Thank you to all of our healthcare heroes and their families.

During these unprecedented times, Health Catalyst is grateful for all those who put their own lives on the line every day to support and save others’ lives. Please join us in celebrating your heroic colleagues in our upcoming Profiles in Courage social and digital channel series. It’s designed to provide hope by sharing the stories of those battling on the front lines during this pandemic. It’s easy to nominate your most admired healthcare worker by taking the 10 minutes needed to complete this form. Thank you in advance for your support.

Nominate Your Hero
Thank you to all of our healthcare heroes and their families.
Leslie Ray Matthews, MD
Leslie Ray Matthews, MD

“Dr. Matthews has revolutionized the use of controlled high-dose vitamin D in the frontline treatment of coronavirus. He is one of the key scientists to discover the use of vitamin D to support effective immune modulation and Inflammatory system management in the ICU and critical-care environments, reducing the average use of COVID-19 ventilative care and increasing the survival potential of critically sick respiratory distress patients. In a few words, Dr. Matthews saves lives. His patient engagement protocol, put in use on the frontlines (ICU, critical care, and emergency rooms), may be the most promising and forward-leaning innovation in the advancement of modern medicine, especially for the timely treatment of COVID-19 patients. America and the world need more Dr. Leslie Ray Matthews, MD.”

– Dr. Wilson Washington, Jr., PhD
Anthonia Hananiya
Anthonia Hananiya

“Dr. Hananiya has been a fearless leader in the battle against COVID-19 in two of the most populated states in Nigeria: Abuja FCT and Kano. She has directed and supported from the top level with strategies for testing and building our private isolation centers, and in the same day will lead on the ground, taking teams of nurses and healthcare workers into homes to establish our mobile testing for COVID-19. Dr. Hananiya's boundless energy, intelligence, drive, and optimistic attitude lead a team of over 100 clinicians and workers in this pandemic. Her team is motivated to a higher standard than the status quo because of who Dr. Hananiya is: She asks her teams to do only those things she also will do herself, and she delivers on that example every day. She is larger than life, and she is our hero.“

– Gretchen Moran
Ryne Johnson
Ryne Johnson

“My son-in-law is an amazing frontline care provider in the Emergency Room. He has approached the COVID-19 pandemic and patient population with the same professional and kind spirit as all patients who enter the ED. He is an example of bravery, navigating and flexing with every new guideline and change process. Most importantly, he has assisted his young family in making adjustments to life in quarantine, helping with homework and kiddos while his wife teaches online Zoom classes to her college students. They are an amazing couple and a great example of strength and perseverance in an uncertain time.”

– Kathie Waldron
Jessica Kirsch Evins
Jessica Kirsch Evins

"Jessica has the most courage and compassion of anyone I've ever met. Her dedication to her profession is incredibly impressive. Despite being a pediatric ER nurse who was not seeing a large number of COVID-19 cases, she dedicated her spare hours and volunteered to help her adult ER counterparts handle the demand they are experiencing. Amid the craziness, she continues to be an empathetic and selfless nurse, sister, wife, dog mom, and human being."

– Dani Kirsch
Dr. Megan Engelen
Dr. Megan Engelen

"Pictured is Dr. Megan Engelen, DO and Izzy Lydens, MA before caring for a COVID-19 patient at a Steward Health Clinic at Salt Lake City. They have faced a number of stressful challenges over the past month dealing with shuffling patients, implementing new protocols, and transitioning to telemedicine on-the-fly. Lack of COVID-19 testing availability has further increased anxiety within the clinic.

– Andy Lydens
Lisa Sellke
Lisa Sellke

My wife Lisa is not a healthcare worker by training, but I believe she is a superhero as she supports many superhero healthcare workers including my daughter Samantha. Sam is a nurse and Lisa has made surgical headwear for all of the COVID-19 Rapid Response nurses on Sam's COVID-19 floor at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Many of the nurses on these COVID-19 floors have asked for these "superhero" themed surgical headwear. Lisa has also been a nanny for the past nine years for the three school-age children of two married anesthesiologists in Indianapolis. Lisa has continued to nanny and has also become a teacher, counselor, and camp director for these three children aged 8-13. Joan and Channing, the parents, have been very busy on the frontline intubating COVID-19 patients who need to be on ventilators.

– Curt Sellke
Eddie Overacre
Eddie Overacre

After many years as a respiratory therapist, last year Eddie accepted an education position as a COPD coordinator. When the COVID-19 virus hit, he voluntarily stepped back into his former role to meet the need during this pandemic. This also meant going to six-day-a-week, 12-hour night shifts in the ICU, going from vent to vent attending to patients’ needs and trying to get a handle on this virus.

– Julie Overacre
Mike Berendsohn
Mike Berendsohn

Mike serves as a fine example of a consummate healthcare provider and leader of our department within the larger Kalkaska Memorial Health Center family. Mike is a critical care paramedic, and continues to find ways to innovate while protecting both the staff and the patients during this most stressful set of circumstances. From finding more efficient filters for our ventilators when transporting a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient, to willingly taking paid time off to guarantee that none of our frontline staff have to spend time laid off during the crisis, Mike is the best example of what it means to be a medical professional and leader.

– Jim Sturgill
Karin Burnside
Karin Burnside

For the last 14 days straight, Karin has been coordinating multiple teams (clinical, informatics, analytics, IS&T), working very long hours, supporting COVID-19 incident command response at her healthcare facility, and going above and beyond. We want to recognize the work she has done for her organization and Health Catalyst, and let her know that she is appreciated for her hard work and efforts. She is world class!

– Katie Boyd
Samantha Sellke
Samantha Sellke

My daughter Sam is a traveling nurse, who spent her first three years out of nursing school at Chicago Northwestern Hospital in downtown Chicago. She started as a travel nurse this past fall and spent her first four months at George Washington Hospital in Washington, D.C. On her trek west—she wants to do travel nursing in California and Hawaii—she made a stop in Indiana (her hometown) to do a travel nursing stint starting in early February at the University Hospital, which is part of Indiana University Health (IUH). In February, IUH reached out to all nurses and asked for volunteers to staff new COVID-19 Rapid Response teams they were putting together and to also move to Methodist Hospital where they created specific floors for COVID-19 patients. These teams would care for COVID-19 patients exclusively. Sam immediately volunteered and has been part of this team for about a month now. While it has been very hard and challenging work, Sam has grown tremendously as a nurse under these extreme circumstances. She has also been blessed to be part of an awesome team of superhero care givers.

– Curt Sellke
Rachel Stone
Rachel Stone

Rachel courageously faces the challenges of treating her patients on the front lines in the emergency department with class and grace. Despite being extremely close to her three daughters, Rachel sent them to live with their Dad until this pandemic is under control. Though it breaks her heart to be away from her girls, she continues to greet each day and each patient with a smile and the determination to provide quality patient care.

– Jim Sturgill
Dr. Josh Green
Dr. Josh Green

Dr. Josh Green works Monday through Friday as the Lt. Governor for the people of the State of Hawaii and in addition, serves as head of the state’s COVID-19 task force. On weekends, he flies to the Big Island to serve as an MD in the emergency room. He is also a husband and father.

– Elizabeth Matthews
Nominate Your Hero