By JESSICA DAIGLE

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE- Scott Boudreaux, the CEO of River Parishes Hospital, got all emotional and choked up as he addressed the lunching workers.

With a catch in his voice and a tear in his eye, he said to them, “you go out and you just do it, and it is really amazing because it comes from the heart.

“It is an honor to be sitting at this table with you all.”

The much admired people Boudreaux was speaking to were the six 2005 Mercy Award finalists for the hospital during the annual award luncheon.

The award is given to a hospital employee who regularly goes beyond job requirements in serving patients and the community, exhibits extraordinary levels of caring and commitment, and motivates others with compassion and dedication.

After a series of nominations and a pick of finalists, Kyle Cason, a Nuclear Medicine Technician, was the recipient of the award.

Cason will go to the LifePoint Hospitals’ Annual Senior Leadership Retreat in Las Vegas to possibly be selected for the corporate-wide LifePoint Mercy Award. He will also receive a $500 cash prize.

In the nomination ballots, which were filled out by co-workers, Cason was gushed over, painting a picture of a man with a positive attitude who cares deeply about his patients.

Some examples colleagues used pointed out how Cason will buy patients lunch, give them rides if they need them, and even take care of patient’s pets if no one else can.

Cason, an avid runner and employee of the hospital since its doors opened, has also been known to run marathons sponsoring and supporting his cancer patients.

When his name was announced Cason appeared to genuinely touched, stating that he was trying not to cry.

“I wouldn’t consider going anywhere else or doing anything else,” he said. “I am truly honored by this.”

Later during the luncheon, Cason told the attendees about a young lady with breast cancer who he once treated, who eventually died from the illness.

Two weeks after she died, he got a letter from her in the mail.

“It was like she was talking to me,” Cason said, “things like that make it all worthwhile.

“My patients are the heroes.”

The other nominees included: Diane Abbondante, surgical services nurse director; Sharon Cortez, cardio-pulmonary therapist and echo technician; Catherine Green, nursing assistant for med search and wound care departments; Donna Mardurski, R.N., outpatient surgery; and Marie Tassin, R.N., house supervisor.

The Mercy Award is given in honor of Scott L. Mercy (1961-2000), founding CEO of LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. The LifePoint Mercy Award is the highest and most prestigious award an employee can earn with LifePoint Hospitals.