Pictured at the October 1 presentation of ScionHealth’s 2025 Monarch Caring and Community Awards are (left to right): Mark LaRoche, President, Specialty Hospital Division East, ScionHealth; Rob Jay, CEO, ScionHealth; 2025 Monarch Award recipient Justin Fogt, Director of Cardiac Nursing Services at St. Francis - Emory Healthcare; 2025 Monarch Award recipient Daynay Xuarez Hernandez, Nursing Supervisor at Kindred Hospital South Florida – Coral Gables; 2025 Monarch Award recipient Adam Rodriguez, House Supervisor, Solara Specialty Hospitals McAllen; Russell Pigg, President, Community Hospitals, ScionHealth; and Linn Billingsley, President, Specialty Hospital Division West, ScionHealth. The Monarch Awards, ScionHealth's highest honor bestowed to its exemplary caregivers, were presented during the company's annual Caregivers Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky.

LOUISVILLE, KY (October 2, 2025) – At its annual Caregiver Summit on October 1, ScionHealth announced three recipients of its 2025 Monarch Caring and Community Award, the highest distinction awarded to its healthcare professionals. This award celebrates caregivers across ScionHealth’s network of 80 community and specialty hospitals who consistently go above and beyond to deliver exceptional care, elevate the patient experience, and support their colleagues and communities.

ScionHealth’s 2025 Monarch Award recipients are:

• Justin Fogt, Director of Cardiac Nursing Services at St. Francis - Emory Healthcare (Columbus, Georgia), who leads a large nursing team at the 376-bed community hospital, fostering a culture of personalized, patient-centered care;
• Daynay Hernandez, Nursing Supervisor at Kindred Hospital South Florida (Coral Gables, Florida), who sets the standard for clinical excellence and leadership at the 55-bed, long-term acute care hospital; and
• Adam Rodriguez, House Supervisor, Solara Specialty Hospital (McAllen, Texas), a former Navy medic who brightens the night shift with his expertise and calm leadership at the 53-bed long-term acute care hospital.

“Our 2025 Monarch Award nominees and recipients exemplify what it means to be extraordinary caregivers,” said Rob Jay, CEO of ScionHealth. “They deliver expert, compassionate care while inspiring those around them and cultivating a culture of empathy and excellence. We’re deeply grateful for their dedication and proud to have them as part of the ScionHealth family.”

Selected from 80 finalists across ScionHealth’s nearly 25,000 employees, the winners were revealed during the summit’s closing ceremony. Finalists represented a wide range of roles, from nurses, therapists, and pharmacists to administrative assistants, case managers, and dietitians.

The nominations shared examples of nurses whose quick thinking saved patients’ lives, as well as examples of incredible gestures of compassion and comfort to families of patients at the end of their lives. It featured wonderful, unexpected acts of “caregiving,” from an administrative assistant who helped a team member with no family through his recovery to pharmacists who pick up prescriptions at local pharmacies to ensure patients have the medications they need.

Dr. Dean French, ScionHealth’s Chief Medical Officer, added: “The Monarch Awards shine a light on the extraordinary caregiving happening every day in our hospitals. They remind us to pause and appreciate the passion, skill, and compassion our team members bring to their roles.”

An honorary Monarch Award for Courage and Resilience was presented virtually to Ronald Adams, a security officer at Kindred Hospital (Paramount, California), who was nominated lastyear and has since undergone a lengthy recovery at his own hospital.

To learn more about ScionHealth’s Monarch Caring and Community Award, visit scionhealth.com/monarch-caring-and-community-award.