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Local woman honored by hospital association
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
SALEM
Karen Buchmann, who went from teenage volunteer candy striper to case manager at Salem Community Hospital, is the Ohio Hospital Association’s 2010 Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year.
“There is no greater blessing than being recognized by your peers. I had no inkling I would win,” said Buchmann, of Salem.
Buchmann, 61, was one of 74 nominees and four finalists recognized at OHA’s annual meeting for their “leadership, high values and ideals, going above and beyond the call of duty and giving back to the community.”
At Salem Community, Buchmann, a native of Columbiana, played an instrumental role in establishing Project Hello, the first in-home emergency-response unit for the elderly in Columbiana County, hospital officials said.
She raised $50,000 for the hospital response center and personally installed the devices into subscribers’ homes. She continued fund-raising efforts so Project Hello could be provided free-of-charge to residents. The service has grown to nearly 250 subscribers, according to her nomination for the OHA award.
She also was instrumental in establishing Hospice Care in Columbiana County and was one of three original facilitators for the I Can Cope Cancer Support Group.
Salem Mayor Jerry Wolford recently issued a proclamation in her honor on behalf of the city, and Howard Rohleder, Salem Community president and chief executive officer, praised the OHA award winner.
“For those who know Karen, this award is a fitting tribute to her many years of dedicated service to the hospital, our patients and the community. Over the past several decades, she has touched and improved many lives,” he said.
Buchmann, a registered nurse, is the daughter of the late Clifford Orr, and Alma Orr Ruppel of Columbiana. She and her husband, Philip, who owns Buchmann Construction Co., have a daughter, Sara Beth Corney of Minnesota; a son, Zachary of Wisconsin; and two grandchildren.
A 1966 graduate of Columbiana High School, Buchmann also graduated from the Trumbull Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Warren and worked at Rhode Island Hospital and Akron Children’s Hospital before coming back to Salem Community in 1972. She continued her education at Kent State University, Boston College and The University of Rhode Island, earning a bachelor of science degree in education and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and sociology.
The OHA award is not the first recognition for Buchmann at work and in the community.
She has been Salem Community’s Employee of the Month twice, was the Salem Jaycees’ Outstanding Career Woman for the City of Salem and was named Woman of the Year by Church Women United.
Buchmann is a member of First United Methodist Church in Salem, where she has served as organist, choir member, lay reader, Sunday school teacher, Cherub Choir director, bell-choir member and youth group adviser. She is a member of the church’s worship committee and is a substitute organist at another local church.
A gifted musician and vocalist, Buchmann also plays piano, guitar and dulcimer and often accompanies students auditioning for college scholarships. She lends her musical talents to the local high school, and has participated in the Youngstown Symphony Chorus, Salem Community Theater, and the Salem Music Study Club.
“I was taught to live by the Golden Rule. I have done nothing in my life but use my talents to make my little corner of the world a better place,” Buchmann said.