Amber Hockenberry, Surgical Technician, Women and Children’s Services, is valued by both her colleagues and patients at Mount Nittany Health. She is reliable and always willing to go above and beyond to do what is in the best interest of those she serves and the organization. She always asks her fellow team members how she can help. Most of the time, she anticipates their needs well in advance of them asking.
Amber epitomizes Mount Nittany Health’s core values of caring, excellence, integrity, respect, teamwork, and stewardship. For the employee of the month honor, she is being recognized for exemplifying the core value of teamwork.
She has been nominated nearly every month over the past year, often receiving multiple nominations each month. Her nominators said, “Amber is one of the most valued employees at Mount Nittany Medical Center. She is helpful to all staff, including nurses, physicians, nurses aids, and our patients and their families. She performs her job incredibly well while wearing multiple hats. When there is a problem or anyone has a question, Amber helps. We have even called her at home with questions. Amber doesn’t realize how important she is to our unit, but we certainly do. Amber has the skill of seeing the entire picture and recognizing what is needed by anticipating what our providers or unit may need on any given day. Because of this, our unit runs more smoothly and efficiently. She is also extremely welcoming to new staff members, which improves the camaraderie in our unit. We are so grateful to have Amber as a colleague and friend.”
Amber currently lives in Lock Haven and has been working at Mount Nittany Health since February 2013. Before joining the health system, she received an Associate Degree in Surgical Technology from the Pennsylvania College of Technology.
Although it came as no surprise to anyone who knows her, Amber was surprised and honored to be named Employee of the Month. “My coworkers were relentless in nominating me. I was ecstatic to win, and it was such a joy to read what everyone said about me in the nominations. It made me so grateful to work beside them.”
When asked what she loves most about her job she said, “I love helping to bring new life into the world. You build such a strong bond up in our unit. There are good days and bad days, but the good always outweighs the bad.”
Amber expressed her gratitude for working with such a wonderful team. “My colleagues are some of the most amazing people I have ever worked with,” said Amber. “I consider them my second family and spend so much time with them. They have become some of my best friends and they are people I hang out with even outside of work.
When Amber isn’t busy welcoming new life into the world, she enjoys spending time with her family. They have a camper and enjoy the outdoors, so she spends much of the summer camping. She is grateful for the love and support of her husband, Ryan; her children Logan and Lyle; and her cat Heddon.
We are fortunate to have Amber as part of our organization and applaud her for going above and beyond to demonstrate our core values. Please join us in congratulating her on this incredible honor. Amber, thank you for all you do for our patients, your colleagues, and for contributing to our mission of “Healthier people, stronger community.”