Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Frisbie Memorial Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare, recently honored 20 individuals for their commitment to their patients, communities and colleagues during the annual HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction.
The three categories included in the HCA Healthcare Awards of Distinction were the Frist Humanitarian Award, the HCA Healthcare Innovators Award and the HCA Healthcare Excellence in Nursing Award.
The awards celebrate the positive impact that Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Frisbie Memorial Hospital colleagues have on patients, the community and each other. The Frist Humanitarian Award recognizes the highest achievements in serving others; the Innovators Award recognizes creative new ideas for enhancing quality of care and efficiency; and the Excellence in Nursing Award recognizes the highest levels of performance in the field of nursing. In addition, each hospital recognized provider, nurse, colleague, Rose, Bee and DAISY of the Year recipients.
“At HCA Healthcare, we strive to recognize our employees who go above and beyond for their patients and colleagues, whether it’s through on-the-spot recognition, a monthly award, or through our enterprise-wide Frist Humanitarian Awards,” said Priscilla Romero, New Hampshire Market Vice President of Human Resources. “We have so many colleagues who go the extra mile, who take on new responsibilities, expand their knowledge to best help our patients, and who volunteer in the community. But these winners are the cream of the crop for our facilities, and we’re proud to work alongside them each day.”
The award winners are, with information from their nominations:
Awards of Distinction
Frist Humanitarian Award — Physician
Dawn Barclay, MD — Critical Care, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Dr. Barclay, a critical care provider, consistently demonstrates exceptional concern for the welfare and dignity of her patients, even in the most complex and high-pressure critical care situations. Her calm presence, thoughtful decision-making, and solution-oriented mindset provide reassurance to both patients and the care teams who depend on her leadership.
She is a gifted educator and mentor, taking the time to listen carefully to nursing concerns, investigate clinical questions thoroughly, and explain her clinical reasoning with clarity and purpose. Her commitment to teaching challenges those around her to grow, think critically and continuously improve the quality and safety of patient care.
She also is committed to giving back, and in fact missed receiving her award in person because she was in Wyoming rescuing wild mustangs so they can be used as service animals for at-risk youth through a nonprofit she co-founded, Western Maine Mustang. She is also a board member of River Fund, a nonprofit focused on funding local organizations providing after-school programming for socio-economically at-risk kids, creating equal access to activities such as Alpine and Nordic skiing.
Frist Humanitarian Award — Physician
Carly Shiembob, MD — Emergency Department, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
In the fast-paced and often unpredictable world of emergency medicine, Dr. Shiembob brings not only clinical excellence, but humanity. Serving as both an emergency physician and emergency medical director, she deftly balances immense responsibility with remarkable composure, empathy and humility.
Her impact on the emergency department at Frisbie Memorial Hospital has been transformative. She is receptive, intuitive and deeply invested in creating an environment where great patient experience and optimal patient outcomes are the foundation of every interaction. Her dedication extends far beyond the hospital walls. She has been a consistent and enthusiastic presence at community events such as Rochester Night Out, and she has recently taken a leading role in educating local youth and seniors on health and safety topics. Her passion for community outreach is unmistakable, she believes wholeheartedly in meeting people where they are, ensuring that individuals of all ages have access to critical health knowledge, and fostering trusting connections between the community and their healthcare system.
Frist Humanitarian Award — Employee
Tyler Walters — Laboratory, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Tyler is routinely recognized by his colleagues for his positivity, collaboration and willingness to step up during the most demanding moments. His presence elevates those around him, and his genuine care for people is felt by all who work with him. Outside of work, Tyler volunteers with the Seacoast Community Lunch, helping curate and serve weekly meals — creating not just nourishment but connection, belonging and dignity. In 2025, he served more than 1,000 hot meals to those in need. He also gives his time to the Seacoast Community Diversion Program, working with at-risk youth through restorative justice; and with On Belay, a program committed to supporting children affected by a loved one’s cancer diagnosis through adventure-based activities. What makes this colleague’s contributions especially meaningful is his humility. He does not seek recognition and often downplays the impact of his work.
Tyler plans to attend medical school later this year to pursue a career in pediatric oncology where his compassion, integrity and advocacy will shape lives far beyond Portsmouth. His vision is simple yet powerful: to show up for his community, challenge and support his patients, and build relationships grounded in genuine care.
Frist Humanitarian Award — Employee
Kenzie Couture — Health Information Management, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Kenzie’s passion to serve extends far beyond the walls of Frisbie. Many may know her as Miss New Hampshire Earth 2022, where she used her platform to champion ethical responsibility, animal welfare and global awareness of environmental issues. In every space she enters, she brings intention, empathy and heart — using her voice to elevate others and inspire positive change.
That same spirit of service is evident through her volunteerism with the Irreverent Warriors Silkies Hike, a veteran-focused, social and therapeutic urban hike designed to foster camaraderie, promote mental health and support suicide prevention. During these events, she shows up fully — handing out water and nourishment, offering encouragement, and helping in whatever way is needed to ensure every participant feels supported and seen. Her willingness to serve without hesitation reflects the very essence of humanitarian leadership.
Frist Humanitarian Award — Volunteer
Brendan O’Brien, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Brendan joined Portsmouth Regional Hospital as a volunteer in 2022 and has contributed more than 1,500 hours of service. Brendan regular volunteers in the ICU as the unit’s volunteer coordinator and trainer, and as a mentor to students in our Project SEARCH program which serves adults with developmental disabilities. He also is a frequent volunteer with the hospital’s No One Dies Alone program, where his peaceful energy has been embraced by patients nearing end of life and their families.
He also has a keen ability to notice small moments and turn them into meaningful experiences, such as listening to a patient share their love of birds and taking the initiative to create a “Birds of New Hampshire” patient packet. His kindness is felt not only by patients, but by everyone he encounters. He is known for his warm greetings, genuine interest in others, and encouragement of new volunteers, always helping them feel like a valued part of the PRH family.
Frist Humanitarian Award — Volunteer
Dennis Cole, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Since 2022, Dennis has contributed more than 400 hours of dedicated service, becoming a trusted and familiar presence throughout the hospital. In addition to his remarkable commitment of time, he is known for his reliability, consistency and genuine care for doing things the right way. He single‑handedly manages the mail delivery process at Frisbie - an essential function that keeps communication flowing smoothly across the organization and supports teams in countless unseen ways.
Over the years, he has consistently demonstrated a willingness to grow and expand his role, always with a thoughtful focus on improving the patient and staff experience. Most recently, he made the generous decision to add an additional day each week to his volunteer service, further deepening his impact. He now supports Patient Access, deliveries, paperwork, and many other essential tasks all while ensuring the mail is delivered accurately and on time.
He embodies the true spirit of volunteerism through his positive attitude, flexibility, humility and unwavering generosity of time.
Additional Awards of Distinction:
Innovator of the Year
Kimberly McEwen, RN –— Graduate Medical Education, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Kim has been with Portsmouth Regional Hospital for nearly 10 years, consistently demonstrating her commitment to excellence in patient care and operational improvement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim played a critical role in supporting the monoclonal antibody clinic at the Dover Emergency Department, ensuring patients received timely treatment when rapid intervention was essential to achieving better outcomes. She demonstrated extraordinary dedication and flexibility, even rearranging personal commitments, to ensure patients had access to lifesaving therapies during a time of unprecedented demand.
More recently, she developed a process to better track medication issues and ethics concerns, improving transparency, accountability and oversight.
She also modernized the mandatory annual Conflict-of-Interest leader attestation process, introducing web-based forms and QR codes that allow for real-time tracking and direct compliance review, strengthening ethics and compliance efforts across the organization.
Her innovative mindset has enhanced patient safety, improved regulatory compliance, and created more efficient, reliable systems that support our teams and protect our patients.
Nursing Excellence — Compassionate Care
Ben Dalecki, RN — Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Nursing Excellence — Compassionate Care
Alisa Regan, RN — Behavioral Health Unit, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Nursing Excellence — Professional Mentoring
Danielle Caughey, RN - Intensive Care Unit, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Nursing Excellence — Professional Mentoring
Senja Christopherson, RN — Inpatient Nursing, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Rose of the Year
Candy Vincent — Radiation Oncology, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
BEE of the Year
Russ Arey — Nuclear Medicine, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Nurse of the Year
Tyler Guilmette, RN — ICU & Surgical Services, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Nurse of the Year
Charlie Neal, RN — Nursing Supervisor, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Preceptor of the Year
Bahja Hureau, RN — Intensive Care Unit, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Physician of the Year
Jessica Swanson, MD — Trauma Surgery, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Physician of the Year
Ray Wilts, MD — Family Medicine, Frisbie Memorial Hospital
Colleague of the Year
Fernando Alves Monteiro — Environmental Services, Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Colleague of the Year
Kristy Tweedy — Endoscopy, Frisbie Memorial Hospital