Natalie Peacock

In her health care career, Natalie Peacock, MSN, RN, CIC, has held many different jobs with many different responsibilities. She’s collaborated with people across many different departments at the hospitals where she’s worked.

Through it all, she’s remained committed to both keeping patients safe and supporting her fellow employees. She is a recipient of this month’s UPMC Pittsburgh Penguins Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

“You're in the middle being able to help keep patients safe and get good quality care, but you’re also helping the staff be empowered with knowledge through education and understanding why they do what they do,” says Natalie, the manager of Regulatory, Accreditation, and Privacy, UPMC East and UPMC McKeesport.

“You’re helping bridge those knowledge gaps and just really helping make a stronger workforce and keep our patients safe.”

Natalie always held an interest in working in health care. After graduating from college with a degree in biology, she considered going for a master’s degree in public health. However, after working in a lab, she became interested in nursing and infection prevention.

“As soon as I was in (nursing) school, I knew it was where I needed to be,” she says. “It allowed me to help people. We all come in to work as nurses to help people. Despite the difficulties that come with being a nurse, everybody’s goal is to provide a safe environment and provide quality care.”

She worked at UPMC Montefiore as a bedside nurse from 2006 to 2011. After working in private practice, she returned to UPMC in 2016 as an infection prevention specialist. She worked at UPMC St. Margaret from 2016 to 2018 and UPMC East from 2018 to 2023.

Infection prevention involves keeping patients safe from hospital-acquired infections. Each UPMC hospital has an infection prevention specialist responsible for overseeing protocols at their facility.

“They are leaders who act as the liaison between the patients and bedside nurses and corporate to assure we are always following best practices for infection prevention techniques,” says Jennifer Mellon, director, Quality, Regulatory, & Risk Management, UPMC East and UPMC McKeesport.

Infection prevention work involves collaboration with nurses and clinical staff, but also with departments like Facilities, Maintenance, and Environmental Services.

“When we say we're involved in everything, we are literally involved in everything,” Natalie says.

Natalie’s work in infection prevention prepared her well for her new role, which began in late 2023.

As the manager of Regulatory and Accreditation, she makes sure UPMC East and UPMC McKeesport follow the standards and protocols set by organizations like the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Joint Commission. As the manager of Privacy, she ensures that staff follow privacy laws like HIPAA and investigates any possible breaches.

“I’m kind of the I-dotter and T-crosser,” she says. “All the processes are in place, but my main job is to have that overwatch and follow up, filling gaps. Unfortunately, we're not perfect — no one is in anything — but we need to be near-perfect as we can.”

The purpose of the work, again, is to keep patients safe and to support clinical staff in providing world-class care.

“She will do whatever it takes to assure our patients get the very best care,” Mellon says.

Natalie says she enjoys her current position because it incorporates aspects from both of her previous jobs at UPMC.

It's literally just been a culmination of all that experience as I'm learning this role and implementing things,” she says. “And that's what I love about it. You take each job to learn more and more, and I've finally hit that part of my career that brings it all together.”

Clare Cowen

As an infection prevention specialist, Clare Cowen strives every day to keep UPMC McKeesport’s patients, staff, and visitors safe from infection.

It’s a job that touches every department in the hospital. And it’s a critically important one to keep patients safe.

“Our main goal when our patients come to the hospital is to make sure that they feel better, that they heal properly, and they can leave and have a good quality of life after leaving our hospital,” says Clare, MPH, manager of Infection Prevention at UPMC McKeesport. “So, it's very important that while they're here getting cared for, we keep our rooms clean and our patients clean so that they don't get an infection while they're here at the hospital.”

For her commitment to keeping people safe, Clare is this month’s recipient of the UPMC Pittsburgh Penguins Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

Clare has worked for nine years at UPMC, with the last three at UPMC McKeesport. The Quality Department team and bedside nurses work together under Clare’s leadership to prevent hospital-acquired infections at UPMC McKeesport.

“(She is) basically in charge of the entire Infection Prevention program at her campus — hospital-acquired infections, hand hygiene, the infection aspect of construction, etc.,” says Jennifer Mellon, MBA, BS, RRT, director of Quality, Regulatory, & Risk Management at UPMC East and UPMC McKeesport.

“She drives successful, safe care and truly cares for our patients,” Mellon adds.

One important way to prevent infections is by emphasizing hand hygiene in the hospital. Clare also makes sure that patients who have devices put in place during their visit don’t acquire an infection from the device.

But infection prevention goes even beyond those typical daily responsibilities. If there is construction going on, Clare works to ensure that no dust or mold spores make their way into the hospital to affect patients. Or, if there’s a leak at the hospital, Clare will investigate it to make sure no mold develops.

“The No. 1 thing that people think about with infection prevention is hand hygiene, and that is the best way that you can prevent infections and save a life, just by washing your hands,” Clare says. “But there's so many other things that can cause infections. Really, infection prevention works with every single department in the hospital.”

During respiratory virus season, Clare discusses ways to prevent hospital-acquired respiratory illnesses with hospital leadership. This could lead to the use of masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent infections.

Clare is “a self-proclaimed micro nerd” who became interested in infection prevention while pursuing her master’s degree in infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh. She heard a guest lecture from Mohamed Yassin, MD, a UPMC medical director of Infection Control. That inspired her to pursue becoming an infection prevention specialist herself.

“I realized that I really like the aspect of how infection prevention combines the micro world with real-life experiences, working with individuals and patients and having that personal connection,” she says.

Each UPMC hospital has its own Infection Prevention specialist. Clare meets regularly with her colleagues to discuss best practices and share data. The communication process helps keep all UPMC hospitals safe.

“It's a good way for us to be able to implement plans and take from others’ experiences so that we can improve our own individual hospital,” Clare says.

Clare says what she enjoys most about her job is finding ways to be creative when discussing the importance of infection prevention. She recently created a “Pin the PPE” board so that UPMC McKeesport staff could pin the appropriate PPE for specific patient encounters onto a picture of the hospital’s leader. That helps to keep the topic of infection prevention fresh for staff members.

“Everybody knows about hand hygiene, and that can kind of fade into the background a little bit,” Clare says. “It's my job to make sure that we keep that at the forefront of people's minds and really help to recognize that this is a lifesaving tactic that you can do that's as simple as washing your hands for 20 seconds.”

George Mazariegos

George Mazariegos, MD, has a calling to work in pediatric organ transplantation.

The field presents challenges, but also opportunities: to help children in great need, along with their families and loved ones.

“The best place to be is where your joy meets the greatest need of people,” says Dr. Mazariegos, the director of Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “That resonates with me. When I found that transplantation was meeting the needs of a tremendous group of people but also an opportunity that I really did enjoy from the surgical and care standpoint, I knew it was the right fit.”

For over 30 years, Dr. Mazariegos has dedicated himself to providing excellent care — and hope — for patients in their times of need. He is this month’s recipient of the UPMC Pittsburgh Penguins Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

Dr. Mazariegos first came to UPMC in 1991. He trained in transplantation under Thomas Starzl, MD — the doctor known as the “father of modern transplantation — and in critical care under Ake Grenvik, MD. He accepted a job in transplantation in 1994 and became director of Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children’s in 2004.

Under Dr. Mazariegos’ leadership, the transplant program at UPMC Children’s has grown both in staffing and in stature. UPMC Children’s is the leading pediatric liver transplant center in the United States, performing more transplants than any other center. The UPMC Children’s transplant network includes Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida.

“The quality of our pediatric transplant program is second to none in outcomes and in volume,” says UPMC Children’s President Diane Hupp, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “And not every program can say that.”

As a transplant surgeon, Dr. Mazariegos cares for some of the sickest children. He strives to make sure every child who needs a transplant can get one. Often, UPMC Children’s takes in patients who were turned down for transplants by other centers.

“It’s really telling when families walk in this door and can say, ‘We know we're in good hands,’” says Paula Eicker, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, vice president of Patient Services and chief nursing officer at UPMC Children’s. “Other facilities may not even look at that child or offer them transplantation. We will do that.”

Says Dr. Mazariegos: “Families are really just looking for hope. And I believe that’s the best responsibility that we have, to assure them that we're going to do everything we can to consider what the best solution is for their child.”

That commitment to his patients and their loved ones makes Dr. Mazariegos stand out, Hupp says.

“He is a kind, kind, compassionate soul,” Hupp says. “He's able to build relationships with not only his colleagues and the people that he surrounds them with, but also a real connection with his patients and his families.

“I can't imagine the stress that the man's under every day and what he does in the operating room and seeing these very, very sick patients. But he's able to keep at all times a sense of calmness, a sense of kindness, and a sense of compassion in all he does. And that is what in part I think demonstrates a real hero. It's not only what you do, but it's how you do it.”

As someone who trained under Dr. Starzl, Dr. Mazariegos believes it’s his responsibility to carry on his mentor’s legacy of leadership. He not only trains younger doctors who come to Pittsburgh, but he also has helped to train doctors internationally to raise standards of care. He also is a leader in research.

Dr. Mazariegos also helped to create the Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation. The network consists of 16 leading pediatric transplant centers in the U.S and Canada. They share data and best practices, with the goal of improving pediatric transplantation worldwide.

Dr. Mazariegos says he’s proud of the work UPMC Children’s does in transplant. He says it takes a dedicated team who are committed to helping patients over many years – both before and after transplant.

Although there are good days and bad, it’s a special feeling when a child gets a new organ, he says.

“When we get to see the child the way they were meant to be, with a healthy liver and healthy life, it's dramatic and it's so exciting,” Dr. Mazariegos says. “When you think of the perspective of a life change, we do see those immediate benefits and it’s dramatic. But there are also many things that we don’t see but are happening because of the life restored for this child, and their family, and their loved ones. Many of them are becoming future leaders.

“We want every child to really achieve their full potential.”

Jamie Jakel

Every year, about 10,000 babies are born at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital — almost half of all babies born in Allegheny County. That wouldn’t be possible without the work of Jamie Jakel and her team in Central Sterile Processing.

Central Sterile Processing sterilizes the surgical instruments and instrument trays used for labor and delivery and all other procedures at UPMC Magee. It’s a job that requires the utmost care to ensure patient safety.

“We are the last line of infection prevention as far as the instruments are concerned,” says Jamie, AA, AGS, CRCST, CER, director, Central Sterile Processing, UPMC Magee. “We make sure that all of the bioburden is completely gone and all the microorganisms are killed so that (the instruments) can be used on the next patient.

“If Central Sterile isn't there, then the ORs (operating rooms) can't run, the surgeon can't do the surgeries, and the OR just stops. So, our job is an extremely important place to be to make sure that the patients have a safe experience when they go in for their surgeries or their procedures.”

For her diligence in ensuring patient safety, Jamie is the recipient of this month’s UPMC Pittsburgh Penguins Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

As director of Central Sterile Processing, Jamie oversees a team of about 30 members. Central Sterile Processing operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide sterile instrument trays for procedures at UPMC Magee.

“Magee-Womens Hospital is a special place to receive care,” says Kathleen Nauer, MSN, RN, administrative director, Operating Room and Central Sterile Processing, UPMC Magee. “Jamie is an excellent role model and health-care hero. Despite the high demands of her job responsibilities, she selflessly goes above and beyond each day to ensure her team and our patients are well taken care of.”

There needs to be a sterile tray ready for every baby born at UPMC Magee. And with the number of babies delivered at the hospital, along with other procedures, it makes for a busy job. Jamie estimates that Central Sterile Processing handles between 40 and 70 cases on a typical day.

It’s also an important job, one that’s necessary to make sure patients have a safe experience.

“We have to make sure that we continue to do what we do correctly and efficiently so that we can make sure that we avoid any infections or possible issues with the patient,” Jamie says. “So, we try our best every day. We try to prioritize and make sure that we're ahead of the ball so that we can make sure that the patients get what they need for the next day's cases.”

As director, Jamie is responsible for administrative responsibilities in her department, including scheduling and hiring. She says she looks to hire people who have a passion for the work. She also will step in to take shifts sterilizing equipment.

“Jamie is often out in the department helping staff reprocess trays or performing other duties to meet our patients’ needs,” Nauer says. “She makes the biggest impact by paying attention to the smallest of details when it comes to promoting excellence. There is no room for error or missed steps when it comes to ensuring our instruments meet the rigorous standards of cleaning and reprocessing for our patients.”

Central Sterile Processing’s work happens outside of the spotlight. But Jamie says she’s proud of the work of her and her team in helping UPMC Magee provide excellent patient care.

“It is behind the scenes, but I love what I do, and I think that it is extremely important,” she says. “And I take great pride in that.”

Joe Kovacs

When Joe Kovacs, RN, was in his first year of college in 2003, his father suffered a spinal injury. He saw the way the nurses helped his father afterward and knew he wanted to be a nurse one day himself.

“I just felt like I needed to give back and help out people like my dad,” Joe says.

So, about 15 years later, when he was looking for a career change, he enrolled in the UPMC Mercy School of Nursing. And in 2021, he became a full-time professional staff nurse on the Progressive Care Unit at UPMC Mercy.

Joe makes providing high-quality patient care his top priority. He is this month’s winner of the UPMC Pittsburgh Penguins Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

On the Progressive Care Unit, Joe provides care for a wide variety of patients. The unit cared for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. Now, Joe provides care for stroke patients, post-operation patients, psychiatric overflow, and more.

“We get any and all patients,” he says.

In caring for patients, Joe says he tries to help his patients by getting their minds off the fact that they’re in the hospital. He does his best to connect with each patient, talking and joking around with them.

“It’s just little things, be it where they’re from or a TV show they’re watching,” Joe says. “Even if they’ve got a certain type of clothing on, where you notice, ‘Oh, do you like Marvel?’ and then you start talking about that type of thing. It’s just little details you pick up here and there to try to get them to open up and start talking.”

One way Joe connects with patients is through humor. Edward Monroe, MSN, RN, Joe’s unit director, calls him “the king of dad jokes.”

“Joe cares for people,” Monroe says. “He is a caring person. He is fun-loving and really enjoys making people happy. We are lucky to have him.”

Before becoming a nurse, Joe worked several other jobs. He was a dance teacher for almost 15 years, worked on a restoration project for Universal Studios, and worked in a western Pennsylvania children’s shelter.

Those previous jobs still help him today.

“As a dance teacher, you have to figure each out kids’ learning style, and what is it that this kid’s doing wrong to get them to do it right,” he says. “Everybody’s different, so I kind of take that into nursing, where it’s like, ‘What’s this person’s problem, and how can I help them through their night to get them out of here quicker and feel more at ease while they’re here?’ So the whole puzzle aspect is the same.

“And then, working with kids at the shelter or as a teacher, you joke around with them, but you have to have a level of seriousness so they take you seriously and do what you need them to do. Knowing that fine line to dance, I learned that there as well and was able to carry that over into nursing.”

Joe’s efforts don’t go unnoticed. Monroe says a patient who was receiving end-of-life care at UPMC Mercy wrote a letter commending Joe for going above and beyond in his work. The patient wrote that Joe did everything he could to make his patients’ stays better.

Helping patients is what Joe enjoys most about his job.

“They’re not happy to be in the hospital,” he says. “But if I can make them forget for a minute that they’re really sick or in pain, if I can just distract them from that for a minute, that’s something.”

Justin Gould

After working as an x-ray technologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Justin Gould, BS, RT (R), left to work on cars.

But although he enjoyed his job at a western Pennsylvania dealership, it didn’t feel like home to him.

“I realized how much I missed the x-ray field,” Justin recalls. “I didn’t think I would miss it that much. But I realized how much I missed it, how much I missed patients, and how much I missed being that front-line role.”

After about a year of working on cars, Justin learned of an opening in the Imaging Services Department at UPMC Passavant. He applied, and in 2019, he returned to UPMC.

“It was a great reunion,” he says.

In May 2023, Justin took on a new role as diagnostic technologist specialist at UPMC Passavant and quickly made his mark. He is this month’s recipient of the UPMC Pittsburgh Penguins Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

In addition to doing diagnostic imaging for patients in various areas of the hospital, Justin has administrative responsibilities in his role. He oversees quality assurance for equipment, trains employees on equipment, and orders supplies. He also works with new hires for orientation and training.

“Justin recently just stepped up into the role of the specialist and has taken everything head-on,” says Chelsea Bach, RT (R), supervisor, Imaging Services, UPMC Passavant. “He never complains about the workload and is always trying to take things off of my plate.”

Bach says Justin works constantly to improve processes within the department. He recently revamped the orientation packet for new employees.

At the suggestion of John Lewis, UPMC Passavant’s director of Imaging Services, Justin started a program of checking in with new employees during orientation. He calls it “Week-end Chats.”

During “Week-end Chats,” Justin asks new hires about how their orientation is going and whether he can provide any additional help. He offers his support for further training if there’s anything they’re unsure about.

“It’s being that mentor role, making sure I’m out there and available,” Justin says. “I always tell them, jokingly, ‘Make sure you knock my door down. If you have a question, knock my door down. Come find me. I would rather you call me and we work on it together than have something go wrong and we have to fix it all over again.’ They’ve been very receptive to that.”

Says Bach: “He is one of the most helpful and caring people I know. Whether it be dealing with a patient, his co-workers or his supervisor, his goal is always to lift and support them in any way he can.”

Justin says one of his biggest pieces of advice to new technologists is to be ready to learn. He applies that same lesson to his own job – making sure he learns new skills and techniques to improve patient care. And his new job allows him to learn not only from patients but from his co-workers.

“I’m just trying to make sure people have the best experience possible,” he says. “That’s really what motivates me to come in every day. Not only the learning part, but also making patients’ experiences better and making employee experiences better.”

Scott Wyman

Standout employees often go the extra mile. Scott Wyman recently went several hundred.

Scott was working in the UPMC St. Margaret emergency department one night when a local police department brought in a very sick patient. As the man’s time in the hospital went on, it became clear he wouldn’t be well enough to take care of himself once he was discharged. Complicating matters, his closest family members lived across the state, hundreds of miles away.

UPMC St. Margaret staff located a new hospital and clinical care team for the patient near his family. But there remained the issue of arranging transportation. His family couldn’t pick him up, and Scott was worried about putting him on public transportation.

“There was just no good solution,” says Scott, MSW, LCSW, ACM-SW, a supervisor in the Clinical Care Coordination and Discharge Planning Department.

So, he came up with a different solution. Scott, a trained social worker, volunteered to drive the patient across the state himself.

“As a social worker, we want to give people the tools to fix their own problems,” Scott says. “He didn't have those tools available. He needed somebody that was going to be more than just the doctor, and nurse, and social worker. He had those. … So, it's sort of thinking outside of the box.”

For his willingness to go above and beyond, Scott is this month’s Pittsburgh Penguins UPMC Healthcare Hero Spotlight.

As a supervisor in Clinical Care Coordination and Discharge Planning, Scott oversees a team of nurses and social workers. Their job is to coordinate a patient’s release from the hospital, whether that be to rehabilitation or further care, or back home.

“They’re actually up on the floors, interacting with patients, coming up with discharge plans,” he says. “My responsibility is the back-end stuff and to assist when needed, when there’s a difficult patient or family, if there’s a difficult situation that needs to be fixed, or just give general information or advice on certain aspects of the job.”

Before coming to UPMC St. Margaret, Scott worked as an office manager for a heating and cooling company. In 2017, he decided he wanted to finish his degree. After finishing his degree at La Roche, he attended the University of Pittsburgh and then landed an internship at UPMC St. Margaret. He became a full-time employee in 2019 and began his current role in October 2022.

Scott says he still uses skills from his old job – namely, the ability to stay patient and calm when complications arise.

“Scott is a wonderful employee who always puts our patients first,” says Bethany Rose, MSN, RN, ACM, CCM, director, Clinical Care Coordination and Discharge Planning, UPMC St. Margaret. “During difficult situations, Scott always remains calm. His calm demeanor allows him to be successful at providing support for our patients to help improve their experience. He is diplomatic when conflict arises, as well as intuitive.”

No two days are the same in his job, Scott says — but he likes the challenge of problem-solving. And he appreciates the opportunity to help people who live in his community.

“The people that we help are the people in this community,” he says. So, when there’s challenging people and they have certain social service issues, it’s not just somebody who goes home and you never see them again. These are people I see driving down the street. I can see that this is someone that we helped.”