FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Medals4Mettle To Present “Extra Mile” Award to Ascension St. John Health Care Workers

by Steven F. Isenberg, MD , Founder

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2020

CONTACT: Caitlin Faeth caitlin.faeth@ascension.org | 918-949-0712

Tulsa, Okla. – Medals4Mettle (M4M) will present 85 medals to Ascension St. John health care workers during two ceremonies at Ascension St. John Jane Phillips in Bartlesville, OK and Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, OK on Wednesday, January 13, 2021 to honor their commitment, sacrifice and essential role in the COVID-19 Pandemic. The medals will be given along with the “Extra Mile” Award for Extraordinary Pandemic Service. The award recipients were nominated by their peers.

M4M will present medals on the helipad at Ascension St. John Jane Phillips at 7:00 a.m. and circle drive at Ascension St. John Medical Center at 5:30 p.m. In between the ceremonies, Wyatt Hockmeyer, DM, Ascension St. John, Director of Performance Improvement will run the 46 miles stretch between the two facilities with a police escort as a representation of the “marathon” health care workers have endured for the last ten months, and will likely continue to experience into 2021.

“It is an honor for the Medals4Mettle Tulsa Chapter to participate in honoring our Frontline Heroes at Ascension Saint John” said Karl Ahlgren, Medals4Mettle, Tulsa Chapter Coordinator. “Each of the health care workers recognized today have made untold sacrifices and have truly gone the extra mile during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

“I am excited to spend a day recognizing our frontline heroes,” said Wyatt Hockmeyer, Ascension St. John, Director of Performance Improvement. “Running 46 miles is tough, and I will definitely be sore and tired, but unlike our frontline health care workers, my shift stops at the end of the day. Our caregivers run the equivalent of a marathon each day, only to wake up and do it again the next. They don’t ask for thanks or praise, and they put their lives on the line because we can’t get through this unprecedented time without them. I am truly honored to be part of this initiative and fortunate to call many of these brave individuals my friends and family.”

“Ascension St. John is honored to partner with the local chapter of Medals4Mettle to honor our front line heroes, said Lucky Lamons, Ascension St. John, Chief Advocacy Officer and Foundation President. “We also have great appreciation for the Bartlesville Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and the Tulsa Police Department for their support on Wyatt’s route today.”

Medals4Mettle (M4M) is a national 501c3 organization. Its mission is to “unite endurance athletes with all compassionate human beings to create a new internal network of compassion: kindness without borders.” Finishers’ medals from marathons, triathlons, half marathons and triathlons are donated by endurance athletes and restrung with M4M lanyards to recognize individuals who are running a unique and difficult race, often with an unknown finish line.
About Medals4Mettle

With over 70 community chapters worldwide and nine medical school chapters, Medals4Mettle (www.medals4mettle.org) has awarded over 60,000 medals to children and adults in over 80 hospitals worldwide. M4M (founded in 2005) has received national recognition over the past 15 years: (2013) the National Jefferson Award for Public Service; (2013) the Jerome Goldstein Award for Public Service from
the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; (2009) the Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Award; (2008) the first Recipient of the Human Race Award, Runner’s World Magazine. M4M has received several matching corporate grants and endowments. Medals4Mettle’s mission has also been
adapted to teach philanthropy to elementary school students, award medals to children at Ronald McDonald Houses, burn camps, Special Olympics, and teach humanistic behavior to medical students. (https://alphaomegaalpha.org/pharos/2018/Summer/2018-3-Isenberg.pdf) Medals4Mettle is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 2020, M4M expanded its mission during the pandemic and has awarded thousands of medals to frontline workers. For more information about Medals4Mettle in your community or medical/dental/graduate school, please email steve@medals4mettle.org.
About Ascension

Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In FY2020, Ascension provided $2.4 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Ascension includes more than 160,000 associates and
40,000 aligned providers. The national health system operates more than 2,600 sites of care – including 146 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia, while providing a variety of services including clinical and network services, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, facilities management, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization. Visit www.ascension.org