Two Emanuel Medical Center employees who both live in Hughson have been chosen from Tenet Healthcare's 130,000 employees as "Tenet Heroes" for their commitment to quality, innovation and service.

Bridgette LaMere, a registered respiratory therapist, and Jana Mitchell, the manager of Emergency Preparedness at the Turlock hospital were nominated by their colleagues for the award, then chosen by a national selection panel to join 134 other Tenet employees nationwide to receive the honor.

"The Tenet Hero Award celebrates exceptional people who exemplify Tenet's core values -quality, service, transparency, integrity and innovation," said Sue Micheletti, chief executive officer at Emanuel. "These values set the foundation for delivering the best care to our patients and services to our customers. When colleagues personify these values, our patients, fellow colleagues, and communities benefit."

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. Micheletti said LaMere and Mitchell are deserving honorees.

"Bridgette and Jana are outstanding employees, and their commitment to their patients and their community extends well beyond work hours," she said. "They volunteer a lot of time and effort to help others, and I'm very pleased they were selected as Tenet Heroes."

LaMere has been with Emanuel since 2007.

"She is a team leader in the respiratory therapy division and has a high degree of experience," said Toni Jardine, her department director. "Bridgette is an active and busy mom, a very good soul, and still has time to volunteer for charity in the Hughson community."

One particular incident stood out at work - the death of a 35-year-old single father of two in June 2015. After a massive heart attack, the man - who was an organ donor - was being kept on life support until the organs were to be recovered by a surgical team.

"The magnitude of his impending death grasped Bridgette and she kept thinking about the impact of the loss of their only parent for the 7-year-old son and 4-year old daughter," Jardine wrote in her nomination. "With permission from the patient's mother, and on her own time and at her own expense, Bridgette gathered the necessary supplies to make casts of the patient's handprints. She presented a set of daddy's handprints to each of the two children, creating a precious memento of their father that those children will have forever in their own hands."

Jana Mitchell was never a Boy Scout, but she certainly embraces their motto of "Be prepared."

As Emanuel's manager of emergency preparedness, her job is plan and prepare for whatever kind of catastrophe that might hit Turlock - from a massive traffic pileup in February fog to a patient with a virulent disease showing up in the emergency department.

She is a volunteer member of the Stanislaus County Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Council and serves on its Winter Contingency Task Force and a new Patient Tracking Task Force. She is also a registered healthcare disaster volunteer through the State of California's Medical Reserve Core, an initiative to pre-register, manage and mobilize healthcare professionals to volunteer and help in responding to all types of disasters.

"What I learned through my volunteer work in emergency preparedness and disaster relief is that there no price you can put on being prepared," said Mitchell.

In 2015, Mitchell was also asked to lead the hospital's first-ever "Healthy Over Hungry" cereal drive. She devised an employee-wide team competition and under her leadership, Emanuel employees donated 23,433 servings of cereal. That giving led to more than double the amount given by any other hospital in the region.

Emanuel Medical Center is a 209-bed acute care hospital located in Turlock, Calif. It provides emergency, critical care, pediatric, cardiovascular services, cancer diagnosis and treatment, women's health services and surgical services. To search for a doctor by specialty or location phone 250-5350. For hospital information, visit www.emanuelmedicalcenter.org.