The heart of service: The Cecil B. Johnson ‘You Make a Difference’ award

He is often one of the first faces employees, Veterans, family members, and many others see when they enter the medical center. He is always giving a bright smile followed by hello. 

Johnson is a Korean-War Veteran who served in the U.S. Army as an airborne medic from 1954 to 1966. Johnson was part of the first combat troops to land in Vietnam. He earned the Bronze Star from his Vietnam service by trying to save his fellow soldiers who were in an unmarked live minefield.

Johnson has been a mainstay at the medical center and one of the most dependable. If leadership were to add up all his volunteer hours, it would add up to a decade of full-time work hours. 

Patrick Gleason, the Jesse Brown VA chief of the center for development and civic engagement, said volunteers are invaluable to the medical center’s mission. 

“The volunteers at Jesse Brown VA support the VA Mission by [helping] staff members so they can focus on direct patient care and by providing direct services to our patients, including wayfinding, clothing distribution for Veterans in need, providing rides to appointments for our Indiana Veterans, assisting with the pharmacy patient flow and much more,” explained Gleason. “Our volunteers deliver on Jesse Brown’s promise to ‘put Veterans first' every day and ask for nothing in return, a truly noble act.”

To show appreciation for his hard work and dedication to all who enter Jesse Brown VA, some of our residents, who are inspired by Mr. Johnson, created the Cecil B. Johnson ‘You Make a Difference’ Award.  Dr. Rachel Orbuch, a chief resident in internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said the award was presented June 27 to Drs. Noah Lybik, a resident, and Jacob Stout, an intern. The inaugural Cecil B. Johnson “You Make a Difference” award was presented to them because they have shown dedication to service that Johnson has shown during his military service and as a Jesse Brown VA volunteer, and they have embodied Johnson’s attitude, leadership, and spirit of service.

“It’s the dedication and the service that he has shown, not only when he was in the military, but then afterward he [chose] to volunteer so much of his time to dedicate not only making employees feel good, [but] patients and families feel good,” explained Dr. Anajan Rajan, a co-chief resident in internal medicine from Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. “Every single day he is a friendly face for every single person, and I think what he embodies just as a person, is something that we physicians hope to embody too for our patients and families.”

Rajan added that in honor of his spirit of service and leadership, they wanted to honor some of their house staff members who do the same. 

Orbuch pointed out that the rotation at VA can be a little more difficult for residents because patient care can be a little more complicated and Veterans can sometime need additional support.

“When you walk through that door and the first person you see is Cecil, and he cheerfully says, ‘good morning, Doc,’ you have to just smile, it starts your day off on the right tone,” said Orbuch. “We wanted to recognize the two residents who really share that positive attitude and dedication at the VA to serving our Veterans, lifting others, and working within the system to build that community and support system.”

Even though this was the inaugural year of the award, Orbuch and Rajan said they would love to see the award expanded to possibly include staff members who embody Johnson’s dedication to VA.

Rajan pointed out that being a resident has been enjoyable because Johnson’s attitude is infectious because he’s welcoming to Veterans and JB employees. She also said Jesse Brown VA is a unique hospital that offers a community place for people to gather.

“[You] feel seen, feel welcomed, and that contagiousness [is] among Veterans,” Rajan said about Johnson and how he welcomes everyone who enters the medical center, “and that spreads 100% to [everyone]. It’s like we’re just all in it together, ultimately to just take care of our Veterans.

“We do it from the medical side, but I think the Veterans do it for each other as well from a community friendship [through] shared experience, which makes Jesse Brown a special place.”