Memorial Medical Center recently capped off Hospital Week celebrations by announcing that Melinda (Mendy) Fowler has been recognized as Memorial’s 2021 Mercy Award winner. The prestigious Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s 88 hospitals nationwide who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded.

The Mercy Award is an annual recognition program established in 2002 to honor the life and contributions of Scott Mercy, LifePoint’s founding chairman and chief executive officer. The award is considered the highest honor a LifePoint employee can receive.

“We are extremely proud to recognize Mendy for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community,” said John Harris, CEO of Memorial Medical Center. “Her story is an inspiring one of perseverance, dedication and compassion. She has been described by her team members not as a social worker, but as a miracle worker. The positive, can-do attitude and energy that Mendy demonstrates in her life truly sets the standard for others.”

In the most trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mendy went above and beyond to deliver compassionate care. She works with Memorial’s Family Medicine Center, Palliative Care Team, and is a faculty member at the Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program.

Mendy and the entire Palliative Care Team build positive relationships with providers, staff, and most importantly, patients and their families. When loved ones could not say their goodbyes in person, Mendy caringly arranged ways for them to have closure. She spent countless hours on the phone with family members, and she even brought in an iPad to Facetime with families so they could say goodbye.

She also worked diligently with community resources and organizations to support those who suddenly lost multiple loved ones, including young children who were left without parents. One example of her hard work and compassion was when she worked to help secure guardianship for a minor when their only parent passed away.

Each hospital winner, including Mendy, will be considered for LifePoint’s 2021 companywide Mercy Award. The winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in August, to which Mendy and all other hospital winners are invited to attend.