The Patriot Award is given to a supervisor or manager who makes special effort to support a working National Guard and Reserve member with flexible scheduling, time off before and after deployment, care for families and, if necessary, leaves of absence.
Tamera Norton, a registered nurse in the Information Systems department at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, made the nominations.
Norton, a sergeant in the Army National Guard, has been a combat medic in the Army National Guard for 19 years, and has served one deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, plus active duty for Hurricane Katrina and the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is assigned to the Headquarters Company 766th Brigade Engineer Battalion in Decatur, where she currently serves as a health care sergeant.
“My managers have been great in my new role in Clinical Informatics,” Norton said. “They have worked very well around my military obligations. They have genuine concern not only for my progress in my new position, but also for the well-being of my family.”
Henry is Norton’s supervisor in Information Systems, and Murphy is regional director of Medical Informatics for Memorial Health.
“Over the last year, Tamera took a very active role in learning and preparing for a large electronic health record conversion at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, which assisted the colleagues in a smooth transition,” Murphy said.
“Receiving the Patriot Award is a recognition of Memorial Health’s commitment to supporting our National Guard members,” Henry said. “Employees like Tamera display a diverse set of skills that shows us the value of National Guard members.”