Two Central Texas Medical Center Employees Recognized With Christian Service Award

SAN MARCOS, TEXAS – Adventist Health System’s (AHS) 27^th annual Conference on Mission took place in Maitland, Florida, earlier this year, where more than 400 attendees came together to celebrate the organization’s mission of Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ.

During the conference, AHS, Central Texas Medical Center’s parent company, recognized several leaders who exemplify their mission on a daily basis.

This year, CTMC Clinical Nurse Educator Pamela Foster, RN, received the Christian Service Award.

“The CTMC administrative council nominated Pam for the Christian Service Award because of her spirit of selfless service,” said CTMC Chief Nursing Officer Elsie Graves. “Pam truly has a servant’s heart; it’s evident in her work in and outside of the hospital.”

This heart for service was engrained at a very early age as part of a military family. Traveling to far flung corners of the world and interacting with so many cultures, Pam found that she has a passion to serve.

Some of her first mission work was with Mercy Ship, a floating hospital city in Contonou, Benin along Africa’s southwestern coast. As part of the medical team, Pam provided care to anyone who needed it.

From international mission work to curating CTMC’s on-site CREATION Health garden that benefits the Hays County Food Bank, Foster’s passion for service is evident in everything she touches.

Foster is also known for her care and compassion toward her teammates at the hospital.

When she found out a staff nurse’s car was out of commission, Foster volunteered to give the employee rides to and from work until the vehicle was fixed. Foster also leads the hospital’s Spiritual Ambassadors group.

CTMC has many employees who have a servant’s heart. Karen Morris, CTMC administrative director of ancillary services, was presented with AHS’s Christian Service Award in 2016.

A 32-year veteran of CTMC, Morris serves as the chair of the hospitals mission council and oversees all of the hospital’s mission accountabilities.

“Karen’s influence is felt far and near,” stated CTMC’s president and CEO Anthony Stahl. “Among the many service-oriented initiatives Karen takes on, and perhaps one of the most touching, is how she organizes and leads our annual medical mission trips to Honduras.  She has been leading the trips since 2007, where more than 15,000 patients have received much-needed medical care and services.”

Morris can be found on some weekends and evenings assisting CTMC in building wheelchair ramps for low income families.

She was instrumental in working with CTMC’s mission committee to establish the hospital’s CREATION Health Garden, and she is passionate and committed to supporting the local “school fuel” program that feeds low-income public school children over the weekend.

“At CTMC, we are so blessed to have employees like Pam and Karen who go above and beyond for our mission,” Stahl said.

Foster and Morris were each nominated for the award by their peers, and AHS opened the nomination process to its 80,000 employees system-wide.

Visit ctmc.org to learn more about CTMC’s mission initiatives.

About CTMC
The hospital, which originated in 1923 as Hays County Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Memorial Hospital, opened at its current Wonder World Drive location in 1983. The CTMC staff of more than 700 employees works with more than 220 active and consulting physicians to provide quality services to patients and their families.

For more than 20 consecutive years, CTMC has been named The Best Hospital in Hays County in the annual “Best of Hays” publication released by the San Marcos Daily Record. In addition to interventional cardiac services, CTMC is a Certified Chest Pain Center and an accredited Primary Stroke Center.

CTMC leads the region in da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery and offers a variety of specialty care services including medical imaging, rehabilitation, home health care, hospice, women’s services and more. For more information, follow CTMC on Facebook and Twitter, and visit our website at ctmc.org.

CTMC is a member of the Adventist Health System (AHS), a not-for-profit healthcare organization that emphasizes Christ at the center of care. Founded in 1973, Adventist Health System is a national leader in quality, safety and patient satisfaction. Today, Adventist Health System supports 45 campuses in 10 states and employs nearly 80,000 individuals. Adventist Health System hospitals are comprised of nearly 8,300 licensed beds, providing care for 5 million patients each year in inpatient, outpatient and emergency room visits.