Hospital honors long-time Radiologist, Nursing Supervisor

Bryan Whitfield Memorial Hospital honored long-time Radiologist Dr. Jerry Luther and Nursing Supervisor Lois Rembert in a Thursday afternoon ceremony attended by a large gathering of hospital staff, family members, and well-wishers from the community.

Both Luther and Rembert retired last year after distinguished careers at the hospital. “Their years of service made our community and our hospital better,” said CEO Mike Marshall.

Rembert worked for the hospital from 1963-64, and returned as an LPN in 1966. She worked full-time while attending RN school, eventually advancing to Day Shift Supervisor for the final 20 years of her tenure.

“Although I only got to work with Lois for four years, she taught me so much,” BWWMH Divison Director of Patient Care Services Cathy Hughes told the audience. “If I contribute half as much as she did, I’ll feel like my time here was successful. There’s probably not a family in Demopolis that she hasn’t touched over her years of service.”

Randy Dearman, Director of Diagnostic Imaging, told the crowd he worked with Luther for 23 years, and called the retired physician “the ultimate professional. We’ve been down two paths together,” Dearman added, “the professional path that ended when he retired, but the other path – our friendship – will never end.”

Following the comments from Marshall, Dearman and Hughes, the two honorees unveiled their bronze plaques. Luther’s plaque, which notes the naming of the Diagnostic Imaging wing in his honor, reads in part, “Dr. Luther used his knowledge and skill…to enhance and grow the Diagnostic Imaging Department at BWWMH. As the backbone of the department, he dedicated his career to the goal of total quality care for all Diagnostic Imaging patients. Dr. Luther provided BWWMH with a wonderful legacy, the foundation upon which our Diagnostic Imaging Department continues to grow.”

Rembert’s plaque reads, “Dedicated, hard-working, compassionate, fair, skilled, intelligent, motivated, positive. Perhaps the most appropriate words in that ever-growing list should be caring, kind, friendly, cheerful and loving. During her tenure at BWWMH, Lois has cared for thousands of area residents, giving each the impression that they were counted as family in her book. The epitome of a professional nurse, Lois has that rare quality that makes everyone with whom she comes in contact feel special.”