Two West Georgia Health System staff members were honored by the Georgia Hospital Association for their leadership and years of dedicated service.

Dr. Robert Copeland and Cathy Wiggins, RN, director of West Georgia Hospice/ Hospice LaGrange received 2008 Hospital Hero awards for the contributions they have made to patient care, their hospital and community.

They were among eight other winners selected statewide.

This is the second year in a row that two WGHS employees were selected for the award. In 2007, the association honored Inge Puckett, RN, and Alison Town-send with the award.

Copeland is founder of the Georgia Heart Clinic at West Georgia Health System and has served as director of the program for more than 40 years. Colleagues said Copeland had an eye for young medical talent and was a patient, engaging and approachable mentor to many on the WGHS staff, including his partner, Dr. Tom Gore.

Co-workers say Cope-land’s compassion and desire to serve the needs of his community, has always driven his work.

“Dr. Copeland embodies the qualities of a good physician more than anyone I have known,” Gore said. “He develops a personal relationship with his patients, advocates on their behalf, and follows a high standard of scientific principles in his recommendations.”

Just as importantly, Gore added, he has involved himself in the community through the American Heart Association, the board of West Georgia Health System, First Presbyterian Church and other organizations.

This year, he also helped found Troup Cares, a free clinic to help LaGrange’s working poor. The clinic offers primary care and limited specialty services for LaGrange residents who cannot afford or are not offered health benefits through their employer or who earn too much to qualify for government or private aid.

“Dr. Copeland had been discussing the idea for opening a clinic to help the indigent members of our community for years,” Gore said. “If there was any person in town that could pull this together and make it work, it was him.”

Together with Gore, the clinic now sees 100 patients per month who otherwise would not have access to primary or specialty care.

Copeland also has held many state and national leadership positions including, past president of Southern Cardio Pulmonary Associates; being named master of the American College of Physicians; and a fellow in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He also received the Alfred Stengel Award for Outstanding Service to the American College of Physicians.

Wiggins, who has served as director of West Georgia Hospice/Hospice LaGrange for more than 25 years, was recognized for her work in developing hospice and palliative care for west Georgia and eastern Alabama.

Believing that it wasn’t death itself that people feared, but rather the pain and humiliation preceding it; and the thought of being in a strange place, Wiggins made it her mission to ensure that families in her community could face end-of-life with dignity, comfort and peace.

When she began her career as an oncology nurse in the late 1970s, hospice care was a relatively new area. There were no palliative care and very few hospice programs even in existence in Georgia. Realizing a need for this type of specialized care for terminally ill patients, she approached administration and offered her help in starting such a program at West Georgia Health System.

At the time, there were no state licensure requirements for hospice programs; no rules and regulations or guidelines to follow. Wiggins developed the framework herself and helped open the first hospice program in west Georgia in 1982. The program, which then ran out of a small office in the basement of WGHS’ Enoch Callaway Cancer Clinic, was only the seventh program in the state. Initially, Wiggins was the program’s only staff person. She was on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and though the hours were long and sometimes hard, her enthusiasm never waned. She cared for patients in Harris, Heard, Meriwether and Troup counties as well as Chambers and Randolph counties in Alabama and saw 20 patients that first year.

Colleagues note that even after the program grew and more staff joined, she remained very hands-on by pitching in and doing what she could to help employees.

“She pitched in and did whatever she could to help (the staff) and the families,” said Alice Ussery, a nurse who has worked with Wiggins for 16 years. “She actually stayed in active call rotation until the mid-’90s and even now will often complete the admissions paperwork herself to help her nurses out.”

And though Wiggins no longer serves on the front lines of care, patient care coordinator Erika LeFever said her dedication in those early days left a lasting impression with many patients and families.

“I’ve admitted several patients over the years who have told me how wonderful Cathy was with their mother or loved one when they were in hospice,” LeFever said. “After 15 or 20 years, they still remember her.”

In addition to her compassionate heart, co-workers say Wiggins is a savvy business woman with incredible focus and determination. She secured funding for West Georgia Hospice’s grief camp for children, Camp Dogwood. Camp Dogwood was the first program of its kind in the area. The program, now in its 11th year, has helped many children begin the healing process through crafts and fun, camplike activities. She also developed four fundraisers for hospice including, an annual golf tournament, which has raised more than $750,000 for the hospice program.

Wiggins also serves on the hospital’s infection control and social and logistics committee and is active on the state and national level to advance hospice care. She is president of the board for the Georgia Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

While Wiggins is quick to credit the success of West Georgia Hospice and Hospice LaGrange to her staff and volunteers, her influence in shaping and sustaining the program cannot be overlooked, officials said.

“I am immensely proud of Cathy Wiggins and Dr. Robert Copeland,” said President/CEO Jerry Fulks. “Their compassion for patients and families is reflected in their work and has reached far beyond the LaGrange community. To have their achievements recognized at this level is truly a testament to their selfless contributions.”

Established in 2005, the Hospital Heroes Awards are presented every year to 10 individuals who display outstanding service in the health care field; in addition, one individual is presented with a Lifetime Achievement award, signifying at least 30 years of service.

Copeland and Wiggins were nominated by peers through essays and selected by a panel of judges from the Alabama Hospital Association, working in partnership with the Georgia Hospital Association.