Stevensville resident and nurse Cathy Scholtens recently received, back to back, two prestigious awards in recognition of her outstanding service to her patients and to the community at large.
First, she was notified by her boss at Community Medical Center in Missoula that she had been chosen to receive the hospital’s 2020 Mercy Award. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s 80 hospitals “who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded,” according to the company announcement. An anonymous selection committee of peers met last month to select the winner from a list of candidates that were nominated by fellow employees and medical providers. Scholtens, it states, was nominated for her “relentless dedication to go beyond the call of duty to serve patients and the community.”
Scholtens is a pediatric critical care nurse who has been working at the inpatient pediatric unit and the pediatric intensive care unit at Community Medical Center since 1992.
“Cathy not only continually fosters a growth and safety mindset within the walls of the hospital, she extends this into the community,” states the award announcement including several examples.
“Years ago, we had two brothers who had been admitted dozens of times to our pediatric unit due to congenital pulmonary disease. Both were in need of a lung transplant, but the cost was too prohibitive. Cathy was a leader in the many fundraising events that helped enable these boys and their family to move to Seattle to await their eventually successful transplants.”
She helped a local preschool in need of playground equipment by auctioning off artwork from three and four-year olds (art only a grandparent could love) to fund the purchase.
She makes homemade, colorful cards and places them in random places around town (bookstores, restaurants, on the sidewalk) telling strangers they are “awesome,” “loved,” “have a great smile.”
She paints caricature outlet covers and has self-published photography books that she sells online, donating the funds to Missoula Youth Homes and Jadyn Fred Foundation. Recently she contacted Third Wave, a non-profit organization, to get thousands of N95 masks donated to the CMC facility to protect care givers.
When an elderly neighbor was diagnosed with cancer and in need of care assistance, she stepped in to take her to medical appointments, give medication injections, changed dressings and was by her side until her passing.
“And as many of you have personally experienced, Cathy goes out of her way to ensure others get a proper celebration for their achievements.”
Although it is uncommon for the Director of Inpatient and Pediatrics at the hospital to offer a letter of nomination, an exception was made in this case.
“As the Director of the NICU, Pediatrics, and PICU Inpatient units, I have had the honor of leading a phenomenal group of nurses that truly excel in providing compassionate patient care,” states Director Pamela Pearson. “For this very reason, I have been hesitant in the past to nominate any single nurse for a recognition award. After all, it feels like choosing between your own children. However, as I took in the meaning behind the award and read about the spirit of Scott Mercy, the following words jumped out at me and lead to my nomination today. ‘His warmth, humor and down-to-earth style helped create a culture that still resonates through our halls.’ This one line describing Scott Mercy emulates the most beloved Pediatric Intensive care nurse to grace our halls at CMC, Cathy Scholtens RNC.”
What Scholtens said was, “You don’t get this kind of award in a vacuum. To me it’s kind of my whole unit’s award. We have amazing doctors, amazing nurses and amazing staff. But I’m really proud to have my name on it.”
Then came the double whammy. She was still reeling from the notification about the Mercy Award as she was walking through the hospital corridors and rounded a corner to find a full room of staff and other friends and family.
“I thought it was a surprise party for having received the Mercy Award,” said Scholtens. Then she saw the big display on the screen behind the crowd of people, saw the giant daisy and realized what it was: the Daisy Award!
Scholtens is usually the one who makes videos for the Daisy Awards. This time a cohort had slipped in and done it before Scholtens even knew what was going on.
The Daisy Award was created by the family of Patrick Barnes who died of an autoimmune disease at the age of 33. After witnessing eight weeks of hospitalization prior to his death, the whole family was impressed by the quality of the care that he and they had received. In response they formed the non-profit Daisy Foundation: Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem.
“We created The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses and piloted the program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, whose nurses cared for Patrick during the last weeks of his life,” said Mark Barnes, Patrick’s father. “Our goal was to ensure that nurses know how deserving they are of our society’s profound respect for the education, training, brainpower, and skill they put into their work, and especially for the caring with which they deliver their care.”
Scholtens immediately confided to a friend of hers that she was feeling a little bit undeserving. But then she read in one of the letters of support that accompany the nomination where one of her coworkers wrote: “If Cathy could give CPR with one hand while keeping her arm around the parent with the other, she would do it.”
“I thought to myself, that is very true,” said Scholtens. “So, it was kind of an opening in my heart to say yes, OK, this is true. It’s very nice. That was the highlight of all this for me, to understand that my coworkers and parents and such appreciate what I do…and how goofy I am.”
She said another great thing was all the parents and kids that she knew, some from a long time ago, who heard about the award and contacted her. She said that chance to re-connect has been really nice and to be able to talk to people she hasn’t heard from in a long time has been very gratifying.
“It’s neat. I’m super proud,” she said. “I’m also blessed with a family that lets me do all this extra stuff while they do all the stuff that runs this house. I’m down on my computer making silly magnets for people and they are up there doing the dishes. Like I said, you don’t do anything in a vacuum.”
She said it was “a neat thing to have happen so close to retirement.” She’s set to retire in two and half years.
“It’s humbling,” she said, “and then to have them both back to back is just crazy awesome. It’s all just so overwhelming. It’s something you have to just sit with for a little bit and let it settle. It’s nice to know that your life’s work is appreciated and that you are doing the right thing and you are doing it right.”
Maria Phillips says
Cathy is the best human! Cathy is very inspirational, one of a kind and a great leader.
Patricia says
Cathy was amazing when my nephew was in the hospital she took such great of my sister in law and the rest of us! I also got a HUGE privilege to work with her! I’m not a nurse but she always treated me like family! Cathy you deserve the world and so proud of you. Patricia
Caroline de Roos says
What an amazing woman. The care she gave my son while he was in the ICU was simply extraordinary! She changed my son’s life and I have never forgotten her smile or her laugh. She deserves every bit of this and more!