For the next few weeks, we are putting the spotlight on our winners of the Scott and Nikki Niswonger Servant’s Heart Award, Ballad Health’s highest award. It was created to honor team members, physicians and volunteers who display the heart of a servant by going above and beyond the normal call of duty in helping others at work and in the community.
The award was named in honor of Scott and Nikki Niswonger. Scott is a Greeneville businessman and philanthropist who is the chief benefactor of the Niswonger Children’s Hospital in Johnson City, and a member of the Ballad Health board of directors. The Niswongers have a long history of serving others throughout the region, with a strong focus on education highlighted by the creation of The Niswonger Foundation.
We’ve also started our nominations for next year’s winners; to make a nomination, click here.
Aliese Harrison
Finding ways to serve both her patients and her team members is what makes Aliese Harrison, RN, at Johnston Memorial Hospital, such a deserving Servant’s Heart Award recipient.
As a nurse, she is dedicated to her patients and making them better. As team coordinator of the critical care unit, she is devoted to her team members and fellow nurses, trying to find any way she can help them better do their jobs.
Aliese’s kind and unselfish nature has a great impact on her team members within Johnston Memorial Hospital. She will pick up nighttime shifts as needed, to assist team members and ensure proper patient care, and she is very flexible with her schedule. She goes out of her way to do thoughtful things for her team members, especially around the holidays or when someone is sick.
Aliese has helped advocate for nurses and educated the public on the challenges they face, including the incredible sacrifices nurses have made during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Out in the community, she assists with projects on the Appalachian Trail, including trash pickup. She volunteers during the annual Trail Days celebration in Damascus, providing shelter and hot meals to the thru-hikers. Aliese is active with her husband, Jim, in the outdoor program at Emory & Henry College.
Aliese has a giving nature, always thinking about others and how she can serve them. That comes across to her team members and her patients and their families. She truly embodies the definition of someone with a servant’s heart.
Check out Aliese’s video below:
