St. Luke's 19th Annual ‘Night of Heroes’ - Patients Honored, First Responders and Trauma Team Recognized

• WHAT: Meet the heroes: EMS providers, fire, police, medical caregivers as well as the patients (see below).

• WHEN: 6 pm on Saturday, November 14. News media to meet in the main entrance at 5:15 pm for interviews and photos.

• WHERE: Wind Creek Bethlehem 77 Sands Blvd. Bethlehem

Two patient heroes will be honored at the 19^th annual St. Luke’s Night of Heroes celebration, along with nearly 100 caregiver heroes who helped make their recoveries possible.       

1. On July 11, 2025, 15-year-old Jeremy Pena of Bethlehem was struck by a car while riding his bicycle. He was taken to St. Luke’s University Hospital’s Trauma Center in Bethlehem where he was diagnosed with a severe brain injury and severe limb-threatening lower extremity fractures. Jeremy spent seven weeks in the hospital undergoing several major surgeries and suffering life-threatening complications due to his brain injury.  He was in a coma for two-and-a-half weeks with his family at his bedside. After a long hospitalization, Jeremy was discharged to a rehabilitation facility. Currently, he is in 11^th grade at Freedom High School, doing well in school and participating in sports and other activities that he enjoys. 

    

2. Shawn Coco and her husband of Pen Argyl were stuck by car while riding their motorcycle on April 10, 2025.  They were both taken to St. Luke’s Anderson Campus in Bethlehem Township. Despite a brain injury, Shawn was initially awake and talking. Over the course of a few hours, she developed a striking change in her neurological exam, and a repeat head CT demonstrated a worsening brain injury that required emergency surgery in the middle of the night. She also sustained multiple orthopedic injuries that required surgery. After seven weeks in the hospital, recovering from her injuries, Shawn was discharged to a rehab facility. She has worked extremely hard to recover from the deficits caused by the crash but today enjoys a full life with her husband, mother and father and two children.

St. Luke’s has honored both patients and caregivers at Night of Heroes for more than 19 years. The event, attended by nearly 800 people, celebrates the caregivers who dedicate themselves to saving lives every day, and the patients who beat the odds to survive. Each year two patients’ families tell their stories through a video presentation, and members of the trauma team who touched these patients’ lives are recognized and honored for their skill and dedication. 

In a highly anticipated and suspenseful presentation, the following prestigious awards will be announced live:

• Martin Cohen Trauma Humanitarian Award

• Dr. Charles D. Saunders Dedication to Trauma Award

• William "Billy" Guth Trauma EMS Award

• Stephan F. Balshi Innovation & Quality Award

The evening’s schedule is as follows:  

• 6:00 – Cocktails and Dinner Stations 

• 7:45 – Opening Remarks 

• 8:30 – Video and Heroes Awards Presentations

• 9:15 – Live Music and Dancing

Listed below are the 2026 Heroes Award recipients:

St. Luke’s             

Rachel Ackley

Dalia Al-Daoud, RT

Will Anthony, MSW

Reverend Gary M. Barraco

Wayne Baurle, MD

Dessiree Berback, PA-C

Roba Bozakis

Emily Bossler, RN

Kristina Bowen

Patrick Brogle, MD

Kay Cameron-McGregor

Abigail Carl

Elizabeth Corbo, MD

Edgar Cheng, MD

Krishna Chudasama

Jason Davis, MD/PMR

Meghan DeHaven, RN

Ina Dutt, RN

Gabrielle Finkbeiner, RN

Rebekkah Felsher, RN

Heather Fisher, CPC

Brady Fouchie, RN

Angela Garova

Jacalyn Garzillo, OT

Brett Geller, DMD

Nicole Gieniec, CRNP

Robert Gomez, MD

Matthew Godfrey, RN

Megan Gordon, PharmD

Michelle Gormley, DPT

Craig Goldberg, MD

Rachel Goll

Marissa Gottschall, PA-C

Dustin A. Greenhill, MD

Baher Habib, R.T. (R)

Barbara Hannon

Angela Hartman, CRNA

Margaret Higgins, MD

Girma Hundie, PA-C

Nareena Imam, MD

Jeffrey Jaindl

Caryn Janetzko, OTR/L

Brice Kessler, MD

Bright Kim

Kevin Kinney

Dante Kintz, AP

Tammy Knerr, CST

Yeamie Kosari, MD

Zachary Kovach, RN

Sarah Kuehner, DPT

Leilani Lavin, CRNA

Samantha McElwain, RN

Kristine McGorry, MSW

Kevin McVeigh, MD

Maria Mejia-Cortes

Laura Metz

Micheal Muhr, R.T. (R)

Patrick Newins, RN

Laura Obermesik, RN

Kayla Palmer, CCC-SLP

Dustin Pastula

Jonathan Pester, MD

Samantha Phillips

Scott Polansky DO 

Casey Pollock, CST

Jarrod Ramer

Ellie Randolph, MD

April Rose, SLP

Jeanice Sanchez, RN

Amy Sandlin

Kelly Sawruk, RN

Christopher Schoepflin

Pratik Shukla

Steven Silvonek, MD

Sheena Smith

Hayden Stepansky

Markella Stoeckel, RN

Alicia Stoner, BS

Brian Sydow, MD

Elias Thome, MD

Ana Vazquez, CST

Padmini Veeraraghavan, MD

Adam Weidner

Robert Weiland, CRNA

Brian Willard, MD

John Wilson, MD

Amy Wojcik, RN

Nestor Worobetz, MD

Suburban EMS

Michael Rapp 

Andrea Giovanni         

Wind Gap Fire Department              

Officer Joshua Lowe    

Officer William Wales 

Sgt. Andrew Daly        

Matthew Oravec 

Andrew Glass 

Mark Demasi, NRP      

Bryan Wilson, MD

City of Bethlehem Fire Department Engine 1                      

Officer Andrew Wirth 

Officer Josh Hobson    

Officer Kaitlin Borda   

Officer Steve Brailo