USA Health employee popular among patients for his ability to make them smile
Kenny Sylvester, self-described as a kid himself, says a childlike approach is best when calming patients in the pediatric emergency department.
By Michelle Ryan
mryan@health.southalabama.edu
Kenny Sylvester is popular in the pediatric emergency department at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital. The patient care assistant is known for singing to his patients, like 10-year-old Cody Isabelle, and doing spot-on impressions to help keep them calm.
Co-workers describe him as “the epitome of patient- and family-centered care.” Children and their families praise how he has a gift to bring a smile to their faces during difficult times.
Vyvette Isabelle, Cody’s mother, said, “He was awesome with my nonverbal autistic son. He sang – it was fantastic. Cody loved it!”
Earlier this year, Sylvester received quite a few kudos, like these below, from even more patients echoing his commitment to care.
“Kenny is one of the most genuine people in this world. When we were in a year ago with appendicitis, he did his best to bring a smile to my son’s face, and when he walked in our room last night, my son was delighted to see a familiar and smiling face. He was just as we remembered, and when leaving last night, my son told me, ‘Mom, I may not know much, but I know this: This world needs more people like Mr. Kenny.' If my 9-year-old picked up on that, I think it speaks for itself on what an amazing job Mr. Kenny was doing.”
“Mr. Kenny does an amazing job with children. He had my daughter giggling the whole time while getting her vital signs.”
“Not every day do you find someone in an ED who can soothe a child in distress, while also doing their job very thoroughly and keeping us, the parents, informed about what is going on and vital results. Singing our baby nursery rhymes to calm her down was the sweetest thing ever.”
