Two Adventist Health Providers Receive Patriot Award

When a Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota alit on the helipad at Adventist Health Hanford on the afternoon of March 1, it wasn’t to transport a patient to another facility for care. It was to deliver retired US Army Gen. Jim Combs, who presented a rare military award of appreciation to two deserving clinicians.

The helicopter landed on the hospital helipad at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 1, 2019, at the Hanford hospital, 115 Mall Drive, Hanford. 

Dr. Michael Boulton, an emergency room physician, and Nurse Practitioner Dawn Huong-Schleif received the Patriot Award, a Department of Defense award created to recognize outstanding employer support of the military members it employs. Dr. Bolton and Huong-Schleif care for patients in the Adventist Health Emergency Department

The Patriot Award is one of seven awards created by the DOD to recognize employers who support their Guard and Reserve employees. It is awarded to supervisors who directly support their employees through flexible schedules, time off before and after deployment, family care, and leaves of absence, if needed. The award honors the sacrifices made by so many employers year after year.

Physician Assistant Serenity Holden, who also served at the Adventist Health Hanford site wrote the nomination letter to recognize her supervisors. Holden is a 1st Lt. in the California Army National Guard. Her nomination letter stated that Boulton and Huong-Schleif made her deployments “painless” and that they were “very supportive.”

“We were honored to this wonderful recognition of our emergency providers who not only provide excellent care for our patients but also demonstrate outstanding support of Guard and Reserve employees at the same time,” said Andrea Kofl, president of Adventist Health services in the Central Valley.