QMG Stories

At the age of just 33, Nick Winkler’s life took an unex­pect­ed turn. In late 2023, he received a can­cer diag­no­sis, throw­ing him into a bat­tle he nev­er imag­ined fac­ing at such a young age.

This Mother’s Day, we’re spot­light­ing Dr. Nihari­ka Yed­la. Dr. Yedla’s jour­ney in med­i­cine was deeply influ­enced by her moth­er, an OB/GYN physi­cian. Wit­ness­ing her mother’s ded­i­ca­tion first­hand instilled a pas­sion for heal­ing in Dr. Yed­la, and her mother’s wis­dom con­tin­ues to guide her every day.

The first Sun­day of June marks Nation­al Can­cer Sur­vivors Day, a day to cel­e­brate the mil­lions who have fought and con­tin­ue to fight this relent­less dis­ease. In our own com­mu­ni­ty, four remark­able women — Jen­ni Moran, Alli­son Stults, Denise Poland, and Diane Poland — demon­strate the pow­er of friend­ship. Their jour­neys may have begun with a can­cer diag­no­sis, but they led to a place of incred­i­ble sup­port and an endur­ing bond.

Nave Wil­son has been attend­ing the Man Up event since its incep­tion. For him, it’s more than just an activ­i­ty; it’s a year­ly reminder to focus on his well-being. He encour­ages oth­er men to pri­or­i­tize their health as well.

Joni Cook greets patients at QMG Can­cer Insti­tute with a warmth that comes from a deep place of under­stand­ing. She’s not just a friend­ly face; she’s a fel­low can­cer sur­vivor who can relate to their strug­gles on a per­son­al level.

When Joan­na Shipe was in col­lege, a life-chang­ing phone call shat­tered her world. Her dad had suf­fered a mas­sive heart attack and was diag­nosed with con­ges­tive heart fail­ure. Doc­tors told him he had just three years to live unless he received a heart trans­plant. Watch­ing her father fight for his life ignit­ed some­thing in Joan­na — a real­iza­tion that her own health need­ed atten­tion too.

Bas­ket­ball is more than just a game — it’s a prov­ing ground for per­se­ver­ance, team­work, and lead­er­ship. For Martha B. and Jack­olyn W., Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG) employ­ees by day and state-cham­pi­on bas­ket­ball coach­es by night, it’s also a plat­form to inspire the next generation.

Martha is Phys­i­cal Ther­a­pist with our QMG Mt. Ster­ling Clin­ic, while Jack­olyn works as Nuclear Med Tech­nol­o­gist. This sea­son, both guid­ed their local 7^th-grade girls’ bas­ket­ball teams to state cham­pi­onship vic­to­ries, blend­ing their love for the sport with a deep pas­sion for men­tor­ing young athletes.

Our third award recog­ni­tion is for the Human­i­tar­i­an of the Year, and it was pre­sent­ed to Alan B., Receiv­ing and Deliv­ery Spe­cial­ist. This award rec­og­nizes an indi­vid­ual who pro­vides excep­tion­al ser­vice to the QMG fam­i­ly and com­mu­ni­ty with­out con­cern for recog­ni­tion or reward, inspire oth­ers, raise aware­ness, and demon­strate lead­er­ship through phil­an­thropy and vol­un­teerism, and live out QMG’s Mis­sion, Vision, and Core Values.

Mor­gan S., Peo­ple & Cul­ture Gen­er­al­ist at QMG, received the 2024 Employ­ee Lead­er­ship Award for trans­form­ing recruit­ment efforts. In just 1.5 years, she filled crit­i­cal roles, improved staffing, and enhanced team morale through inno­va­tion, col­lab­o­ra­tion, and a focus on cre­at­ing a top-tier hir­ing experience.

As the end of each year, we take time to cel­e­brate the achieve­ments of our team through our annu­al awards. We’re excit­ed to announce the recip­i­ent of the 2024 QMG Lead­er­ship Excel­lence Award — Tay­lor D., Direc­tor of Oncology.