Community Hospital Corporation Selects 2026 Mike Williams Award Winner: Monica Griffin, Yoakum Community Hospital

PLANO, Texas, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Hospital Corporation (CHC) has announced Monica Griffin, Occupational Therapist Registered, at Yoakum Community Hospital (YCH), as the 2026 winner of the Mike Williams Award for Compassion and Community Service. She has brought big-city medical expertise and extraordinary care to area patients. YCH, a 23-bed Critical Access Hospital in Yoakum, Texas, takes pride in serving its community for over a century.

Griffin's arrival at YCH represented a major milestone for the clinical team. After initially serving as a PRN therapist in 2020, she made history in February 2022 by becoming the hospital's first-ever full-time Occupational Therapist. Demonstrating incredible vision and determination, Griffin built the hospital's occupational therapy department from the ground up, establishing a service that has grown so rapidly under her leadership that YCH had to hire a second practitioner to meet the community's demand.

With more than 27 years of clinical experience, Griffin has successfully delivered specialized care to patients in Yoakum and surrounding areas. Her advanced certifications in Lymphedema and Wound Care (CLWT) have allowed her to provide highly specialized, essential treatments locally. This ensures that patients in the small-town community receive exceptional, compassionate care close to home without needing to travel to metropolitan medical centers.

In addition to her adult care, Griffin expanded YCH's services by spearheading occupational therapy for pediatric patients at the family practice clinic, welcoming its first pediatric patient in September 2022. Described by colleagues as a professional who lives and breathes patient welfare, Griffin demonstrates extraordinary kindness as a daily standard. Her tireless commitment to community health exemplifies the mission-driven service and compassion that the Mike Williams Award represents.

Additional healthcare leaders nominated for the 2026 Mike Williams Award included:

• Christy Smith, ER RN & Trauma Coordinator, Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center, La Junta, CO
• Ashlynn Wenger, RN - Children's Psych Unit, Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas - Beaumont, TX
• Melissa Korstange, RN, ContinueCARE Hospital in Abilene, TX
• Armentia Middleton, RN, Wound Care Nurse, ContinueCARE Hospital in Corbin, KY
• Bonita Thorp, RN/Respiratory Therapist, ContinueCARE Hospital in Madisonville, KY
• Adaly Gardea, Lead Respiratory Therapist, ContinueCARE Hospital in Odessa, TX
• Jim Braly, Director of Business Development, Longview ContinueCARE Hospital, Longview, TX
• Larissa Nowaski, Recruiter, Huntsville Memorial Hospital, Huntsville, TX
• Tiffany Stewart, Engagement Manager, Montrose Regional Health, Montrose, CO
• Mindy Keys, Clinical Pharmacist, Pharmacy Manager, North Texas Medical Center, Gainesville, TX
• Meghan Higman, MSN, RN, Director of Inpatient Services and Education, Southwest Health System, Cortez, CO

About Community Hospital Corporation – HELP WHERE HOSPITALS NEED IT®

Community Hospital Corporation owns, manages and consults with hospitals through CHC Hospitals, CHC Consulting and CHC ContinueCARE. Visit https://chc.com/.

CONTACT: Anne Block

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972.943.6470

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SOURCE Community Hospital Corporation