Lourdes Health Names 2024 Mercy Award Winner

Emily Dirkes

​Lourdes Health recently announced that Emily Dirkes has been recognized as the facility’s 2024 Mercy Award winner. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of Lifepoint Health’s facilities who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded.

Established in 2001, the Mercy Award is an annual recognition program that honors 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 Lourdes Health, we are committed to advancing Lifepoint’s mission of making communities healthier, and our devoted team members are critical to this work – especially Emily,” said Mark Holyoak, CEO of Lourdes Health. “We are so proud to recognize her positive contributions to improving the overall health of our patients, supporting their families, and serving our community. Emily always goes the extra mile to meet any need that may arise and is a true champion of our caring culture at Lourdes Health.”

Emily has been a valued employee at Lourdes Health for 13 years. She is known amongst her peers for fostering an environment of teamwork and actively listens to understand and act on the unique needs of others. Her commitment to our mission, compassion in patient care, and mindset of thinking “we” before “me” has significantly impacted our patients and organization.

Emily is known for jumping in and helping wherever she is needed. She has worked as an inpatient aide, outpatient aide, receptionist, insurance specialist and now manages three outpatient clinics and helps support our Acute Care therapists.

Emily consistently demonstrates strong leadership qualities that inspire and motivate her colleagues. She is known for her mentorship, problem solving skills and optimism, which foster a positive and productive work environment. She is also heavily involved with her volunteer work in our community, including Second Harvest and the Arc of Tri-Cities.

Emily champions our core values within and outside of the workplace, as demonstrated by the many organizations she serves within our community.
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Each facility winner, including Emily, will be considered for Lifepoint’s 2024 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in August.

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