians receive kudos

This month, two Lutheran physician received thanks – one from a grateful patient experiencing pain, and another from a physician deeply impressed by her colleague’s commitment to building the best-possible process. It’s our pleasure to post both notes here.

An email from a patient

Doug Hardesty, MD, is absolutely, hands down, one of the best people I have ever met. But even better, he’s an extreme, over-the-top professional surgeon. His character and demeanor relay such a positive setting. After three weeks of intense sciatica pain, I went to a doctor and within five minutes, that doctor advised me to go to Intermountain Lutheran Hospital ER. I was admitted… had an MRI… and met Dr. Hardesty. His layman’s terms allowed me to understand. Eighteen hours later, I'm in surgery with his great team and a great anesthesiologist. Success.

An email from a physician

I would like to formally recognize the extraordinary efforts and dedication that Dr. Annette Kunig has demonstrated in support of our team.

Last month, Dr. Kunig partnered with me to help reconstruct older problem list-based templates that we had both previously utilized. Her strong technical expertise and understanding of Epic workflows were invaluable throughout this process. As our team worked to harmonize documentation practices with Intermountain Health standards, we encountered challenges due to limited education and the unintended use of multiple templates across patient records. This created inefficiencies and inconsistencies that placed our providers and patients at a disadvantage.

Over the past week, Dr. Kunig has gone above and beyond to address these issues. She invested significant time and effort in developing templates that align with the Intermountain Health model while maintaining an efficient workflow for our providers. In addition, she personally educated our NNPs, helped optimize their Epic settings, and ensured a smooth transition to the new documentation process. Her work has streamlined workflows, reduced complexity, and improved efficiency, which will ultimately benefit both providers and patient care.

Dr. Kunig also spent time walking me through the changes she implemented, explaining how to set the templates on my own if necessary. She has remained readily available to answer questions, provide guidance, and make ongoing improvements as needed.

I am incredibly grateful to have Dr. Kunig as part of the Intermountain Health family. Her commitment to improving workflow, supporting her colleagues, and enhancing patient care is truly exceptional. Much of the time she devoted to this project, including one-on-one education and Epic optimization for team members, was above and beyond her regular responsibilities and often unrecognized. Her willingness to share her expertise and invest in the success of others exemplifies the collaborative culture we strive to foster.

I am honored to work alongside Dr. Kunig and to be part of such a dedicated and collaborative team. Her efforts have made a meaningful difference for our providers and, most importantly, for the patients we serve.

Our thanks to Drs. Hardesy and Kunig, and all members of the medical staff who work at the bedside and behind the scenes to provide the best-possible care for our patients. If you work with a physician or APP you would like recognized here, please click the button above.