Jackson Purchase Medical Center Names 2024 Mercy Award Winner

Jackson Purchase Medical Center (JPMC) recently announced that Denise Clapp, (RRT) Respiratory Therapist has been recognized as the hospital’s 2024 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 Jackson Purchase Medical Center, 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 Dave Anderson, JPMC CEO. “We are extremely proud to recognize Denise for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. 

Denise has worked with JPMC since 1992, she is dependable, efficient, and unfailingly compassionate. She has repeatedly expressed an eagerness to take on difficult projects and see them to successful completion. She does all of this while projecting a warm, cheerful, attitude to our staff, patients, and visitors. She resolves conflicts and manages demanding situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact. She loves people, works hard, and always tries to lift the spirits of those around her.

Denise goes above-and-beyond for patients daily. Most recently, when a patient was hospitalized for a prolonged period, and in isolation, Denise heard about a meal preference the patient had and ordered that immediately for the patient to be able to enjoy. She also bought the patient some books by the patient’s favorite author to allow the patient to be able to enjoy something.  She may work in respiratory, but you can find her helping patients to the bathroom, assisting them with their meals or anything the patient may need. And always with a warm smile.

She covers a great deal of back-up call and always comes when staff are in need, no matter the situation. She always appears with a smile on her face and asks what needs to be done.

Denise is also active in her church and makes sure that every Sunday, she and her boys go to church. She is the first to check one someone from the community or church when they have surgery or are sick or just having a bad day. The patience and love that she shows to everyone she encounters is an example to all of us. She often prays for co-workers, patients, family, and other visitors.

There are countless contributions that Denise has made to her community, while changing so many of her patients’ lives for the better. Many of these go unnoticed because she is not driven by recognition but by her desire to make a difference. She is an inspiration and a deserving nominee for this year’s Mercy Award.

Each hospital winner, including Denice, will be considered for Lifepoint’s 2024 companywide Mercy Award, which will be announced later this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, in August.