Frye Regional Medical Center Names 2023 Mercy Award Winner

HICKORY, NC (May 24, 2022) – Frye Regional Medical Center, a Duke LifePoint hospital, recently announced that Tennisha Mitchell, OTR/L, CLT, has been recognized as the facility’s 2023 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.

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 Frye Regional, 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 Philip Greene, MD, chief executive officer at Frye Regional Medical Center. “We’re extremely proud to recognize Tennisha Mitchel for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. She goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that every person she encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion.”

Mitchell has been a highly regarded employee at Frye Regional Medical Center for almost two decades. A skilled and caring clinician, she personifies the “Spirit of Mercy” in her daily interactions with patients, their family members and her co-workers.

Mitchell started her healthcare career as a student at Frye Regional (completing her level 2 clinical rotation at the hospital) and was then hired in 2004 as a therapy technician while she prepared to take her licensure exam. After about a year of practice, she became certified to treat individuals with lymphedema and is now one of the most reputable lymphedema therapists in the Catawba Valley region. Additionally, she is frequently mentioned by name in patient satisfaction surveys for going above and beyond.

“Numerous stories have been shared with me about Tennisha’s commitment to our mission of making communities healthier,” Dr. Greene said. “Recently, a patient came into the Outpatient Therapy Department and did not have a referral. The patient was new to the community and needed a prosthetist but was having difficulties finding one. Tennisha spent time with the patient, figuring out where to go for a fitting and finding resources to help the patient further. Frye Regional was the third clinic the patient had visited, and Tennisha took the time to help find the care the patient needed.”

Tennisha Mitchell’s love and caring spirit for others is not limited to her patients at Frye Regional. She is also actively involved in the community leading by example and giving back to those who are in need by volunteering monthly at Meals on Wheels of Catawba County, regularly serving meals at a local soup kitchen, volunteering at a local women’s shelter, reaching out to her patients at home to check on them when they miss appointments, and researching sites for her patients to get affordable lymphedema wraps, socks and other items.

Further, Mitchell is actively involved at Frye Regional, serving as the therapy services representative on the hospital’s tumor board and cancer committee. She is actively involved in the Frye Regional Cancer Center’s annual “Bras Because” fundraiser as a member of the planning committee as well as the lead for her department’s artistic bra creation. She is also active in the Frye Regional Surgical Weight Loss program, providing education and support to pre- and post-surgical patients.

“It is a great honor to receive this award and recognition,” Mitchell said. “I am so appreciative of the kind words from my co-workers and patients. Every day is a blessing and I try to live my life showing my gratitude for that blessing. I can't put into words my gratefulness – not just for receiving this award, but for my patients entrusting their care to me and all my wonderful co-workers.”

Each Lifepoint facility winner, including Tennisha Mitchell, will be considered for Lifepoint’s 2023 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in August, to which all facility winners are invited to attend.