Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Jaime Plunkett sits in her office at Conemaugh Nason, Roaring Spring, where she works as a pharmacist. Plunkett was recognized for her work with an area foundation to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes.

ROARING SPRING — Hollidaysburg resident Jaime Plunkett’s world shattered when her 16-month-old eldest child was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, but the pharmacist at Conemaugh Nason Hospital has used her experience to help others.

For her efforts at educating the community about this chronic autoimmune disease, Plunkett is one of the recipients of the 2025 LifePoint Health Mercy Award. Other area honorees are Patricia Huber-Smith, Health and Student Services coordinator at the Conemaugh School of Nursing and Allied Health Programs; Tawnya Miller, assistant director of nursing at Conemaugh Meyersdale Medical Center; and Stephanie Richards, a registered nurse at Conemaugh Miners Medical Center in the emergency and medical-surgical departments.

The honorees were selected for their “unwavering commitment to patients, colleagues, and the communities they serve — consistently going above and beyond in service and compassion,” according to officials.

The Mercy Award is LifePoint Health’s highest honor, recognizing one individual from each of its facilities who exemplifies the spirit of compassion, dedication, and selfless service on which the company was founded. Established in 2001, the award commemorates the legacy of Scott Mercy, LifePoint’s founding chairman and CEO.

These four honorees will be considered for LifePoint Health’s 2025 company-wide Mercy Award. The national recipient will be announced Aug. 27 at a special ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee.

Conemaugh Nason COO Michelle Buttry praised Plunkett for going “above and beyond her normal duties” by sharing her “deep knowledge regarding diabetes to health care professionals and provides clear guidance, patience and compassion to patients. Jaime is committed to help every person with diabetes live a better life until a cure is found.”

Gracie Plunkett, now 7, plays softball, swims and enjoys life with constant and careful monitoring by Plunkett and her husband, Jordan. Gracie wears a tubeless insulin pump paired with a wearable continuous glucose monitor. Together, the technology helps keep her blood sugar at acceptable levels. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the pancreas’s islet cells no longer produce insulin, a hormonal “key” that moves glucose from the blood into cells for energy.

When initially being treated at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, she was treated with insulin injections up to 10 times a day, Plunkett said. And, while they received some education it was Plunkett’s tenacious determination that procured the technology to help her child combined with “reading everything I could get my hands on to educate myself” about the condition.

In the intervening years, she’s used her knowledge and “big heart” to help countless others cope with the life-changing, chronic condition.

Plunkett is described by her friend Jill Parrilla as an “incredibly determined and passionate” advocate for parents and children who have Type 1 diabetes.

Parrilla and her daughter connected with Plunkett and Gracie in early 2019 after Parrilla’s 9-year-old daughter Bryn was diagnosed at age 3.

“This is a life-altering diagnosis for a child and the family,” Parrilla said. “We ended up leaning on each other and our daughters are friends.”

Both women volunteer for the Blair Type 1 Diabetes Foundation, a local organization that holds many fundraisers throughout the year, including a gala event that attracted 400 people in March. The money raised is donated to various cure-based Type 1 diabetes researchers and organizations.

Plunkett modestly calls herself “one of many worker bees” for the foundation.

Parrilla disagrees.

“We reach out to people who are newly diagnosed, especially parents. Jaime is a great resource for a lot of people. When someone has a question, Jaime is relentless in finding answers. She’s an all-around advocate.”

Due to her position as a pharmacist and as a mother, Plunkett said she’s gained information and expertise and uses it to “provide support to people. They know you get what they are going through.”

While advances in technology through insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors help manage diabetes, the technology falls short of a body’s working pancreas.

“There is no substitute for a healthy pancreas. It’s still tough every day. She can eat the same food and take the same insulin dosage but the body reacts differently,” she said, due to numerous other factors.

The disease requires constant decision-making and monitoring.

According to Stanford University research, a person with Type 1 diabetes makes an average of 180 additional, diabetes-related decisions each day compared to someone without diabetes. These decisions range from calculating insulin dosages to choosing what to eat, when not to eat and managing physical activity, all while monitoring blood sugar levels.

For children like Bryn and Gracie, this responsibility falls to parents. And, while the Plunketts make every effort to “put Gracie first and diabetes second,” its impact is felt in numerous ways.

One example, Plunkett said, is when Gracie wanted to experience a sleepover with her grandparents at their house, Plunkett stayed nearby in the guest room.

Even attending a friend’s birthday party is complicated. Plunkett said she’ll quietly talk to the party hosts who then communicate when meals and the birthday cake will be served so Gracie receives appropriately timed insulin in the correct dosage.

When Plunkett travels to Nashville to receive her award Aug. 27, her husband will stay home to care for Gracie and her mother will accompany her. Plunkett’s mother will enjoy the trip with her.

Both Plunkett and Parrilla are “optimistic” a cure for Type 1 diabetes will be found in their daughters’ lifetimes.

For more information about Type 1 diabetes and the Blair Type 1 Diabetes Foundation, visit the group’s Facebook page or email BlairType1DiabetesFoundation@gmail.com.

Mirror Staff Writer Patt Keith is at 814-949-7030.