Charlotte/Winston-Salem, N.C. -- A laboratory technician searches a forest for a homeless man's friend. A nurse arranges for a teenage boy's high school graduation just hours before he dies in the ICU. And a hospital security guard uses his acoustic guitar to sing spiritual hymns to a family who missed Easter worship service to stay close to a hospitalized loved one.

Those are three of 46 stories published in a coffee table book honoring hospital and healthcare employees for their dedication to patients and families. The book, One Person at a Time, was compiled from submissions made by managers and staff across Novant Health, a not-for-profit health system based in North Carolina.

Published by R.R. Donnelley, the idea for the book was born out of a little-known story within the health system about a hospital security officer who was also a proud veteran of the American Legion Color Guard. He paid a special tribute to the nation's servicemen and women on the Veteran's Day holiday. Clad in his Navy dress blues, he visited hospitalized patients who had served in our nation's military and personally thanked each of them for their dedication to protecting America.

Novant realized there were a lot of similar stories throughout the organization -- stories that lingered in anonymity when they could potentially be having an enormous positive impact if shared with everyone. "We believe that far too often, remarkable stories inside big organizations like ours go untold, when they could be inspiring all of us," said Jim Tobalski, Novant senior vice president, who spearheaded the creation of the book. "We have ten hospitals and 365 clinics in three states, making it difficult to communicate the selfless acts of caring and compassion that take place every day."

Each department, nursing unit and physician clinic in the organization received a copy of the book for display. In addition, all staff are able to access an interactive PDF of the book through the Novant employee intranet. Several copies were also sent to legislators as a reminder that the best attributes of the healthcare industry are embodied in its people, a message even more relevant today during the national healthcare reform debate.

One Person at a Time was an internal project honoring staff and is not available for sale to the public. However, the book can be viewed in its entirety online at www.novanthealth.org/remarkablestories.