WHITEVILLE — Two Columbus Regional Healthcare System employees were recently honored with top awards that recognized them for outstanding service and attention to patient safety.

Heather Nobles, a registered nurse at CRHS, was awarded the 2015 Grace Drayton Powell Award. Named after the first recipient, The Grace Drayton Powell Award for Service Excellence is the most prestigious service excellence award given at CRHS. Its purpose is to recognize an employee who goes “above and beyond” to deliver excellent service to patients.

A registered nurse at CRHS, Nobles was nominated because of her dedication to Columbus Regional and for going the extra mile to provide excellent service to everyone in need. She has been employed by CRHS for eight years and lives in Clarendon with her husband and two children.

Patricia Senkow was the recipient of this year’s Betty Ann Lamb Singletary Memorial Award, which is presented annually to an employee who is the overall winner of the CRHS Good Catch program and to recognize an employee who goes “above and beyond” the routine to improve patient safety.

Senkow has been employed for nine years as a pharmacist at CRHS. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she is a graduate of Temple University. She has one daughter and currently lives in Ash.

The John B. Singletary family established the employee award in 2011 in memory of their wife and mother, Bettie Singletary. To be presented annually, this award was established to recognize an employee for going “above and beyond” the routine to improve patient safety.

The generosity of the Singletary family allows the hospital to recognize and reward the annual winner of the “Good Catch Award” program. The employee recognition program is designed to encourage hospital staff to report unplanned events that did not result in injury, illness or damage, but may have had the potential to do so. Quality and safety experts believe that examining these close calls provides hospitals with a critical opportunity to identify and implement potentially lifesaving risk-reduction strategies.

— Terrie H. Priest is the vice-president of business development and community relations at Columbus Regional Healthcare System.