2002
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Category: ETC* Leadership Karen Lee Kimber,
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Listen to one of the radio spots featuring this winner! |
ETC is positive role model and mentor
Hospitals
can be difficult locations to promote CTR because of the variety of shifts
and long hours inherent in the healthcare industry. Karen Lee Kimber’s
17 years of experience as an ETC have provided her with the know-how to
create a successful CTR program—in spite of the odds—year after
year. Her dedication has earned her a 2002 Commuter Challenge Diamond
Award for ETC Leadership.
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Jan. 22, 2003 Awards Ceremony
Celebrating Karen Lee Kimber's Diamond Award for leadership as an employee transportation coordinator, are (from left), Lane Savitch, Darren Reddick, Kimber, Dave Lesperance, David Rey and Cal Knight. |
Swedish Medical Center’s CTR program fully subsidizes FlexPasses, Puget Passes, and Central Sound ferry passes for all employees regardless of shift or number of hours worked. Employees who carpool to work receive reduced fee parking, and vanpools park for free. New employees are provided with two free ride tickets so they can “test-drive” transit services by riding the bus to the new employee orientation session.
Kimber begins promoting Swedish Medical Center’s CTR program to employees even before they start their new job. A “Parking & Commuting Fact Sheet” is mailed to the employee’s home before they attend the new employee orientation. The fact sheet provides the employees with campus-specific information on bus routes, ferry terminal location and crossing times, transit passes and parking rates. Yearly transportation fairs at each Swedish campus, an intranet web page and weekly articles in the employee newsletter all continue to reinforce the importance of the CTR program with employees long after their first day on the job.
Staying involved in two ETC networking groups helps Kimber stay connected and continue to come up with new and creative ways to get Swedish Medical Center employees out of their cars. She has been chairman of the First Hill ETC Network Group twice, providing a good deal of knowledge and support for other local ETCs while also gathering new ideas for her own program. “Karen is a good role model for her staff as well as other ETCs,” said King County Metro Employer Transportation Representative Anne Ward-Ryan. “I have referred several area ETCs to her as she is a great resource on the benefits of Flexpass and strong parking management.”
Swedish Medical Center strives to be a great place to work, and a big part of fostering that environment is the benefits employees receive through the CTR program. Management at Swedish understands the importance of this and provides Kimber with the support she needs to continue meeting the alternative commute needs of the employees. Some of those in management also are setting good “CTR examples” for the rest of the employees by bicycling to work whenever possible.
“Healthcare has changed over the years in many ways,” said Kimber. “Since healthcare is not a 9-5 job, it always has been a challenge to encourage employees to use alternative transportation options.” But with her can-do personality and enthusiasm, Karen Kimber’s program at Swedish Medical Center will continue to be a success.
Commute Program
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*Some definitions: An “ETC” is the staff-level employee transportation coordinator responsible for the daily administration of the transportation program; “PM” is the transportation program manager; and “CEO” refers to the top management-level person at the worksite. “SOV” stands for single-occupant vehicle, and “CTR” for commute trip reduction.