Today, we are proud to present our annual HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction at a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee. The HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction, which include the Frist Humanitarian Award, the HCA Healthcare Innovators Award and the HCA Healthcare Excellence in Nursing Award, are the highest honors HCA Healthcare bestows on employees, physicians and volunteers, recognizing the extraordinary individuals who exemplify the organization’s culture and values.
The Frist Humanitarian Award recognizes the highest achievements in serving others; the Innovators Award recognizes creative new ideas for enhancing quality of care; and the Excellence in Nursing Award recognizes the highest levels of performance in the field of nursing.
“Each year, it is our distinct honor to recognize the remarkable individuals who make our organization better through their commitment to excellence for our patients. The selfless service demonstrated by today’s recipients exemplifies the mission upon which HCA Healthcare was founded – a commitment to the care and improvement of human life.”
Sam Hazen, chief executive officer, HCA Healthcare
Frist Humanitarian Award Recipients
Established in 1971 and named in honor of Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr. (1910-1998), the Frist Humanitarian Award is given to those within the organization who demonstrate a level of commitment and care that goes beyond everyday acts of kindness and who inspire others with their compassion and dedication.
Frist Humanitarian Award employee and volunteer recipients receive a $10,000 cash gift and a $10,000 gift to a charity of their choice, while the physician recipient receives a $20,000 gift to the charity of their choice.
Recipients of the 2024 Frist Humanitarian Award are:
- Samantha McClelland, BS, RRT, CES-A, the ECMO program coordinator at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Jonathan Jacobs, MD, an internist at Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kansas
- Paulette Bennett, a volunteer at Ogden Regional Medical Center in Ogden, Utah
“The Frist Humanitarian Award recognizes those within HCA Healthcare who have demonstrated a selfless dedication to bettering the lives of those around them,” said Hazen. “This year’s recipients inspire us all, not only by their achievements, but through their passion for serving others.”
Samantha McClelland, BS, RRT, CES-A
Portsmouth Regional Hospital (Portsmouth, New Hampshire)
Samantha McClelland is an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program coordinator at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Since starting at the hospital as a critical care respiratory therapist in 2003, McClelland has shaped the advancement of care through her unwavering dedication and exceptional skill.
McClelland is a devoted community advocate, successfully petitioning the governor of New Hampshire for an official Apraxia Awareness Day.
A supporter of local schools, McClelland dedicates time to educating teachers and newly diagnosed children on asthma care and has led efforts to expand high school diploma options for students with disabilities.
Jonathan Jacobs, MD
Menorah Medical Center (Overland Park, Kansas)
In addition to maintaining an internal medicine clinic at Menorah Medical Center, Dr. Jonathan Jacobs can often be found caring for his community’s most vulnerable population outside of traditional healthcare settings.
Dr. Jacobs is both a board member and the medical director of Care Beyond the Boulevard.
This organization is dedicated to providing high-quality medical and mental health care to the unhoused and under-served populations of Kansas City.
Dr. Jacobs is also a devoted volunteer and spends almost 100 hours a year directly caring for patients.
Whether on a sidewalk or in an exam room, each patient seen by Dr. Jacobs is treated with dignity and respect.
Paulette Bennett
Ogden Regional Medical Center (Ogden, Utah)
Throughout her 13 years of service, Paulette Bennett has volunteered thousands of hours to develop the pet therapy program at Ogden Regional Medical Center.
Together with Miss Sophie, her beloved canine partner, Bennett helps to comfort and calm patients and families during some of life’s toughest moments.
Outside of the hospital, she is a member of the Animal Assisted Crisis Response Team and has worked with Miss Sophie to support numerous communities affected by a disaster or reeling from trauma.
Together as a team, Bennett and Miss Sophie set an example of how valuable pet therapy programs can be, serving in local schools, museums and community centers.
HCA Healthcare Innovators Award Recipient
HCA Healthcare was founded with the goal of unlocking numerous possibilities for patients, colleagues and communities. Created in 2010, the HCA Healthcare Innovators Award continues the tradition of recognizing innovative thinkers, like the organization’s founders Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., Mr. Jack Massey and Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Frist, Jr., who help to improve nursing operations, engage physicians and generate growth. The Innovators Award recipient receives a $10,000 cash gift and a $10,000 donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice.
Jedediah Vivio
Information Technology Group, Expanse (Nashville, Tennessee)
The 2024 Innovators Award recipient is Jedediah Vivio, a senior product analyst in HCA Healthcare’s Information Technology Group (ITG) in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2023, Vivio became the first member of the Expanse Automation team. Expanse, the organization’s new electronic health record (EHR) platform, is designed to help provide colleagues with advanced technology to create efficiencies for care teams, improve the coordination of care for patients and enable enterprise growth and power innovation through a modernized EHR platform.
“For more than 50 years, our founders’ legacy has been carried out by innovative thinkers like Jedediah,” said Mike Marks, executive vice president and chief financial officer of HCA Healthcare. “As we embark on this exciting new chapter, his solution-oriented mindset and expertise will continue to be an invaluable asset to help create a simpler, faster process for all colleagues.”
HCA Healthcare Excellence in Nursing Award Recipients
Created in 2014, the Excellence in Nursing Award recognizes the intrinsic value of the nursing practice in accomplishing HCA Healthcare’s goal of providing high quality care to patients and communities. With categories for professional mentoring and compassionate care, the Excellence in Nursing Award recipients each receive a $10,000 cash gift and a $10,000 donation to the charity of the recipient’s choice.
This year’s recipients are:
“Every day, our more than 99,000 nurses are on the front line of patient care. Through their dedication and compassion, this year’s recipients have reminded us all what it truly means to care like family and lead the way in elevating patient care.”
Sammie Mosier, DHA, MA, BSN, NE-BC, senior vice president and chief nurse executive of HCA Healthcare
Roni S. Hutson, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC
Methodist Hospital (San Antonio, Texas)
Roni S. Hutson, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC, received the Excellence in Nursing Award in the Professional Mentoring category.
Throughout her 35-year career at Methodist Hospital, Hutson has touched countless patient lives while supporting the growth and development of fellow caregivers.
Her extensive knowledge of nursing and cardiac care plays a pivotal role in standardizing best practices.
Twenty years ago, Hutson led the development of the heart rotation program that has been widely recognized within the cardiac care industry.
Outside of the hospital, she has held leadership roles within the local chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and received the South Texas Nurse Imagemaker Award.
Heather Hurlburt, RN
Sunrise Hospital and Sunrise Children’s Hospital (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Heather Hurlburt, RN, received the Excellence in Nursing Award in the Compassionate Care category.
A 33-year veteran of the Pediatric Emergency Room at Sunrise Children’s Hospital, Hurlburt has cared for young patients through unthinkable trauma with grace, skill and unwavering kindness.
As a trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), her compassion allows her to balance supporting her patients through vulnerable situations, while ensuring critical evidence is properly collected and reported.
In addition to her work at the hospital, she is a dedicated volunteer and spent 11 years working with the Advocacy Center for Sexually Abused Children, forging a strong partnership between the hospital, the Center and law enforcement.