Celebrating Excellence in Respiratory Care: The 2025 PHIL Award
Each year, DCH honors one of its respiratory therapists with the prestigious PHIL Award, which stands for Pulmonary Health and Illness of the Lung. This national recognition program was created to celebrate the unsung heroes who provide exceptional care, compassion, and clinical excellence to patients with respiratory conditions. The award shines a light on the vital role respiratory therapists play in helping patients breathe easier and live better.
This year, we’re proud to recognize Kellie Pugh as the 2025 PHIL Award recipient. Her dedication, skill, and heartfelt commitment to patient care exemplify the spirit of this award and the mission of DCH.
Here are some of her nominations...
My mom was in ICU in very bad shape and Kellie was her therapist. Doctors were trying to make the decision of whether or not to put her on the vent. It was all very emotional and Kellie was so comforting. In the end, my mom wasn’t put on the vent and is doing good! We need more “Kellie’s” in this world!
I am writing on behalf of West Alabama Trauma Services. We have had the pleasure of working with Kellie, RT on a frequent basis in the Trauma-Surgical ICU. We are often making frequent ventilator changes, have fresh trachs, multiple bronchs in a day, multiple gases a day, etc. We keep RT very busy. Not once will you ever hear Kellie complain. Often times, if there is any issue, she has fixed it and notified you before you could have even responded to the patient's needs. She is on top of the patient's medications, and is a vital member of the team in making suggestions on how we can do better for the patient. She takes pride in getting the job done correctly, and putting the patient first. She is knowledgeable and is always taking the time to educate other staff on the unit, including myself, in a helpful manner. Her patients love her and call her by name. We truly are thankful to have Kellie on the team and look forward to working with her each and every time she is on shift.
Not necessarily a specific situation but whenever I see Kellie on TS, I know that my patients will be well cared for and advocated for! She is always on top of patient care and is always available whenever any of us nurses call her for help. She is amazing with patients and recently went out of her way to bring a patient some chips from the cafeteria while working on a different unit! She takes time with nursing new hires to explain different ventilator settings, collaborates with nurses to ensure patients’ needs are met and has an obvious love for her job! Kellie is always on top of her game and because of this I know no matter what happens during the shift I know she will be right by my side caring for our patients and their families!
