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Osterberg, hospital honored by Chamber
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By CHUCK CLEMENT, Staff Reporter
| 08/23/2012 |
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The Madison Chamber of Commerce awarded its 2012 Outstanding Educator and Friend of Education honors to Tamara Osterberg of Madison and Madison Community Hospital, respectively, during a gathering of local educators on Wednesday evening.
The awards were announced during the Chamber's annual Educators' Reception held at Nicky's for faculty and staff in Madison's public and private schools and its university.
Tammy Osterberg retired from teaching kindergarten students earlier this year after educating Madison boys and girls since 1976. Osterberg and her sister, Sandy Breuer, a speech therapist, both decided to retire from the Madison public school system during the last school year.
The Outstanding Educator Award is given in recognition of a person who has made an impact over time to education in the Madison community.
Kristin Morse, a first-grade teacher at Madison Elementary School, nominated Osterberg after the two women had worked together for the last five years. Morse wrote that Osterberg taught her students with the most recent technologies and teaching strategies, saying the former kindergarten teacher knew "exactly what each and every child needs in her classroom."
Morse added that she had often asked for Osterberg's advice and found that Osterberg could "always shed light on the toughest of situations."
Parents of one of Osterberg's students, Kristel Bakker and DeLon Mork, recommended the retired teacher, saying she had instilled in their son Lucas "a love for school and learning."
Another parent, Rachel Lenzmeier Jencks, had two of her children taught by Osterberg, and Jencks volunteered in Osterberg's classroom. According to Jencks, Osterberg was able to handle conflicts between students so that problems were successfully resolved and the children learned how to deal with similar problems in the future.
Jencks wrote, "She was always very positive with her students and helped them to believe that they could accomplish what they set out to do."
The Chamber awarded its 2012 Friend of Education Award to Madison Community Hospital for the institution's efforts in assisting the career growth of high school students, providing hands-on educational experience to both high school and college students, and offering wellness programs and support groups to the entire community.
Craig Petersen, a Madison High School counselor, submitted a nomination letter for the hospital, saying the medical facility had helped to support the school's Health Occupations class, which started in 2002.
According to Petersen, 132 students had completed the semester-long course offered at MHS. He said Dotta Jo Walker, a registered nurse with the hospital's home health and hospice program, has instructed the program, which educates students about health-care concepts and skills, career areas and contemporary topics. At the end of the semester, the high school students perform clinical rotations at the hospital and a six-week internship.
Petersen submitted, "MCH has continued to epitomize what a community can do in order to provide students with hands-on and real-life experiences, along with health professionals throughout the community (who) assist the class...As they become informed and develop new relationships, they become confident and self-assured."
Dr. Dorine Bennett at Dakota State University provided another nomination for Madison Community Hospital, crediting its staff for supporting the university's Health Information Management program. Bennett, director of the HIM program, said the hospital offered hands-on experience to DSU students that complemented their classroom education.
According to Bennett, the hospital had helped DSU meet accreditation standards for its HIM program.
She also wrote, "...the students gain so much and are better prepared to enter the workforce after spending time in the facility and having access to the professionals as teachers..."
Madison Community Hospital was also acknowledged for assisting DSU's Scrubs Camps. The camps bring high school students from other school districts to the university campus to learn more about health-care careers.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2013
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