One man has brought new life to Emanuel Cancer Center and another is literally saving lives in the emergency room, and now both are being touted for their exemplary service to the patients served by Emanuel Medical Center.
Emanuel Cancer Center Executive Director Michael Iltis, and long-time Emergency Department nurse Jonathon Carroll were selected as Tenet Heroes as part of an annual tradition that recognizes extraordinary accomplishments among all of Tenet Healthcare’s 100,000 employees across the country.
“Michael and Jonathon are outstanding recipients of this award, and as the first Tenet Heroes at Emanuel they exemplify the outstanding quality of the people we have caring for patients here,” Emanuel CEO Sue Micheletti said. “I’m very pleased they were recognized by the committee, because they are worthy of the title, Tenet Hero.”
The Tenet Heroes program began in 2008 as a way to recognize employees who exemplify the company’s core values and go above and beyond the call of duty. Tenet’s core values are quality, integrity, service, innovation and transparency.
“As Tenet Healthcare’s highest recognition for colleagues, the Hero Awards celebrate exceptional people who exemplify Tenet’s core values,” said Cathy Fraser, senior vice president of Tenet Healthcare. “They define the best of who we are and what we stand for at Tenet.”
Iltis and Carroll were nominated by Emanuel administrators, and their nominations reviewed by a national selection panel. They join 135 other Tenet employees nationwide to be nominated this year.
Iltis role as executive director of Emanuel Cancer Center has been rooted in personal experience. When Emanuel began planning for a cancer center in the early 2000s, Iltis knew the value and need for top-quality care, because his wife had battled breast cancer twice at ages 24 and 38. The Center opened in 2007 and soon earned full accreditation by the American College of Surgeons.
“In 2014, Iltis led the complete overhaul and revitalization of the all-volunteer hospitality program at the cancer center, all while supporting his wife through her fifth cancer occurrence and a close brush with death,” Emanuel spokesperson Pennie Rorex stated in a news release. “The new program focuses on the small, simple things that can make a treatment appointment a little bit better for patients and their spouses, loved ones or support people.”
Carroll has been with Emanuel Medical Center for 35 years and has been described by patients, co-workers and supervisors as kind, compassionate, humble and patient, Rorex said.
In the Emergency Department, he is also the person everyone turns to when there is any sort of mechanical or medical equipment issue. He tracks all of the hospital’s emergency statistics for the cardiac arrest registry, and is part of the county-wide trauma audit committee.
In 2014, Carroll and his wife witnessed a terrible crash right in front of them as they drove on a county road. Carroll used his years of emergency medical training to check on both drivers, one of whom had been killed instantly. He was able to extricate an injured three-year-old boy as flames began to spread through the wrecked truck. His calm decision making and quick actions are credited with saving the child’s life.
