Congratulations Sharon Halvorsen for your 2023 UA Award for Excellence

Sharon Halvorsen, Clinical Coordinator Sr in Medicine was in her groups zoom meeting hearing some updates from coworkers when she heard there were special guests in the zoom this week. She was surprised when they said they were looking for her but that was nothing compared to hearing they were there to announce that she was chosen from the Best of the Best for as a 2023 UA Award for Excellence Winner!

They proceeded to read some of the wonderful things her nominators had so say about her including: 

Sharon has effortlessly demonstrated outstanding achievement in the work place. Last year, she volunteered to be the liaison for the Petersen Clinics (Consumer Advisory Board). The CAB is valuable program required to maintain Ryan White Funding. Members of CAB are HIV patients and stakeholders that have the space and authority to give direct feedback about the strengths and weaknesses of PHC and the HIV care we give. Unfortunately, the CAB does not run itself and has been challenging to maintain. There is no staff member officially responsible for it. This was no problem for Sharon, as she was more than happy and willing to jump in and take on this role outside of her regular duties.

When Sharon joined our team as a clinical coordinator, she had 20 years of experience in social work, which included caring for people living with HIV and providing support and counseling to individuals struggling with substance use and experiencing mental health disorders. Her experience and dedication to patients has positively impacted the quality of care received by our patients, helped overcome barriers to care, and improved access to mental health and substance use resources.

Sharon not only creates a positive environment for our patients but is also a collaborative colleague and mentor. She has shared her perspectives and experience with the team, improving our processes for mental health referrals, helping to train new staff during onboarding, and inviting everyone to community events. She will make a special effort to help anyone, without any expectation of recognition. She is humble, humorous, and inclusive, which brings the whole team together and inspires us all to achieve excellence.

As you can see Sharon is very deserving of this recognition, congratulations Sharon!