SMC honors their best

KELLOGG — Shoshone Medical Center recently announced that Jeff Hill and Tobey Hojem are the 2021 Employees of the Year.

Hill has been with SMC for 11 years and began his career with them as a grounds maintenance worker. He has since worked his way into Information Services (I.T.).

Hojem worked as the administrative assistant to the facility’s CFO and CEO for six and half years.

While most everyone understands the strain that medical facilities have been under for the last 18 months, when the pandemic began it was a call for everyone to step their game up and Hill and Hojem did just that.

As a vital part of the hospital’s I.T. department, Hill became the go-to in the building when it came to things like making sure video chat platforms were operational, telephone and internet services were working at capacity — and that’s just scratching the surface of his responsibilities.

Never before had such services been as important to the vitality of a rural medical facility as they suddenly were during the pandemic.

With the focus of almost everyone shifting toward making hospitals as safe as possible, communication with SMC’s higher-ups wasn’t always easy, but Hojem made sure to be on the ball as a competent intermediary between the anxious public, the building’s medical staff, and those making decisions in the building.

Her dedication to doing whatever was necessary to keep those lines of communication open made her an easy choice for the award.

Both recipients were nominated and voted on by their SMC peers, with Hill and Hojem finishing in a dead even tie.

For Hill, winning the award is something he never really cared to do. In fact, the level of humility in which he has accepted his award makes it seem almost like he would rather give it to the next coworker he sees.

“It’s all about the people here,” Hill said. “They’re all my friends, and I feel like we are family here and that’s what has kept me here. It’s just such an honor for them to have picked me.”

Hojem has since moved on to another career opportunity, but her nominations included accolades about her tireless dedication and loyalty to SMC, as well as her ability to accomplish even the most challenging of tasks.

There is a saying that nobody likes a tie, but in this instance it seems like it was absolutely the right thing.

“This was our first year having a tie, and it was absolutely well deserved for both of them,” SMC Business Development Coordinator Shayleen Jerome said. “Both of these people were vital to what we did over the last year. Both of them are skilled in their specific fields, but for me it’s about their heart. They were motivated to help the people that they were serving.”