MercyOne Newton colleague receives Spirit of Mercy award

MercyOne Newton Medical Center is proud to recognize Nick Schlatter as the organization’s latest Spirit of Mercy award winner.

MercyOne Newton, which has been part of the MercyOne family for more than five years, joins their fellow hospitals in recognizing the outstanding efforts of MercyOne caregivers in central Iowa whose professional and personal standards exemplify MercyOne’s Mission and Vision.

Schlatter works in the Radiology department, and he is known for going above and beyond for patients and colleagues alike. One example shared in his nomination letter cites the occasion when, on Veteran’s Day, Schlatter was caring for a hospitalized veteran, who was discouraged to be missing his complimentary breakfast at the local Hy-Vee. Schlatter purchased a Hy-Vee gift card and presented it to the patient the very next day, so the patient could make up for the lost breakfast once he was out of the hospital. In doing so, Schlatter was demonstrating the MercyOne vision of providing personalized and radically convenient care.

Similarly, the nomination went on, Schlatter goes out of his way to not only help his colleagues but to spare them any inconvenience. Whenever his manager asks him to work odd hours, his response is always, “I’ll do whatever is needed. That is what I am here for.” When there are meetings, lunches or celebrations held through the week, he makes an effort to attend them, dressed in his work-approved uniform, even when he is not scheduled to work.

“It is refreshing to see a young man as caring as Nick,” said Jane Hettinger, who served as MercyOne Newton Radiology Manager until her recent retirement. “Seldom complaining, working hard, always on time, and taking his job seriously and responsibly. I tell him his mother and father must be so proud of him, as I am after having watched him grow and mature even more the past five years.”

“When Nick found out he won, his immediate response was ‘There are so many others in my department who are more deserving,’” recalled Chad Kelley, MercyOne Newton Director of Ancillary Services. “That humble reaction speaks to the type of person Nick is.”

“It’s not a one-person award,” Schlatter said during the recent ceremony, which was attended by his wife Stephanie, also a MercyOne Newton colleague, and his grandfather. “I couldn’t have done what I do on a daily basis if it weren’t for the others in my department and other departments, including Respiratory Therapy, Laboratory, Emergency Department, Nursing and more. It’s a great hospital family.”