TriStar StoneCrest
June 24, 2016

Includes Frist Humanitarian Awards, Excellence in Nursing Awards and Innovators Award

TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center announced its annual HCA Awards of Distinction program recipients during a recent ceremony. The program includes three unique, significant awards: the Frist Humanitarian Awards, the new Excellence in Nursing Awards and the Innovators Award.

“Our annual recognition ceremony name has grown to more completely celebrate team members across all areas of our hospital that are making a substantial impact on the healthcare industry, their related profession, care delivery and our community,” said Lou Caputo, CEO of TriStar StoneCrest.

The TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center 2015 Awards of Distinction recipients by category are:

Frist Humanitarian Awards

  • Dr. Prakash Patel, Physician Frist Humanitarian Award
  • Norma Ledbetter, Volunteer Frist Humanitarian Award
  • Sandy Baucom, Employee Frist Humanitarian Award

Excellence in Nursing Award

  • Courtney Cole, Excellence in Nursing Award for Compassionate Care

Innovators Award

  • Courtney Cole

“While the awards program name has evolved from the Frist Humanitarian Award Ceremony, I believe the foundation of each award is still based on a simple but powerful reflection from HCA founder Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., ‘Good people beget good people.’,” Caputo told ceremony attendees. “The HCA Awards of Distinction allow us to recognize additional members of our team who are indeed good people who have a great influence on their colleagues, their patients and their communities.”

The prestigious Frist Humanitarian Award was created in 1971 to honor outstanding individuals for their humanitarian and volunteer activities. Named in honor of Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., a founder of HCA, this award recognizes individuals who serve the community and those in need and whose daily dedication and caregiving epitomize the highest standards of quality and personal commitment. This award is given annually to one physician, one volunteer and one employee.

Prakash Patel, MD, a hospitalist at TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center, was named as the 2015 Physician Frist Humanitarian Award recipient. In one award nomination, Dr. Patel was described as “one of the best doctors we have. (He) works diligently and tirelessly for each of his patients and he wants to give them back their previous health state.” Another nomination described how Dr. Patel gives not only of his time, but also a mentor for the staff and he is caring to all.

Norma Ledbetter, a long-time volunteer at TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center, was named as the 2015 Volunteer Frist Humanitarian Award recipient. In her award nomination, Ledbetter was described as exemplifying dedication, love, care, compassion and concern for all our patients.

Sandy Baucom, Infection Preventionist for TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center, was named as the 2015 Employee Frist Humanitarian Award recipient. Baucom has 15 years of service with HCA, the last 12 years with TriStar StoneCrest. One of her award nominations stated, “she embraces her role with passion and knowledge that all staff can benefit from.”

The Excellence in Nursing Awards is a new addition to the awards program this year. These two awards honor nurses for their exceptional work in a more direct and formal capacity relating to patient care and the nursing profession.

Courtney Cole, maternity services department, was named the 2015 Excellence in Nursing Award for Compassionate Care recipient. Her nomination read in part, “(Courtney is) truly the definition of a compassionate nurse. (She) takes time with her tiny patients and their families, is kind (and) caring, and does so much for them when she is with them. She is truly an angel.”

The Innovators Award, named in honor of HCA founder Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Frist, Jr., recognizes employees for innovative ideas that improve how our patients are cared for and how our healthcare system is run.

Courtney Cole also received the 2015 Innovators Award for founding the HCA Cares Bereavement Fund in 2015. As a maternity nurse, Courtney experienced a fetal demise through the eyes of each patient and family. Throughout her first year at TriStar StoneCrest, she was astounded at the many families that could not afford to have a proper burial or commemoration for their baby. Thus, Courtney decided to turn tragedy into an opportunity to reach out to TriStar StoneCrest families who have experienced a fetal demise and neonatal deaths and make a positive impact in our facility and the community. Since its inception, the goal of HCA Cares is to serve hundreds of Stonecrest families in need of both financial and emotional support services. Courtney’s long-term vision of HCA Cares is to meet a state need and provide the program across Tennessee in all HCA hospitals.

Caputo stated, Courtney’s creation of HCA Cares exemplifies the spirit of the Innovators Award. This program is a clear representation of how committed our employees are to the improvement of every patient that enters into our facility.”

TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center is part of TriStar Health, a division of HCA. The annual HCA Awards of Distinction program celebrates individuals in each award category at the facility level and then recognizes one company-wide recipient for each award category.