Spring Hill, Florida (March 15, 2013) – Oak Hill Hospital has announced that its 2012 Frist Humanitarian Awards were presented to the following: the Frist Humanitarian Associate Award was presented to Cathy Edmisten, Director of the Emergency Department. The Frist Humanitarian Physician Award was presented to Robert Falkowski, MD, Emergency Department, and Frist Humanitarian Volunteer Award was presented to Karen Miles, North Tower and Oak Hill Hospital H2U Partner’s Club.
Attached photos: Cathy Edmisten, Dr. Falkowski and Karen Miles.
The Frist Humanitarian Award honors outstanding individuals for humanitarian and volunteer services. Named in honor of the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., founder of HCA and renowned humanitarian, this award recognizes individuals whose daily dedication and care-giving epitomizes the highest standards of quality and personal commitment.
Three awards are given annually at each HCA hospital. One recognizes an HCA associate who goes beyond day-to-day responsibilities and their overall service to the community. Another recognizes an HCA volunteer who gives unselfishly in their service to the facility. A third award is announced to a physician who best epitomizes Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr.’s commitment to the communities in which we serve.
The nominees for the 2012 Frist Humanitarian Awards are as follows:
The Associate nominees were:
Lisa Bachus, RN
Christine Breivik, RN
Tracy Bonnett, CNA
Mark Cabahug, RN
Ersenida “Nida” Deromemaj, Phleb.
Dawn Eisenhut, EVS
Cathy Edmisten, Director
Teresa “Joy” Kuerner, RN
Kim Loucks, RN
Jennifer Manner, Director
Kimba McFadden, CNA
Dee-Ann Marsh, RN
Robin O’Brien, RN
Judy Preuss, RN
Jackie Railing, HIM
Claudia Salazar, RN
Alan Schukman, Director
Brian Stewart, RN
Christine Sucena, CNA/MT
Tammy Wyzkowski, Imaging
The Physician nominees were:
Dr. H. Abuzarad
Dr. L. Breeding
Dr. J. Ceron-Fuentes
Dr. S. Dinavahi
Dr. R. Falkowski
Dr. D. Herscovici
Dr. M. Joud
Dr. G. Korupolu
Dr. V. Malhotra
Dr. J. Okoh
Dr. M. Piduru
Dr. T. Tang
The Volunteer nominees were:
Phyllis Chiswell
Karen Miles
Tillie Williams
Cathy Edmisten, RN, CEN (Certified Emergency Nurse), MBA is Director of Oak Hill Hospital’s Emergency Care Center. She is a native Floridian who has lived in our community for the past 25 years. During that time she has held a wide range of positions in the community from an investment coordinator at the County Clerk’s office to nursing leadership positions in several local healthcare facilities. Cathy joined Oak Hill Hospital’s leadership team in 2011 and her most recent accomplishment at Oak Hill has been overseeing the opening of the community’s first Pediatric Emergency Room.
Cathy’s 25 years in our community has been characterized by a genuine concern for those around her. She is particularly dedicated to her staff and in fact very recently organized the “Fighting for Bonnie” campaign for an emergency nurse who was battling breast cancer for the second time. She organized the campaign to cover the day-to-day household expenses that are often overlooked in situations such as this. The campaign was such a success and the donations came in at such an aggressive rate that “Bonnie” had to ask that the organizers stop as she now had enough money. Cathy singlehandedly worked with the Emergency Nurses Association to open the Nature Coast chapter of the ENA and in fact presented the signed petition personally at the organization’s national meeting on February 28 of this year. Cathy’s true passion is helping children. She has been president of one of our local Kiwanis chapters and served as chair of the Young Children Priority One committee. She has facilitated Christmas camps for homeless children, set up children’s parades in the local community and set up two separate children’s safety fairs. She even holds her own personal Christmas party at home where she requests that people bring anonymous gifts for donations to children in need.
Robert Falkowski, MD. Dr. Bob has lived in our community for over 20 years and has been on the staff of Oak Hill Hospital’s Emergency Department since 2000. He attended medical school at University of Massachusetts and completed his residency at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has a reputation for genuine concern about his patients. He has often said that he would be unable to make a living with a private practice as he would help everyone regardless of the ability to pay. This characteristic makes him well-suited for a career in emergency medicine. Dr. Bob has been known to work his normal shift and then come in during the early morning hours to help when the ER is extra busy. He also was a big supporter in the “Fighting for Bonnie” campaign by helping raise money and support for the cause. He is the Medical Director of the Department, but considers himself simply a member of the team. He helps with EMS Week and Emergency Nurses Week and donates time and money to celebrate the occasions. He is passionate about teaching both new and tenured nurses and in fact works with the clinical coordinator to trial new products and to educate staff about them. He can often be found helping out in the ER with tasks that many people would overlook such as changing beds and getting blankets, etc. Dr. Bob started his career as an orthopaedic technician but worked his way up to his current profession. To sum up his feelings of his role as a physician he has said, “I do it for the joy of it.”
Karen Miles, member of the Oak Hill Hospital Volunteer Association as well as H2U partnership. Karen is originally from Austin, Minnesota, but began her career as an assistant manager with Brawley’s restaurant chain in Modesto, California. She was eventually promoted to management and was awarded the organization’s “Restaurant Manager of the Year” four times over the span of her career. She saved the life of one of her employees and was recognized by the state of California with the “Award of Excellence” for her actions. We were fortunate to have her relocate to Brooksville in 2000. Karen started volunteering at Oak Hill Hospital less than a year after and was instrumental in making multiple events successful including health fairs, picnics, Christmas parties and other events. She has served as president of the local H2U Partner’s chapter and is currently the Chairperson for the new North Tower. During her time at Oak Hill she has volunteered over 8,464 hours. She also volunteers with the Women’s Club of Brookridge, a local neighborhood community group to raise money for scholarships for underprivileged children. She also participates in “Blankets of Love,” a group that holds blanket drives to collect new blankets for members of the community who are in need.
The local award winners were selected by a panel that included peers, senior leaders, and prior nominees. The local associate a volunteer winners receive a prize of $250, a beautiful 10K Gold Frist Lapel Pin and a certificate of recognition. The physician receives a donation to a favorite charity in his/her name and the 10K Gold Frist Lapel Pin.
The above hospital award winners go on to compete for the 2012 National Frist Award. If selected as a National Frist Award winner, they and a guest will be invited to Nashville, Tennessee in May where they will attend a reception in their honor by Dr. Tommy Frist, Jr. and other HCA leadership. They will also receive a bronze statue, a $5,000 gift to the charity of their choice and a $5,000 cash gift. The physician recipient will receive a $10,000 gift to the charity of his or her choice and a bronze statue.
About Oak Hill Hospital:
Oak Hill Hospital has been serving the Nature Coast since 1984. It is the largest medical facility in Hernando and Citrus County (262 acute care beds), is one of the area’s largest private employers, and offers Hernando County’s only comprehensive cardiovascular program, including open heart surgery. Approximately 300 physicians, 950 associates, and over 350 volunteers comprise Oak Hill Hospital’s healthcare delivery team.
Oak Hill has achieved distinction as the:
· First and only open heart surgery hospital in Hernando County.
· First Chest Pain Center with PCI (heart catheterization) in Hernando County accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
· First and Only advanced level primary stroke center in Hernando County to be fully accredited by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in America.
· First comprehensive Women’s Imaging Center in Hernando County and the first imaging center offering digital mammography with computer aided detection.
· First hospital in the area to be recognized as an accredited cancer institute by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACoS).
· First hospital in the region to achieve Heart Failure accreditation with the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
· First hospital in the region to offer a comprehensive Orthopaedic & Spine Institute and first to achieve national certification by The Joint Commission for its Hip & Knee replacement and spinal fusion programs.
· First in the nation to have achieved 100% Board Certified Emergency Nurses, CEN’s.
· Now offers most advanced robotic assisted surgical system: the newly refined da Vinci® Si Surgical System.
· Only Emergency Care Center in Florida, and one of only 20 nationwide, honored by the Emergency Nurses Association for its first-ever Lantern Award exemplifying exceptional and innovative performance in the core areas of leadership, practice, education, advocacy, and research.
It is located at 11375 Cortez Boulevard, Spring Hill, 1.9 miles east of US 19 on State Road 50. For more information about this release, please contact Richard W. Linkul, Director of Marketing, at 352-597-6383 or Richard.Linkul@hcahealthcare.com. In Citrus call 352-628-6441. For more information about Oak Hill Hospital, visit our website at OakHillHospital.com, or like us on Facebook.