Donna P. Michael

"Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don't want to."  by Sir Richard Branson

Managing a successful food and nutrition service department requires a unique blend of expertise in research and project management, process development, customer service, mentoring and leadership skills.  

My professional experience includes an extensive career in food service/clinical nutrition management and higher learning nutrition education.

The following are highlights of my qualifications:

1. A distinguished career directing the development of room service patient meal service which earned Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital the ‘Best of the Best’ Award 5 consecutive quarters for highest Press Ganey Inpatient Satisfaction Scores within our 10 system-wide hospitals.
2. Dietetic Internship preceptor for clinical nutrition rotations at renowned institutions including Emory University Hospital, Memorial Hermann and Houston Methodist Hospitals. Facilitated system clinical DI orientation and participated in intern matching/selection process.
3. Technical proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, MICROS/Simphony (retail) and Room Service software.
4. Comprehensive food service and nutrition industry training.  A broad understanding of leadership principles, traditional vs. room service meal delivery, customer service/ interpersonal skills, natural disaster hospital management, behavioral interviewing methods, etc.
5. Exceptional leadership abilities with the demonstrated capacity to build, train, and mentor highly productive and motivated cross-functional teams.

In addition, I offer outstanding organizational skills, which have proven to be a critical asset in developing, maintaining, and supporting a dynamic team of clinical dietitians and food service employees.

Thank you,

Donna Michael

• Interior Designing
• Local Church Praise Team member
• Community Health Lectures

• To ensure Food and Nutrition Services is providing the best quality food service and clinical nutrition care to all our customers

• To promote a healthy lifestyle by facilitating nutrition education and supporting other wellness programs

• To serve as a healthcare advocate by promoting our goals for ‘clinical excellence & patient satisfaction' to the community at large

Direct Care Giver ‘Excellence Award' Recipient 2001-2002

Nomination written and submitted by Jamille Bond, CNSC, RD, LD, Memorial Hermann SW Hospital - April 2002

"Donna Michael has demonstrated a "Partners in Caring Attitude" since she started to work here, approximately 3 years ago. Caring both for the staff and the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System has been observed so many times that it is hard to pin point specific times. It is an everyday thing for her! "Good Leaders and Managers are a key component in running a happy, quality institution, not only in keeping the institution in good working shape but keeping the employees in a motivated state of mind in the daily strive for excellence. She is that type of manager. "Since Donna became the Clinical Manager she has continuously encouraged her staff to improve themselves in areas that would be interesting to them and would add value to the institution. Ultimately, the employee feels more satisfied/accomplished and the institution becomes more valuable. "Several of our staff members have benefited from this quality of hers. Several of them have attained their licensure in different nutrition areas increasing the value of our department. "Example: Two (2) employees have become licensed dietetic technicians, one (1) became a certified nutrition support expert, and another one (1) a certified diabetic educator. "Donna has put a Clinical Nutrition Department together that would be the envy of other hospitals - a smart and energetic group! Her hiring skills are excellent and very fair. Again, she keeps Memorial Hermann and her staff on her mind. She gets the staff involved in the hiring process, looking at the individual's skills as well as their personality in order to hire a well-rounded individual that will be an asset to the department and the system. "She has immensely improved the communication among our department, among co-workers and with management, keeping an ‘open door' policy and thorough regular staff meetings. "Donna's listening skills are superb, letting her staff vent and express themselves without making the staff feel threatened, which again improves communication and morale. "She takes quick action with ideas that are brought up by staff, which makes the staff feel like they have some input regarding their jobs. Example: The staff wanted to start wearing scrubs, she looked into it, a fair vote was taken and we are now wearing comfortable clothing that make our days easier."An issue recently came up regarding the clinical staff salary ranges, and whether these were fair salary adjustments compared to the Houston market. Donna again exhibited excellent leadership skill, trying to keep the best interest of her staff and Memorial Hermann in mind. She listen to the issue, ask us to do some research and gave us the advice and direction we needed to address this issue with upper management in a way to get the best results. Again both management and her staff were served with the best results. Management saw the problem and corrections were made.

"Donna is also a very spiritual person and incorporates this into her everyday work environment very well. She shares spiritual thoughts in such a way that her staff benefits from them making their everyday activities seem more meaningful. Very often the days may become dull and you may lose perspective of what life and taking care of patients is all about. She brings us back to earth, making us remember to take time to ‘smell the flowers'.

"The Clinical Nutrition Staff would like to say a special ‘Thanks' to Donna! She is a true partner in caring and we feel she is an asset to the management team of Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems."