Glenview Outpatient Center Operations Coordinator Wins Award

GLENVIEW, IL — An operations coordinator at the Northwestern Medicine Glenview Outpatient Center has been awarded the center's third annual Dr. Michael Schafer Award for going "above and beyond to deliver the highest level of patient care."

Khyla Tatak, who works in the internal medicine department, was named winner out of this year's six nominees, the medical center said in a news release.

Tatak said she was honored to be likened to Dr. Schafer, who was "the face of Orthopedic Surgery at Northwestern Medicine," having served as chair and residency program director for 32 years, the news release said.

"I am sharing this with my fellow nominees, team members and patients. They are my guiding force to providing better patient and staff experiences," Tatak said in a statement. "I will continue to do my part to make my patients, my Northwestern Medicine employees, and family proud."

Glenview Outpatient staff gathered to honor Tatak and the five other nominees on Aug. 24, the news release said. Her colleague, Colleen Nugent, MD, an internal medicine physician, said Tatak exemplifies the way health care workers should care for their patients and for each other.

"She not only makes our office a better place, she makes the world a better place," Nugent said in a statement. "I am truly grateful for her presence, hard work, intelligence and compassion."

Micah J. Eimer, medical director at the Outpatient Center, said recognizing Tatak and previous award winners – all of whom exemplify Dr. Schafer's "patients first" attitude – is the best way to honor the former director's memory.

"Too often we wait until people are gone to vocalize that they are appreciated, and we wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen," Eimer said in a statement. "We appreciate all (that) Khyla does for the staff and patients here each and every day."