Grand Island hospital names two physicians for Doctors of the Year

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (Press Release) - For the first time in the award’s 16-year history, two physicians received the annual Physician Excellence Award at CHI Health St. Francis.

Neurologist Dr. Adeolu Morawo, MBChB, with St. Francis Specialty Clinic and Nephrologist Dr. Swathi Lavudi, MBBS, with Prairie Center Internal Medicine and Nephrology were honored Thursday—a date that also marked the celebration of National Doctors’ Day.

Excellence of care, dedication to patients and staff, and always going “above and beyond,” was reflected in both physicians’ nominations written by staff, patients and families:

“Dr. Morawo displays our core values in every interaction. He very quickly earns the trust and respect of his patients. He spends time with them explaining their diagnosis whether he is rounding or responding to a stroke alert. If a patient wants a family member present while he is visiting with them, he will adjust his rounding to make sure he makes that happen.”
“Dr. Morawo’s kind and calm manner was very reassuring. He gave a thorough explanation of the findings from my wife’s test. He explained the results in a way that we could understand and this was reassuring to us as well. His kindness, caring, and concern were apparent during the visit and we left confident in the path forward we were on. Dr. Morawo is truly an asset to St. Francis and to our community and he deserves a Physician Excellence Award.”
“Dr. Lavudi deeply cares for her patients and strives to make them as successful as possible. She takes the time to talk with her patients and families to make sure they fully understand their options and what their plan of car is. She exemplifies all of our core values of compassion, inclusion, integrity, excellence and collaboration.”
“The commitment to the well-being of our patient which Dr. Lavudi demonstrates is second to none and is key to our ability to carry out the mission of the hospital as we serve the community. She goes above and beyond in making herself available much more than she is required to do and she always does so with human kindness. She is kind to her patients and she is respectful and collegial in her interaction with the healthcare team at all hours of the day. We are extremely blessed to be able to work with Dr. Lavudi.”

Other nominees for this year’s award included Shane Burr, MD; Douglas Clark, MD; Erich Fruehling, MD; Joshua Gortemaker, MD; Abel Luksan, MD; Mark Mitchell, DO; Traci Rauch, MD; and Rebecca Steinke, MD.

March 30, 1933, was the first observance of Doctors’ Day in Winder, Georgia. In 1991, National Doctors’ Day was proclaimed by President George Bush.