PeaceHealth
08/12/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/12/2026 16:08
Mission Award Recipient for Social Justice: Michelle Kennedy
his RN care manager at PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center helps patients in their most vulnerable moments.
For Michelle Kennedy, the simplest gestures can be the thing that breaks through a patient's defenses. It's a gentle moment of genuine attention that can make all the difference.
Michelle is an RN care manager at PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center. She often works with patients who are struggling through the worst parts of their lives. Over the years, she's found that reaching out with real compassion, even to the most guarded of patients, can be transformative.
Compassion comes from experience
Michelle shared that many patients break down in relief, simply grateful that someone finally showed they cared.
Her instinct for compassion comes from experience. On her own from age 14, Michelle grew up learning to be tough and self-reliant. As a teenager, a serious accident landed her in the hospital, frightened and alone. It was a nurse's reassurance in that vulnerable moment that made her feel safe. This experience shaped the rest of her life. Knowing what it felt like to be cared for at a vulnerable point is what led her to nursing.
A calling as a nurse to take care of people
Today, Michelle brings that same quality of care to PeaceHealth Cottage Grove's most at-risk patients, particularly the elderly.
"She's a caregiver at heart. She's definitely heard the calling as a nurse to take care of people," says Wendy Olson, nurse manager at PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center.
Courage to reach patients in emotional duress
Michelle has seen firsthand how much courage it takes to reach patients who feel unloved or unprotected. In one case, she guided her care team to show extra patience with a patient experiencing daily emotional duress. Through consistent teamwork and compassion across disciplines, the patient was transformed by the time of discharge. "She emerged," Michelle said, "like a butterfly from a cocoon."
Thanks to her unwavering compassion and her ability to build trust with patients in their most vulnerable moments, Michelle is the recipient of PeaceHealth's 2026 Systemwide Mission and Values Award for Social Justice.
The Mission and Values Awards are PeaceHealth's highest honor. They recognize caregivers for living PeaceHealth's Mission and Values of Social Justice, Stewardship, Respect and Collaboration.
Overall and Collaboration: Dustin Daniel, PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center
Respect: Antonio Mejia, PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend
Stewardship: Amanda Jamision, Amanda Christianson, Mehnaaz Khan and Kimberly Minkel, PeaceHealth United General Medical Center
PeaceHealth published this content on August 12, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 12, 2026 at 22:09 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]