CARE Award Nomination Form

Championing Advocacy and Recognition in the Human Experience (CARE)

The CARE Award recognizes SIU Medicine individuals or teams who go above and beyond to create exceptional, compassionate and human-centered experiences for patients and patient representatives.

Award criteria

1. Compassionate care

   1. Demonstrates empathy, respect, and dignity in every interaction.
   2. Goes above and beyond to support patients and families when providing care. 

2. Advocacy & empowerment

   1. Act of championing the patient needs first and works to deliver solution-based services.
   2. Acts as a voice for patients and families to ensure their needs and concerns are heard.
   3. Promotes shared decision-making and respects patient preferences.

3. Relationship building

   1. Fosters trust, teamwork and open communication with colleagues, patients, and families.
   2. Demonstrates respect by exhibiting courtesy and by treating others and their families with professionalism and respect. 

4. Excellence in experience

   1. Implements creative or effective solutions that improve the overall patient journey.
   2. Positively impacts outcomes, satisfaction or safety.

5. Inspiration & leadership

   1. Serves as a role model for compassionate, human-centered care.
   2. Encourages others to embody the organization’s CARE values.

Nomination & submission guidelines

Eligibility:

Open to all staff, clinicians, and teams involved in patient care (direct or indirect). This includes staff, clinicians, or leadership who impact patient experience.

Nomination sources:

• Patients and families
• Peers and colleagues
• Leaders or supervisors

Submission process:

• Nominations accepted year-round
• Simple online or paper form with narrative-based questions
• Need help submitting the form? Contact the patient experience team by calling 217-545-8000 (Option 4) and the team will submit it on your behalf.
• Optional: Attach letters, patient feedback or examples.

Selection process:

• Reviewed by the SIU Medicine Patient Experience Committee composed of staff, clinicians and the patient experience team
• Scoring rubric based on the five CARE criteria (each rated 1–5)
• The CARE Award recipient will be recognized by SIU Medicine