Atrium Health Floyd

Join us in celebrating Noah, an ICU nurse at Atrium Health Floyd and a 2026 Compassion Champion of the Year Honoree.

Described by his team as a compassionate servant leader, Noah leads with heart, humanity and an unwavering commitment to others.

He’s known for showing up fully, especially in the most stressful moments, offering a calm, steady presence that brings reassurance to both patients and teammates.

Whether he’s mentoring, guiding or simply listening, Noah goes out of his way to make others feel supported and valued.

Because of leaders like Noah, care goes beyond clinical, it becomes deeply human..

The Compassion Champion of the Year Award honors Atrium Health teammates whose work and attitudes reflect the Tree of Life spiritual principles—kindness, loyalty, wisdom, prudence, humility, generosity, justice, gentleness, and courage. These nominated Compassion Champions commit to practicing self compassion and self care, extending compassion to others, and championing compassion through Lavender Events and everyday interactions. Across our enterprise, we celebrate our Compassion Champions of the Year Honorees as integral to the Advocate Health Code Lavender mission.

For 10 years, Miriam helped connect cancer patients to the resources they needed on their cancer journey. She had never had cancer herself, but her experience in social work gave her the tools to help those who had.

That all changed in 2023, when she learned she had ovarian cancer. She knew something was wrong. Gastrointestinal issues, extreme pelvic pain and endometriosis were affecting her quality of life. She shared her health issues with a colleague, Dr. Dilawar Khan and he advised her to schedule a scan, a colonoscopy and a pelvic ultrasound, and to follow up with her gynecologist.

Miriam was on the way to the beach when she received the news she did not want: She had Stage 2 ovarian cancer. Wondering whether she should return home, Dr. Kahn told her to take the vacation.

After she returned from the beach, a surgeon removed the cancerous tissue. A post-surgery infection delayed the next leg of her journey and landed her in a role reversal she never expected. She was now the patient who needed a social worker to arrange for the regimen of oral and intravenous antibiotics her body required.

After several rounds of IV antibiotics and a second hospitalization she started chemotherapy. She finished in February 2024.

Miriam said she had always had a question of why her career had taken her to working with cancer patients. “Up until this point, I was like, ‘Lord, why do you have me here? What is my role? I had no connection, but sometimes you don’t have to have a connection for God to use you!’”

After her diagnosis, she received her answer: “He said, ‘Here you go.’ This is why.”

Having cancer, she said, has made her a better social worker.

“Before, I had the skills as a social worker to gather resources and give my patients emotional and spiritual support. But it is totally different when you go through a situation. It’s not just on paper. It really did change my perspective and my role as their social worker. Now, I share my experience and tell my patients the things they can expect. I can connect with them like never before,” she said.

Learn more about the cancer care provided by Atrium Health Floyd and the Harbin Clinic:
https://bit.ly/469P8aC