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4 North Receives 2020 Martin Coffey Cardiovascular Service Award

The 4 North Cardiac Step Down Unit at Cookeville Regional Medical Center was presented with the 2020 Martin Coffey Cardiovascular Service Award at the Cookeville Regional Charitable Foundation’s 13th annual A Woman’s Heart event the on Thursday, Jan. 30. Scott Williams, COO at Cookeville Regional, made the presentation, citing the letter written by a patient that nominated the 4 North unit and shared her experience about their dedication and loyalty to her as a patient on their floor.

4 North is the cardiac step down unit at Cookeville Regional where most all heart and vascular surgeries patients go after being released from CVICU, as well as if they have cath lab or electrophysiology procedure. Tracy Gentry is the director of the 4 North unit and her staff on the 4 North floor went above and beyond for this patient.

Quoted from the nomination letter written by Ms. Georgeann Swart, “I had three Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (CABG) done. I can honestly say, if it wouldn’t have been for the nurses and the whole staff on 4 North, I would have given up. I suffered from anxiety, depression and not knowing what the next day would bring. It was an extremely emotional time for me. Then I met the staff at 4 North, a collective group of individuals that worked together to meet my needs as a patient. They cared, they laughed, they cried, and they comforted me each and every day. You might say, ‘That is their job. ‘They get paid for it,’ but I say you are wrong. I myself was a nurse for 30 years, and these individuals went way above and beyond the call of duty. You don’t get paid to sing Happy Birthday, give a hug or ever rub someone’s back to help with the pain. They joked around, making the hopelessness disappear. They held my hand when I was crying and they gave me the gift of feeling the wind in my hair and the sun on my face after being on isolation for two months. They are all deserving of the Martin Coffey Award as a collective group because of all they did for me.”

Martin Coffey Award     

The Martin Coffey Cardiovascular Service Award is given to an individual who has made a positive impact and best exemplifies the same dedication and loyalty in broadening the scope and delivery of quality cardiovascular care to the patients of CRMC and the Upper Cumberland region as Coffey did during his tenure as the founding director of the Heart and Vascular Center of Cookeville Regional Medical Center (1994-2007).  Coffey was instrumental in the development of creating what is known today as the Heart and Vascular Center at Cookeville Regional.

Photo Caption: (left to right) Back row from the left is Amanda Jones, 4 North staff; Micah Stout, 4 North staff; Sarah Crabtree, 4 North staff; Victoria Matthews, 4 North staff; and Joe Clouse, 4 North staff.

Front row from the left is Tracy Gentry, 4 North Nursing Director; Rebecca Brown, 4 North staff; Brenda Holloway, 4 North staff; Ms.Georgeann Swart, patient on 4 North; and Scott Williams, COO at CRMC.