Caring Servant: Dayanara
Methodist Healthcare Ministries is composed of diverse team members all working together with one common goal: "Serving Humanity to Honor God." Guided by our core values — integrity, making a difference, teamwork, compassion and spirituality — each one of our team members plays an important role in creating access to health care for low-income, uninsured patients and clients. Throughout the year, we feature the stories of team members who have been nominated by co-workers for how they exemplify these qualities in our Caring Servant spotlight.
This month’s Caring Servant spotlight shines brightly on one of our parenting programs coordinators, Dayanara Santiago Quiñones, who demonstrated our core value of ‘making a difference’ when she stepped in to save the life of her client. Below is her story.
“Dayanara is committed to serving others. On multiple occasions, she has gone above and beyond to assist those in her Meld Special Needs class — a parenting group designed for parents and guardians of children living with a range of illnesses and disabilities.
During a recent group session, Dayanara witnessed one of the parents in her class suddenly choking on an apple. Having just completed her CPR and first aid recertification the week before, she sprang into action. After quickly verifying that the client was indeed choking and needed help, Dayanara immediately began first aid by giving back blows and performing the Heimlich maneuver. All the while she was concerned that the client had recently fallen and suffered a broken rib, but knew she had to take action and help. Within moments, the client spat out the piece of apple she was choking on and was fine thanks to Dayanara’s help.”
Dayanara's ability to quickly assess the situation, act, and avoid what could have been a detrimental situation helped save a life. Her actions that day, and every day are a testament to her desire to improve the physical, mental and spiritual health of those she serves.
It’s because of team members such as Dayanara that our organization truly carries out its mission of “Serving Humanity to Honor God.”