Ballad Health honors a select group of team members each year with the Scott and Nikki Niswonger Servant’s Heart Award, the organization’s highest honor.
Over the coming weeks, Ballad Health will feature the 2025 Servant’s Heart Award winners through videos, stories and photos — and will open the nomination process for the 2026 awards.
The award is given to members of Ballad Health who have been recognized by their peers for displaying the heart of a servant by going above and beyond the normal call of duty in helping others at work and in the community. It honors four categories of team members: volunteers, physicians, front-line team members and leaders.
More about the Servant’s Heart Award
This award is named in honor of Scott and Nikki Niswonger, who have exemplified what it means to have the heart of a servant throughout their lives. The Niswongers were the lead benefactors in creating Niswonger Children’s Hospital and have a long history of serving others throughout the region, with a strong focus on improving the future trajectory of our communities.
Our 2025 award winners model the values of Ballad Health every day, and they always seem to find a way to help others, whether it’s a fellow team member, a patient or a visitor.
The winners have already been announced and recognized within their facility or department, and now we are shining the spotlight on them both systemwide and in the community. Beginning this week, their stories will be shared in Ballad Health News and on Ballad Health’s social media pages.
This year’s winners are:
- Charlie Castle, volunteer, Bristol Regional Medical Center (awarded posthumously)
- Susan Davis, volunteer, Johnston Memorial Hospital
- Brooke Graham, chief operating officer, Behavioral Health
- Justine Hill, patient experience liaison, Holston Valley Medical Center
- Lindsey King, physical therapist, Smyth County Community Hospital
- Gail Kiser, manager, patient resource management, Norton Community Hospital
- Dr. Joseph Kretschmar, Ballad Health Medical Associates
- Dr. Herbert Ladley, cardiologist, Ballad Health CVA Heart Institute, chief medical officer for Wise, Dickenson and Lee counties
- Greta Morrison, administrator and chief nursing officer, Russell County Hospital
Winners were nominated by fellow team members and the community. The nominations went through an extensive screening process, overseen by our Organizational Development team, before the winners were selected by a Servant’s Heart Award committee.
You can also visit www.balladhealth.org/servants-heart-award to view the full list of winners.
Be on the lookout over the next few weeks as we feature each winner in Ballad Health News and on social media!
Nominate someone for 2026!
Do you know someone who has the heart of a servant and deserves recognition for their great work? If so, nominate them for the 2026 Servant’s Heart Award through the nomination form that is now open through Wednesday, Dec. 31!
