HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction announced at HCA Midwest Health

Overland Park, KS — Today, HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City's largest healthcare provider, announced its recipients of the prestigious HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction. The HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction, including the Frist Humanitarian Awards, the Innovators Award and the Excellence in Nursing Awards, are the highest honors HCA Healthcare bestows on employees, physicians and volunteers. 

As part of HCA Healthcare, HCA Midwest Health is proud to recognize these colleagues' exceptional work and dedication. The local recipients of HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction are:

Tiffany Crabtree, MSW, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Frist Humanitarian Award, employee recipient 
Jonathan Jacobs, MD, Menorah Medical Center, Frist Humanitarian Award, physician recipient 
Carol Jacobs, Lee's Summit Medical Center, Frist Humanitarian Award, volunteer recipient 
Lauren Dennard, RN, Menorah Medical Center, Excellence in Nursing Award, Compassionate Care recipient 
Teffany Summerville, RN, Belton Regional Medical Center, Excellence in Nursing Award, Professional Mentoring recipient 
Justin Stumpenhaus, RN, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Innovators Award recipient 

"We are proud to announce these dedicated and compassionate caregivers as our 2024 HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction recipients," said HCA Midwest Health President Keith Zimmerman. "These six extraordinary individuals, honoring the vision of our founders, deliver exceptional, patient-focused care to every patient who enters our hospital. Their dedication and compassion personifies our mission to care for and improve human life." 

These caring and talented individuals will be considered for HCA Healthcare's corporate-level awards. The division-level winners are entered into the judging for the enterprise-level awards, announced during a special ceremony at HCA Healthcare's headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 24, 2024. 

About the HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction

Established in 1971, the Frist Humanitarian Award honors outstanding individuals for their humanitarian and volunteer activities. The awards are given annually in recognition of the caring spirit and philanthropic work of the late Dr. Thomas Frist, Sr., a founder of HCA Healthcare. The Frist Humanitarian Award recognizes one employee, physician, and volunteer from each HCA Healthcare facility.

Tiffany Crabtree, MSW, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Frist Humanitarian Award, employee recipient 

Crabtree is a fierce advocate for NICU families and babies and works tirelessly to find solutions to their social challenges and mental health needs. Her advocacy helped secure a grant for mental health resources for NICU mothers, and she was instrumental in securing the addition of the Ronald McDonald House Family Room at the hospital. In addition, she helped create the Circle of Hope NICU Foundation, which raises money to support NICU families through gift and gas cards, sibling support tools, infant books and other resources. Beyond the hospital, Crabtree extends her dedication to helping others through community organizations like the March of Dimes and the Unity Church of Overland Park.

Jonathan Jacobs, MD, Menorah Medical Center, Frist Humanitarian Award, physician recipient 

For the past 25 years serving as an internal medicine physician with Menorah Medical Center, Dr. Jacobs has fully epitomized the values of this award. His commitment to the care and improvement of human life has impacted thousands of patients within and throughout the streets of Kansas City. For six years, Dr. Jacobs has volunteered with Care Beyond the Boulevard to provide high-quality medical and mental healthcare and support to the homeless, uninsured or otherwise vulnerable in and around the city. The nonprofit operates mobile clinics and provides care at pop-up clinics year-round at churches, shelters and homeless camps – even delivering care to individuals living under bridges – and in inclement weather. Dr. Jacobs also serves as medical director and president of the Care Beyond the Boulevard board, spending countless hours caring for those in need.

Carol Jacobs, Lee's Summit Medical Center, Frist Humanitarian Award, volunteer recipient 

During her eight years of volunteering at the hospital, Carol Jacobs has racked up nearly 1,000 hours – primarily in the ICU, assisting staff and patients and helping train other volunteers, many of whom are students. However, her dedication to the hospital began in 1977 as an ultrasound technician – a position in which she served for 32 years. Jacobs' dedication to serving others includes volunteering with Lee's Summit Social Services as a dedicated election volunteer for Jackson County, Missouri, and serving on various committees for her church. Perhaps her most significant selfless volunteer act was the gift of life to her husband through kidney donation, helping extend his life until his passing in May 2023. 

HCA Midwest Health's knowledgeable and compassionate nurses are on the front line of patient care every day. The Excellence in Nursing Award was created in 2014 to recognize the intrinsic value of the nursing practice in accomplishing HCA Healthcare's goal of providing the highest quality of care to the patients and the community. The award recognizes HCA Healthcare nurses who excel in the categories of Compassionate Care and Professional Mentoring.

Lauren Dennard, RN, Menorah Medical Center, Excellence in Nursing Award, Compassionate Care recipient 

Dennard has cemented her place as a cherished member of the radiation oncology department among colleagues and as a favorite nurse to patients. She is known for her calm, caring demeanor, and patients frequently comment on how Dennard anticipates their needs, providing much-needed compassion and emotional support during often scary and stressful situations. To help patients celebrate the completion of their radiation treatments, she developed a ribbon program where patients write messages of hope on paper ribbons in the color representing their type of cancer. The ribbons are displayed in the office to encourage others experiencing cancer treatments. Dennard mentors other oncology nurses to emulate her behaviors and ensure the ultimate care experience for our patients.

Teffany Summerville, RN, Belton Regional Medical Center, Excellence in Nursing Award, Professional Mentoring recipient 

For over 30 years, clinical nurse coordinator Summerville has tirelessly advocated for nurses and helped shape countless individuals into strong, compassionate and exceptionally skilled caregivers. During her 10 years with the hospital, she has ensured nursing colleagues had the knowledge to adapt to any clinical challenge – even creating a post-anesthesia PACU training guide. PACU colleagues' engagement scores have soared to the highest in the facility, thanks to her inspiration and leadership, and the hospital granted her the 2023 Nursing Excellence of the Year Award. An active member of the Black Nurses Association, Summerville also volunteers with a local nonprofit that provides awareness and education about equine-related children's activities and Black horse culture in Kanas City.

The Innovators Award recognizes the pursuit of excellence in innovation through leadership, creativity and collaboration. Summerville improves lives by leading a culture of unique problem-solving.

Justin Stumpenhaus, RN, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Innovators Award recipient

Sometimes, the littlest of things truly make the biggest impact. That is certainly the case with an idea from Stumpenhaus, an infection prevention manager at the facility. Thanks to his steadfast commitment to quality care and patient safety, the hospital tasked him with reducing the number of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Stumpenhaus took a simplistic – yet innovative approach to tackling the problem of patients in contact isolation who are highly contagious. Because caregivers of these patients are required to physically wash their hands with soap and water versus using hand sanitizer to kill germs and prevent cross-contaminating others, he placed a red sheer cover over the hand sanitizer station outside patients' rooms. This approach served as a visual cue to wash hands and don the appropriate PPE before entering the room, resulting in C. diff infection rates dropping 56 percent in 2023 and zero new cases through the first quarter of 2024.