Digilio Is Bassett Ambassador
Cooperstown, N.Y. – “I told myself shortly after I began working as a patient service associate that one of my goals would be to learn every patient’s first name or last name or both,” said Dolgeville resident Antonette Digilio, who has worked at Bassett’s Herkimer Health Center for nearly eight years. “What I learned from my parents early on is that you put family or other people first and yourself last.” Digilio was recently selected as a Bassett Ambassador. The Bassett Ambassador Program recognizes people within Bassett who demonstrate core values of respect, service, integrity and friendliness.
Digilio also has a goal to give 100 percent to each person who comes up to the registration area where she works. Patients have sent letters of praise to her before but recently a longtime patient made her comments known to Rose McEvoy, R.N., nurse manager in Urgent Care. This patient said that every time she or her husband encounters Digilio, she is smiling, friendly, helpful and makes them feel welcome, and she appears to take a personal interest in them and actually seems glad to see them.
“I don’t do anything to receive praise for myself, I want Bassett to look good,” explains Digilio. “There is this saying I’m fond of, which is ‘no person was ever honored for what he received; honor was the reward for what he gave.’”
Don Laible, a team leader at Herkimer Health Center, said, “Antonette conducts each patient encounter as a ‘friends helping friends’ situation. She adds a personal touch to all requests and puts patients at ease during the registration process.”
When asked what she likes best about her work, Digilio says it’s “helping people.” Helping people spills over into every aspect of her life. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends or participating in charity work. Recently Digilio arranged a softball tournament to raise funds for a local runaway homeless youth program. She also volunteers at various Little Falls Hospital and Bassett Medical Center activities. When Digilio takes time for herself, she loves to watch sports, especially the Dallas Cowboys.
