Every year, we invite our community to nominate health care professionals who have done extraordinary work in service to their field and their neighbors for the Champions of Health Care awards. Do people respond? Well, this year the packet of nominations weighed in at a pretty typical 283 pages. It's a humbling process, sifting through these remarkable stories. The task of choosing the winners falls to a committee of people in senior leadership roles in a variety of health care settings. They've been around, and they know the landscape, the people, the issues. But that doesn't make it easy, and this year's process presented extraordinary challenges on a number of fronts.
The coronavirus pandemic has tested our community in ways that would have been unthinkable a year ago, and health care providers are at the forefront of the work to fight it. Even when there isn't a global pandemic, the Champions of Health Care recognition is an ongoing work in progress. It's tough to summarize the depth and breadth of the work and its impact on people that happens in health care every day. Every year, we give it our best shot. Which means this year, like every year, we have some terrific stories to tell you.
(WATCH: Champions of Health Care expert panel)
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* Bond receives Champions of Health Care lifetime achievement award
* Pope receives Champions of Health Care administrative excellence award
* McGuire receives Champions of Health Care physician/community award
* Chase receives Champions of Health Care non-physician practitioner award
* Pesnell receives Champions of Health Care volunteer award
* Haynes receives Champions of Health Care physician/academic award
* Headrick receives Champions of Health Care innovation by an individual award
* Blood Assurance receives Champions of Health Care community outreach award
* Chattanooga's COVID-19 response: Joining forces to serve the most vulnerable