St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild and Versiti Blood Center of Indiana announced Crissy Lough, DNP, MHA, BSN, RN, LSSBB, and Maria Robles, M.D., as recipients of the 2022 Achievement in Medicine (AIM) Award. The AIM Award honors a physician or professional of the Eskenazi Health team who upholds the tradition of excellence in health care.
Lough serves as the chief of risk, regulatory and patient safety at Eskenazi Health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lough’s knowledge of local, state and federal regulatory affairs, risk management and experience leading Eskenazi Health Office of Patient Experience served as a guiding voice for the organization. From the beginning, Lough was determined to protect frontline staff and find ways for patients to stay connected to their families through her coordination of visitation programs during the pandemic. She has remained on-call for the past two years, handling complex visitation challenges for patients at the end of life and in other sensitive situations. A leader whose work is often done behind the scenes, Lough was recognized for her compassion, honesty, loyalty, integrity, determination and respect.
Lough has worked at Eskenazi Health for 28 years, starting as a student nurse extern in the labor and delivery unit and working her way to a manager of the department. She transitioned to Risk Management in 2003 and now oversees risk management, patient safety, regulatory, Office of Patient Experience, Infection Prevention & Control, Magnet journey and Sterile Processing.
During her tenure at Eskenazi Health, Lough has led many regulatory visits, including five Triennial Accreditation Surveys by The Joint Commission. She currently serves on Eskenazi Health’s COVID-19 management team and on the Indiana Healthcare Association Council for Quality and Patient Safety. Lough was recognized with the Glenn T. Troyer Outstanding Risk Manager of the Year Award from the Indiana Society for Healthcare Risk Management in 2013.
Dr. Robles has been with Eskenazi Health since 2011, and most recently served as chief physician executive of Eskenazi Health Center West 38th Street for five years. As leader of this health center, she not only cared for countless patients through the COVID-19 pandemic but also advocated for those in addiction treatment to continue to receive their medications when health centers were unable to electronically prescribe narcotics.
Dr. Robles has worked to address the addiction crisis by providing training for the prescribing of buprenorphine and working closely with providers in the outpatient and inpatient setting along with the Michael & Susan Smith Emergency Department and Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center through the Eskenazi Health Substance Use Disorder Steering Committee. She also created avenues for learners to participate in the care of people with opioid use disorder including an internal medicine resident rotation, an adolescent fellow experience, a medical student rotation and the Addiction Awareness Student Interest Group with Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Robles tirelessly advocates for patients with substance use disorders and often helps provide knowledge and support to other providers seeking care for their patients. She was recognized for embodying the mission of Eskenazi Health and doing so much for those in need. Her efforts have worked to reduce the stigma that comes with substance use disorder and provide non-judgmental, high-quality care for people with substance use disorder.
AIM Award recipients are selected by a team of leaders coordinated by St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild. The guild is a volunteer organization committed to raising funds for the services and programs at Eskenazi Health. Founded in 1907, the guild has raised more than $14 million for Eskenazi Health throughout the years. This is the 24th year for the AIM Awards.
St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild’s largest fundraising event is the Decorators’ Show House and Gardens. This year’s 61st annual event will take place April 23 – May 8 at 5320 N. Meridian St. Hours are from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday with extended hours from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Tickets must be purchased in advance and will not be sold at the door. To purchase tickets, please visit www.showhouseindy.org. Current COVID-19 safety protocols and more information can also be found on the website.