Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital Names 2021 Mercy Award Winner

Somerset, Kentucky (May 5, 2021) – Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital recently announced that Kelly Prater, RN, has been recognized as the hospital’s 2021 Mercy Award winner. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s hospitals who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded.

The Mercy Award is an annual recognition program established in 2002 to honor the life and contributions of Scott Mercy, LifePoint’s founding chairman and chief executive officer. The award is considered the highest honor a LifePoint employee can receive.

“At Lake Cumberland, we share LifePoint’s commitment to making communities healthier, and we recognize this is supported by the good work and service of our employees on and off the job,” said Robert Parker, CEO of Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. “We are extremely proud to recognize Kelly for her efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. She goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that every person he/she encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion.”

In Kelly’s role as an Intensive Care nurse she is consistently advocating for patients and her team.  In 2020, her position shifted as she stepped up to perform her duties as a nurse on our dedicated COVID-19 unit, often picking up extra shifts to ensure that her patients were well taken care of, the unit had the staff support necessary, and that patient families were in communication with their loved ones as often as possible. 

Prater was also the first staff member at Lake Cumberland to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine last December and her bravery and courage to lead the way on local vaccine efforts have been noticed by all. She can often be found volunteering in the hospital’s vaccine clinic, as well.  During her free time, Kelly advocates for patients and their families suffering from drug abuse and addiction.  She routinely takes up donation items for SKYHope Recovery Center, a local substance abuse recovery center for women, and offers resources to LCRH patients suffering from drug abuse and addiction to organizations outside of the hospital that may be able to help.  Kelly consistently approaches life and her career with thoughtfulness, courage, and compassion.  

Each hospital winner, including Kelly, will be considered for LifePoint’s 2021 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in August, to which Kelly and all hospital winners are invited to attend.

About Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital

Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital is a 295-bed acute care facility that has served the people of South Central Kentucky since 1976.  With more than forty physician specialties and nearly two hundred physicians on staff, Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital offers the most comprehensive medical services in the region.  In addition to inpatient services, the hospital’s stand-alone outpatient facilities focus on bariatric (weight loss) services, cancer treatment, diagnostic imaging, outpatient surgery, outpatient therapy services, sleep disorders, wound care and hyperbaric medicine, as well as the first Residency Program in the region to provide training to new physicians. LCRH is accredited by The Joint Commission and has been awarded the following specialty certifications: Commission on Cancer certification; The Joint Commission Advanced Certification for Primary Stroke Care; Chest Pain Center with PCI from the American College of Cardiology and The Joint Commission Spine Surgery Certification.