Lea Goad Wins Employee of the Year Community Service Award
10/18/2018
By:BSWRehab.com
(DALLAS) – The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC) Foundation has named Baylor Scott and White Rehabilitation at Dallas (BSW Rehab-Dallas) recreational therapist, Lea Goad, as this year’s recipient of the Employee of the Year Community Service award. The award was announced yesterday at the Foundation’s 22nd Annual Employee of the Year Luncheon held at the Hurst Conference Center. More than 700 attendees turned out to honor 135 nominees and 16 announced winners from a pool of 56 area hospitals.
Goad, who became a tetraplegic (losing the use of all or part of all four limbs) in a car accident as a teen, has been in a wheelchair for almost a dozen years. She began the Support, Challenge, Inspire (SCI) Support Group after coming onboard as a recreational therapist at the Dallas hospital a few years after her accident. As an avid athlete, she holds sporting events at the Dallas hospital such as wheelchair rugby and soccer, encouraging spinal cord injury patients to adopt an active lifestyle after rehabilitation. Goad continues to enjoy white water rafting, kayaking, flying a 4-seater plane, snow skiing, quad rugby, hand cycling, fishing, camping, mountain biking, and scuba diving.
In addition, Goad serves on several community program development committees, staffs wheelchair clinics at community events for the disabled, and is a frequent contributing writer with several neighborhood newspapers on issues for the disabled.
"This is a terrific award for Lea and I couldn’t be happier for her," noted David Smith, CEO, BSW Rehab-Dallas. "As a recreational therapist and a former spinal cord injured patient at our hospital, Lea knows the challenges these patients go through. Her grace, energy and selfless dedication to our spinal cord injured patients have helped so many people realize that they can accomplish so much despite their injury."
Board members of the Dallas-Fort Worth Healthcare Human Resource Association judge the nominations with the names of individuals and hospitals removed. They base their selection on the facts presented. Additional honors given out yesterday included the Community Service Award, Preceptor Award, Physician Award and the Hospital System Award.
The DFWHC Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to continually improve the community’s health by promoting safe, high quality, cost effective, accessible and equitable healthcare and by strengthening the healthcare workforce through education and research.
###
About Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation
Since 1981, Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation has helped people overcome serious disabilities and return to full, productive lives. Baylor Rehab’s interdisciplinary clinical teams – made up of physicians, nurses, therapists and other rehabilitation professionals – partner with patients and their families to design and implement treatment plans to achieve each patient's unique goals. Baylor Scott & White Rehab has received repeat recognition as one of the country’s top rehabilitation hospitals in U.S. News & World Report's annual "America's Best Hospitals" report, and been designated by the National Institute for Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) as a model system for the treatment and care of patients with traumatic brain injuries. Baylor Scott & White Rehab is a joint venture between Baylor Scott and White Health and Select Medical Corporation and includes three freestanding hospitals: Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation at Dallas, Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation at Frisco, and Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation at Fort Worth. Baylor Scott & White Rehab manages acute inpatient rehabilitation units at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Irving and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Grapevine, and provides acute rehabilitation staff at seven other Baylor Scott & White Medical Center locations. In addition, Baylor Scott & White Rehab operates 66 outpatient therapy centers in North Texas, and also offers home health services.
About Baylor Scott & White Health
Formed from the 2013 merger between Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare, the system referred to as Baylor Scott & White Health is the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas. With total assets of $10.8 billion* and serving a population larger than the state of Georgia, Baylor Scott & White Health has the vision and resources to provide its patients continued quality care while creating a model system for a dramatically changing health care environment. The system now includes 48 hospitals, more than 1,000 access points, 5,500 active physicians, and 44,000 employees, plus the Scott & White Health Plan, Baylor Scott & White Research Institute and Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance — a network of clinical providers and facilities focused on improving quality, managing the health of patient populations, and reducing the overall cost of care. For more information visit: