Scarlatti Named Health Care Hero of the Year
November 19, 2010
Shirley Scarlatti, THA's "Healthcare Hero" is Grandview's Interim Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Quality Officer.
JASPER, TN – The Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) recently named Shirley Scarlatti, Grandview Medical Center’s Chief Quality Officer and Interim Chief Nursing Officer, as the organization’s “Health Care Hero of the
Year” for 2010. She was presented with the award in the presence of hundreds of hospital leaders from across the state on Oct. 7 at the THA’s annual conference in Nashville, which featured a keynote speech from Governor Phil Bredesen.
The prestigious award is given once each year for actions beyond the typical scope of service for an individual health care provider, said THA officials.
Scarlatti, a nurse for over 35 years, was presented the award, in part, for her medical contributions immediately following the devastating earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands and left millions homeless and needing medical care.
“All of us at Grandview Medical Center are very proud that one of our own has earned one of THA’s highest awards for excellence this year,” said Bruce Baldwin, Grandview’s Chief Executive Officer. “Shirley does not prescribe to the ‘nursing is a job’ mentality; to her, nursing is a life spent in service to others who are ill or hurting. She has always been a Health Care Hero to us, so it’s an honor for all of us that she was recognized by our state’s premier hospital organization. She exemplifies the spirit of service the Grandview staff shares with our patients on a daily basis.”
As a member of the Tennessee chapter of the Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), an organization of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Scarlatti has on several occasions put her personal life on hold to travel to disaster-affected parts of the nation and now the world assisting those in need. Her extensive work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and following the earthquake in Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, exposed Scarlatti and her team members to virulent disease and dangerous social unrest as they worked to provide medical care to those who could not help themselves.
DMAT peers recognized Scarlatti in June as the organization’s “Team Member of the Year” at a national meeting in Las Vegas.
In her THA award acceptance speech, however, Scarlatti said credit was “most deserved” by those who assisted and supported her home hospital as she spent the days, weeks, and months away from her family and her career. She accepted the award, she told the audience, on “behalf of all who provide care to those in need, for they are the true health care heroes.”
About Grandview Medical Center
Grandview Medical Center, a legacy facility of Capella Healthcare’s family of hospitals, is a fully accredited 70-bed licensed hospital located in Jasper, Tenn. The hospital serves Marion, Sequatchie counties in Tennessee and north Jackson County in Alabama. Grandview Medical Center also operates the Marion County Emergency Medical Service; North Valley Medical Plaza, a 12-hour convenient care clinic in Dunlap; and Mountainview Treatment Center, an adult inpatient psychiatric program located on the campus of Grandview Medical Center.