Healthcare Heroes.

• Author: Burningham, Lucy
• Position: Focus

They come from all walks of life with singleness of purpose: to help, heal and even save lives. You can't put a price tag on what healthcare professionals do. They work excruciating hours, manage a multitude of life-and-death details and a rollercoaster of emotions: from heart-wrenching sorrow and pain to exhileration and relief. This third annual Utah Business Healthcare Heroes highlights seven individuals whose passionate contributions have had a profound impact on the lives of individuals and families, and on their communities, bettering the quality of health care--and quality of life--for Utah residents. Their exceptional work ranges from clinical care to administration to education; the common denominator is that their efforts are making a genuine difference in the lives of those they serve.

Lezli Matthews

Nurse Manager of Burn Trauma,

ICU/Intermountain Burn Center,

University of Utah

(photo previous page)

Lezli Matthews and her staff routinely see some of the most disturbing injuries in the medical world--severe burns that disfigure and cause physical pain that most of us can't begin to imagine. Yet Matthews, who has worked on and off in the burn unit since she graduated from BYU in 1982, remains upbeat about what her team accomplishes every day.

"What we do on a daily basis saves lives and helps patients to have a functional, quality life," Matthews says. "Our greatest accomplishment is the low mortality rate here." Treating abused children and other burn victims means this nurse does more than just make sure the wheels of her operation are turning smoothly. Matthews acts as cheerleader, spiritual counselor and motivator to a team of professionals, and their collaborative work has resulted in a noticeably low turnover rate for a burn unit. "More tears are shed in this unit out of pure gratitude," Matthews says. "Nursing is not a science, but an art. We learn that here."

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The ICU/Intermountain Burn Center, the only one of its kind between Denver, Seattle and Sacramento, serves the largest geographical area in the nation. The staff of 93 people care for all ages--amounting to 300 patients a year, 5,000 outpatient visits and 600 in the unit's operating room.

Managing such a large operation is challenging, acknowledges Matthews' husband, Ken, chief flight nurse and program director for AirMed. As her colleague, he understands her strengths. "She is always the patient's advocate, and she develops the staff to be...