The twentieth annual Roberson Award was recently presented in memory of Martin Coffey, C.C.P.T., who served Cookeville Regional Medical Center and its patients for 14 years as the Cardiac Catheterization Director of the Heart and Vascular Center. The award was presented to Coffey’s family on Tuesday, May 13 at Cookeville Regional Medical Center’s annual service awards banquet. CRMC’s Chief Executive Officer Bernie Mattingly made the presentation, citing Coffey’s dedication and efforts to provide cardiac services heart care to the Upper Cumberland region.

The Roberson Award is named for Mr. Fred Roberson who served on the hospital’s Board of Trustees for twenty-seven years. The award is presented annually to the individual who best exemplifies the same dedicated and loyal service to Cookeville Regional Medical Center and its patients as was demonstrated by Mr. Roberson.

Previous recipients have been Dr. Thurman Shipley, H.S. Barnes, Dr. J.T. Moore, Jr., Dr. Claude Williams, Eleen Harkins, Jean Davis, Dr. William Francis, Senator Tommy Burks, Dr. William Taylor, Reverend Lexie Freeman, Dr. Alex Case, Dr. Katherine Bertram, the CRMC Auxiliary, Linda Crawford, Dr. Walter Derryberry, Dr. J.T. DeBerry, Dr. Charles Womack, Dr. Opless Walker and Dr. Charles Jordan.

Leaving his home in Memphis, Coffey brought his family and came to Cookeville in 1994 to start the hospital’s heart program. Two cardiologists – Dr. Alex Case and Dr. Bunker Stout - who had recently finished their training wanted to return here to their hometown to practice medicine and provide heart services to the people of the Upper Cumberland. As much as they wanted to return home, they insisted that they would not come here unless the hospital hired Coffey to oversee the program. They had met him at the University of Tennessee in Memphis where he often trained medical students, including Drs. Case and Stout.

Coffey began his healthcare career as an orderly at Baptist Hospital in Memphis. He quickly learned that taking care of people was what he wanted to do and he attended the Echo-Cardiology School at Baptist. He also attended the University of Memphis. As a certified Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Technician, he became the Senior Technician at Baptist and then the Chief Technical Director in Cardiology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Memphis where he stayed until he moved to Cookeville.

As the first person hired to develop cardiac services at Cookeville Regional, he was instrumental to the success of the hospital’s heart program. He spent many, many hours getting the program established – from opening the first cardiac catheterization laboratory to playing an integral part in developing the open heart surgery program in 1998. Coffey oversaw all aspects to ensure the utmost in patient care.

Once the program was established, he continued to spend many hours at the hospital – as a leader, a patient advocate, a caregiver, a teacher, a friend, and a true asset to the hospital. He was always there to comfort and reassure others and to help ensure that only the best was provided to patients at Cookeville Regional.

Coffey was instrumental in gaining national recognition of the Heart Center. He was interviewed and quoted for an article in the U.S. News & World Report magazine in 2002 about the Heart Center and the strides made here to provide heart services.

In addition, he and Dr. Case published an article in the national publication Cardiology Management in 1999 highlighting the development of the Center. As a result, Cookeville Regional has become a “resource” to many facilities inquiring about establishing a heart program of their own. Coffey also served as a member of several national symposium panels and served as a consultant for a number of programs.

Through the years, many staff members at Cookeville Regional have learned what the standard for patient care really should be from him. It’s hard to convey in words just how special his patients were to him.

Patients have been known to say things like, “I couldn’t have gotten through the tests that were done without Martin Coffey being there to hold my hand.” And he would, too, if it meant reassurance to a patient. Many have testified what an important part he played in their recoveries.

Coffey probably spent as many nights at our facility as he did at home – sitting with a patient on a balloon-pump in the ICU or coming for an emergency cardiac cath. While that may be a slight exaggeration, he was known for his dedication and commitment to serving our patients – even to the point of missing holidays with his family and his daughter’s graduation and wedding.

Patients, staff and physicians came to rely on his expertise and knowledge in caring and treating heart patients. Nurses brag about how he taught them so much. Patients remember him because he was always a “hands-on” director and actively participated in patient care at the bedside. Physicians respected him for his many years of experience and extensive knowledge.

Coffey indeed left a legacy at Cookeville Regional Medical Center through his passion and his countless hours of dedication to the heart program.