These moms are bringing something extra special to work

LCMC Health is home to many moms, who bring their care, commitment, and little-something-extra’s to their real families and work families alike. This Mother’s Day, we’re featuring some of the LCMC Health moms who not only bring their best selves to work with them—they brought their kids, too!

When you love what you do, your kids take note

We like to think of LCMC Health as a family: but our work family includes real family, too!

We are lucky to have multiple mom-and-kid combos working together to serve our patients and communities. Inspired by their hard-working moms, these ‘kids’ followed their footsteps right into a healthcare career at LCMC Health.

To celebrate Mother’s Day, we asked some of these next-generation caregivers and people-who-care to tell us about their mom and what she means to them. Grab your tissues!

Nurse Thompson’s triple threat

This year, Alesia Thompson is celebrating 35 years as a nurse. At work, she serves as the Director of the Stroke-Neuro Unit at University Medical Center. At home, she serves as the icon that inspired her three children to go into nursing, too!

Thompson’s two daughters, Leah and Lauren, are part of the first class of LCMC Health’s Called-to-Care Scholars Program at Chamberlain University. In addition to her studies, Leah also works at UMC as a Unit Secretary. Thomson’s son Calvin is a student at LSU School of Nursing, while working as a Patient Care Technician at UMC. 

We asked these three to tell us about what makes their mom such an extraordinary inspiration:

What is your favorite memory with your mom?

“I was asked to make treats for a birthday party. It was quite a large order and not a lot of time. My mother stopped what she was doing to help me package each treat and didn’t think twice about it. She truly is supportive.”–Leah

“One of my favorite memories with my mom is our most recent Thanksgiving vacation. Seeing her enjoying moments with our family was great.”–Calvin

“My favorite memory with my mom was when we went canoeing in Mexico. She was terrified of the tiny fish in the water. It was such a funny experience; I’ll never forget it.”–Lauren

What inspired you to go into healthcare like your mom?

“I’ve always wanted to be in healthcare and have watched my mom flourish in her career over the years. I’m so proud of her.  I would like the opportunity to make her just as proud.”–Leah

“Growing up, I was always around the hospital, so I’ve always knew I wanted to work in healthcare. Seeing her find fulfillment and joy in her career inspired me to follow her in path.”–Calvin

“It was my mom’s love for her job that made me want to go into nursing. She always told me that it’s a rewarding job to be able to help people.”–Lauren

What’s your mom’s “little something extra”?

“My mother is nothing short of amazing. She has many little extras. She is selfless, supportive, and kind. She is willing to help me with ANYTHING I need. She’s a resource when I have questions and a counselor when I need to talk. She does this all while attending countless meetings, running a unit, and being the coolest Mimi on the block. She’s a true role model.”–Leah

“She is such a radiant person. When around her, you can't help but laugh and smile.”–Calvin

“She’s very funny. She’s always making me laugh and smile by being goofy and playful.”–Lauren

Annette is a little extra and then some!

Annette Cheramie, Director of Patient Experience at West Jefferson Medical Center, is certified extra in all the best ways: in 2021 she was an LCMC Health Little Extra Award winner, and she also currently leads the Extra Initiative at her home-hospital West Jefferson Medical Center.

As if that wasn’t enough extraordinary to bring to work with her, she’s also inspired her two daughters Shayla and Savannah to join the LCMC Health family. 

We asked the two women to tell us more about what makes their mom so extraordinary:

What is your favorite memory with your mom?

“My favorite memories with my mom are when we used to travel for competitive cheerleading. My mom was always at my competitions, no matter where or what state we were in, cheering me on.”–Shayla

“My favorite memories with my mom are the times we’d go on vacation together or our girl days when we’d spend all day out on the road going shopping and hanging out.”–Savannah

What’s your favorite part of working with your mom?

“My favorite part about working in the same hospital as my mom is being able to spend time together on our lunch breaks.”–Shayla

“The best part about working with my mom at West Jeff would be being able to eat lunch with her.”–Savannah

What’s your mom’s “little something extra”?

“My mom's positive and go-getter attitude that always leads her to reaching her goals.” –Shayla

“My mom's little something extra is her kindness and how she goes the extra mile to do anything for anyone.”–Savannah

Nursing runs in the Pinac family

With three different Pinac women working at Touro, it’s safe to say that nursing (plus a healthy dose of extraordinary) runs in the family. With eldest daughter Penny serving as the CNO abd mom Jennie Pinac leading the Director of Ambulatory Surgery, it just made sense for younger daughter Sara to join the fun.

We asked Sara to tell us a little more about her mom Jennie, and what inspired her to uphold the family tradition of working at Touro:

What is your favorite memory with your mom?

“I always enjoy spending time with her, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. We love to laugh, shop, and travel!”–Sara

What’s your favorite part of working with your mom?

“I get to see her every day, and if I ever need something, she's close. I've been so blessed to work at Touro over the last 10 years, starting as a PCT, to a nurse, and then an educator. It has always been so wonderful having mom so close.”–Sara

What inspired you to go into healthcare like your mom?

“I’ve been exposed to the healthcare field since I was a child. You often hear people say ‘Touro for life’ and they are not lying."–Sara

What’s your mom’s “little something extra”?

“My mom's little something extra is her drive to go the extra mile, especially for those she cares about. This is evident in her relationships with her family, friends, staff, and patients. She always goes above and beyond in making everyone around her feel welcome and loved.” –Sara

For the Gondrella fam, West Jeff has been home since day one

If you know Darlene Gondrella, Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement at West Jefferson Medical Center, you know she’s always sharing about her son, Randall. A recent LSU grad, Randall now works as a Patient Access Representative at West Jeff—but he’s been roaming the halls here, helping his mom Darlene, for over 21 years. In fact, he was even born here!

While we often hear Darlene singing Randall’s praises, we wanted to share what Randall has to say about his mom:

What is your favorite memory with your mom?

“Too many memories to pick a favorite, but one of them would be going under the ocean on a cruise excursion and freaking her out when I showed her I still had my stuff to get back on the cruise ship and we were 30 feet underwater.”–Randall

What’s your favorite part of working with your mom?

“The best part of working with her at West Jeff is being able to meet and have a mother/son lunch.” –Randall  

What inspired you to go into healthcare like your mom?

“I was inspired to work in healthcare because my mom had been doing it for her entire life, and also, I love being able to work with people on a face-to-face basis. LCMC Health has been like a family to me since I got there. Everything they do and the atmosphere they create is just like one big happy family.” –Randall

What’s your mom’s “little something extra”?

“She’s always doing everything she can to help everyone around her (myself included = best mom)”–Randall