EvergreenHealth Home Health Project Manager Karen Fernandez was recently selected as the 2016 Washington State Home Care Manager of the Year by the Home Care Association of Washington (HCAW). The HCAW represents Home Health, Home Care and Hospice providers across Washington state, and Fernandez received this peer-nominated award for her exemplary leadership, innovative work style and continued advocacy for excellent patient care.

“Karen exemplifies EvergreenHealth’s patient-center approach to providing the highest quality care and service, and we are so pleased to see her recognized by the Home Care Association of Washington,” said EvergreenHealth CEO Bob Malte. “Over the past three decades, she has proven to be an innovator and an outspoken advocate for excellent patient care, and we are fortunate to have her on our Home Health leadership team.”

EvergreenHealth is the largest provider of home health, hospice, and palliative care in the Puget Sound region. Fernandez manages and leads the EvergreenHealth Home Health team, which provides care and service to patients and families across the entire region. Since joining EvergreenHealth in 1987, she and her team have provided EvergreenHealth’s standard-setting quality care and service to patients and families in more than 130,000 instances.

EvergreenHealth’s Home Health services provide assistance to people recovering from surgery, illness or an accident, and offer support for individuals learning to manage chronic disease and medications. Fernandez has been part of EvergreenHealth Home Health over the course of its growth since the mid-1980s as both a clinician and a leader. She is recognized as a go-to source for knowledge of regulations, therapy best practices and a number of other skills specific to Home Health care.

“Karen is supportive and caring, and it’s difficult to find her without a smile on her face,” said EvergreenHealth Home Health Director Brent Korte. “Her positivity, mastery of our industry and compassionate leadership style have combined to improve the lives of our patients and clinicians for the past 29 years and we look forward to it continuing for years to come.”

As an occupational therapist, Fernandez performs skilled treatment to help individuals recover from injuries, ailments and surgeries, and achieve independence in all facets of their lives. She approaches problems creatively, always looking for ways to adapt in order to improve the patient experience, and guides caregivers and family members with great care and compassion.

More recently, Fernandez earned certification as an Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) expert, guiding EvergreenHealth as a Home Health provider and translating the importance of this change to the greater clinician group.

For more information on the Home Care Association of Washington, visit www.hcaw.org.

To learn more about EvergreenHealth Home Health services, visit www.evergreenhealth.com/home-health or call 425-899-3300.