KEARNEY – An entire department at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney has been honored, and thanked, for how it supports one of its own.

Todd Stover, director of the Invasive Cardiology and Perfusion Lab at Good Samaritan, recently accepted the ESGR Patriot Award for the entire department.

Capt. Dale Pearson, a member of the Nebraska National Guard Medical Detachment in addition to his civilian job, nominated the lab personnel en masse, citing Stover and fellow employees for “willingly sacrificing their free time and days off” to cover Pearson while he was away on missions with his military unit.

Because of increased demand on the military side of his life, Pearson was forced to be away from his position at Good Samaritan an inordinate amount of time, yet no one complained and all willingly shared the burden of his absence.