Melynor (Noi) Fraker, director of Rehabilitation Services and Wound Care at Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital (VTHH), takes pride in her work, but most importantly, in her team.
Fraker’s commitment to her hospital and the services she oversees is evident. She holds safety huddles daily with her teams and rounds with them to ensure patient satisfaction. She’ll also check in on the outpatient rehab clinic and see complex cases if needed.
Her efforts serving VTHH earned her the C. Wright Pinson Award, VUMC’s top leadership recognition at the October Leadership Forum. Fraker is the first VTHH employee to receive this leadership award, and it’s the first time the award — formerly known as the Five Pillar Leader Award — has been presented under its new name, in honor of the former Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer who recently stepped down.
Fraker was quick to give credit to her staff.
“I have passionate employees who want to provide care to the community,” said Fraker. “Sometimes I’m the one at the back pushing; sometimes I’m the one at the front pulling. My leadership style is to build the framework and let everybody put in what they can inside that framework.”
A physical therapist by trade, Fraker didn’t envision herself as a hospital administrator, at least when she first came to Tullahoma-Harton Hospital — before it was acquired by Vanderbilt Health. She intended to work as a physical therapist, but eventually, the pendulum swung back to administrative work, a role she held with her previous employer in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It’s clear to see that Fraker has an eye for improving health care systems. She has overseen the addition of two full-time occupational therapists, one additional prn (“as needed”) occupational therapist and a second speech-language pathologist. She’s also encouraged her staff to take ownership in improving the services offered at VTHH, helping a physical therapist get training in pelvic floor therapy and a speech-language pathologist get board certified in swallowing disorders.
“I have therapists who are always listening to [educational] podcasts,” said Fraker. “They’ve been PTs for 20-something years, but they still want to keep learning and make sure that their knowledge is up to date. … I’m very proud of the time and effort they’ve put into making themselves better.”
The expansion of specialty services, which also include lymphedema therapy, pediatric rehabilitation, dry needling, vestibular therapy, seating and mobility, and pelvic floor has been a game changer at the hospital, which serves a community much smaller than that of downtown Nashville.
“The task was to make sure that we take care of our community,” said Fraker. “At a regional hospital, we wear a lot of different hats, but the good thing is that it’s in a more intimate environment where we know everyone and we help each other out.
“Being in a small community, we serve our neighbors. It could be somebody we go to church with; it could be somebody who works in the stores we go to. … You want to give that personal service to them because you know them.”
Providing personalized service aligns exactly with the mission of Vanderbilt Health to “make health care personal” — and Fraker knows that accomplishing this on the micro scale with each individual patient helps scale the mission up to the medium scale of the local community and the macro scale of the entire institution.
“Vanderbilt allows us to provide care the way it’s supposed to be provided,” said Fraker. “We deliver one-on-one care with our patients … I want to make sure my staff’s goals are aligned with the goals that we have as an enterprise. We want to be here as a pillar of health care even in the future … so that we can provide this service, and whoever comes after us will also be trained so they can be here for our community.”
From taking pride in the overarching mission to taking pride in caring for the space where people come to heal, it’s not lost on Fraker’s team that she models leadership at every turn.
“Noi treats this facility as if it is her own,” wrote one nominator. “I have seen her pick up trash in the parking lot. I have seen her sweep the floors and knock cobwebs down. … Noi shows a sense of ownership to the entire facility.”
But Fraker’s greatest sense of pride, she said, is being a mom. And she has her own mother to thank for putting her on track to become a physical therapist. Growing up in the Philippines, her mother kept a watchful eye on supply and demand in the job market, and when she found her daughter a chance to get an education, she recommended she attend physical therapy school. Fraker was enrolled not knowing what it was, but it paid off, as Fraker found her calling.
“I ended up enjoying it, and my brother actually became a physical therapist as well,” said Fraker. “It’s been a very fulfilling job. You get to help people reach their goals and return to their previous level of function and help them be more independent. It involves problem-solving with a great group of people. What could be better than that?”
Watch Melynor Fraker’s video from the Fall Leadership Forum.
If you are a VUMC employee, you can nominate a colleague for an Elevate Credo Award, C. Wright Pinson Leader Award, or Team Award. Visit the Elevate website to fill out a nomination form. Employees demonstrate credo behaviors when: they make those they serve the highest priority; respect privacy and confidentiality; communicate effectively; conduct themselves professionally; have a sense of ownership; and are committed to their colleagues. Elevate award nominations are accepted year-round. If a nomination is received after the cutoff for an award selection period, the nomination will be considered for the next period. VUMC VOICE will post stories on each of the award winners in the weeks following their announcement.
