Harris Regional Hospital Names 2020 Mercy Award Winner
August 27, 2020
Harris Regional Hospital Names 2020 Mercy Award Winner
Catherine Overbay recognized for demonstrating compassion and unwavering commitment to helping others
Harris Regional Hospital recently announced that Catherine Overbay has been recognized as the hospital’s 2020 Mercy Award winner. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s hospitals 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.
“At Harris Regional Hospital, we share LifePoint’s commitment to making communities healthier, and we recognize this is supported by the good work and service of our employees on and off the job,” said Steve Heatherly, CEO of Harris Regional. “We are extremely proud to recognize Catherine for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. She goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that every person she encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion.”
Catherine, a speech therapist and clinical coordinator for speech therapy, makes our communities healthier by extending the compassion she shares for her patients to the community at-large, including her co-workers, local school teachers, and shelter animals awaiting a loving home.
Excerpts from Catherine’s nomination letter are a true representation of the warmth Catherine readily radiates throughout our community:
“When Catherine’s son’s kindergarten was closed due to the coronavirus, she brought every kindergarten teacher homemade soup to comfort them during the layoffs. Pre-COVID, Catherine could be found every Saturday morning at the local animal shelter caring for and engaging the dogs longing for someone to love them. Catherine inspired me to also become a volunteer at the shelter. In my orientation, the staff lit up when I mentioned Catherine’s name because they all truly appreciate her commitment and kindness to the animals every week.”
“When a teammate is out on medical leave, Catherine delivers a week’s worth of delicious homemade meals. When COVID-19 caused our beloved hospital coffees hot to close, Catherine sprang into action and generously purchased a fancy coffee station to lift our staff’s spirits.”
Each hospital winner, including Catherine, will be considered for LifePoint’s 2020 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in October, to which Catherine and all hospital winners are invited to attend.