First Marguerite Nerge Heart Award Recipient

DELAND, Fla., March 23, 2017 Florida Hospital DeLand has named Jan Morris as the inaugural recipient of the Marguerite Nerge Heart Award.

Morris has volunteered at Florida Hospital DeLand's outpatient women's center at Victoria Medical Park since 2005.

Five Florida Hospital DeLand employees separately nominated Morris and described her as caring, loving, always pleasant, committed, and beautiful inside and out.

Jan is a sweetheart and giving in all ways. She is an essential part of our team and is incredibly deserving of this award, said Shawn Pope, Florida Hospital DeLand volunteer coordinator. When the women's center moved from the hospital to our Victoria Medical Park outpatient center in 2010, the team asked Jan if she would move with them. Even though she only lives a few mins away from Florida Hospital DeLand, she decided to travel to Victoria Medical Park to volunteer because she loves the staff she works with so much.

Named in memory of Marguerite Nerge, a dedicated Florida Hospital DeLand auxilian who passed away in 2016, the Heart Award recognizes hospital volunteers that give extra heart and go above and beyond in their service.

Nerge moved to DeLand in 1979 and began volunteering at Florida Hospital DeLand in 1982, the same year Michael Jackson's Thriller was released and the Epcot theme park at Walt Disney World opened to the public. Thirty years later, Nerge was still volunteering at Florida Hospital DeLand, even celebrating her 90th birthday by greeting patients and visitors at the Florida Hospital DeLand welcome desk as she did each week.

Marguerite was a wonderful person and a true inspiration to us all. I feel blessed to have known her, Pope said. I know her giving spirit will go on and her memory will be honored through this award.

About Florida Hospital DeLand

Florida Hospital DeLand is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. With 164-beds, Florida Hospital DeLand is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 923 beds and more than 6,000 employees. With a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region collectively contributed nearly $120 million in benefits in 2015 to the underprivileged, the community's overall health and wellness and spiritual needs, and capital improvements.