Justin Fogt Receives Monarch Caring and Community Award
Justin Fogt, Director of Cardiac Nursing Services at St. Francis-Emory Healthcare, was honored Oct. 1 as one of only three recipients nationally of ScionHealth’s 2025 Monarch Caring and Community Award ‒ the highest annual honor the company presents to healthcare professionals who work in its 80 specialty and community hospitals.
Fogt was selected from among the 80 award finalists (one from each hospital) within ScionHealth, which has more than 22,000 employees across the 26 states. He received the award during the closing event of the annual ScionHealth Caregiver Summit in Louisville, the company’s corporate headquarters. The Monarch Caring and Community award recognizes ScionHealth’s most exceptional caregivers who consistently go above and beyond to deliver excellent patient care, elevate the patient’s experience, and support their colleagues and communities.
“When you read the description of the type of individuals that we want to recognize nationally, it's almost like they wrote that just for Justin,” said Bill Little, CEO of St. Francis-Emory. “When you think about high performers, whether it be clinically, whether it be leadership, being a servant for others, Justin basically models all of those behaviors that you want in that excellent employee. Justin seems to have figured out a lot of keys to life, and he lives them. I can't think of a better person to be nominated and given an award as the most outstanding caregiver and employee in our organization. That's Justin."
Fogt was nominated by his peers at St. Francis-Emory, who cited his exceptional focus on patients, supporting his team, mentoring new employees, contributing to the broader community, and creating a culture of high-quality, compassionate care.
“Justin doesn’t just lead a team – he builds a culture,” the nomination stated. “One of his core beliefs is simple yet profound: ‘That a patient isn’t just a room number – they’re someone’s loved one. The individual lying in that bed is a mother, a father, a son, or a daughter.’
“He often encourages his team to make a personal connection with patients, whether it’s discovering what school they attended, where they worship, or what neighborhood they call home. This approach creates a powerful bond between caregiver and patient and makes healing deeply personal and human. Justin believes that in our tight-knit community, every member of his team can find that connection point, and from there, a place to begin as his patients begin their healing process.”
Much of Justin’s success today in leading nurses stems from his experience being one. He joined St. Francis-Emory in 2014 as a Certified Nurse Assistant and progressed to being a bedside nurse, serving on the hospital’s quality team, and being the Director of Cardiac Nursing Services today. His colleagues say he cares for his team with the same compassion as he cares for patients.
“He's very kind. He's a very thoughtful leader,” said Doris Carr, Clinical Coordinator at St. Francis-Emory. “Justin always thinks about his staff. You know that he will back you up. You know that if you need him, he'll be there in a rapid situation. He's there, and he will stand there with us, always.”
“The thing that makes people great leaders is their own personal standard and their own personal ethic, and Justin does not let somebody else define that for him,” added Jenny Hanes, Manager of Cardiac Nursing Services at the hospital. “He has defined that for himself, and no matter how those are operating around him, he is going to maintain his own standard.”
Fogt carries that ethos of service beyond the walls of his hospital to the community, and even to communities far away. He serves with the Georgia Army National Guard, which recently took him to Kosovo in eastern Europe as part of a year-long peacekeeping and humanitarian mission. He came back to the hospital without skipping a beat, according to Ashley Ingram, Chief Nursing Officer at St. Francis-Emory.
“He had the great honor to lead a battalion to provide humanitarian efforts in Kosovo, and then he returned and plugged right back into St. Francis and into the team, providing excellent leadership,” she said. “He has a unique style to be able to pull things out of people that they didn't even know that they had.”
Fogt, a Columbus, Georgia native now in his fifth year leading Cardiac Nursing Services at the hospital, said he was humbled and surprised by the honor.
“I had this impending, like ‘imposter syndrome’ building in me because we get here and meet these other nominees – across the whole organization, across the country – that are doing tremendous work, the stuff you are pushing toward yourself,” Fogt said. “We have the same vision, the same ethic for patients. When you see that, you’re like ‘I don’t have a chance.’"
He shared that his key to success is pretty simple.
“If you can connect with a patient, their care is so much more meaningful for you and for them,” Fogt said. “Sometimes we get trapped in the data, analytics, epidemiology, and pharmacology of medicine as nurses, physical therapists, techs, and CNAs. The greatest advice I could give anyone and what I try to instill in our staff from a nursing standpoint is that you are there to care for that person in that bed – it’s great to have the clinical data and knowledge, but the best thing any of us can do is focus on that person and learn how to care for their body, soul, and mind.”