Lance’s Legacy: Character award, scholarship honor nurse’s compassion, integrity, and dedication

From the beginning, Lance Pence was the kind of nurse Reid Health team members wanted to be around — calm in a crisis, quick with humor, and unfailingly kind.

A Critical Care Unit (CCU) charge nurse, the Hagerstown native had a gift for connecting with people. Even in stressful moments, he had a way of making others feel supported. When a team member faced challenges, he offered patience and understanding.

His wife, Tara, herself a CCU nurse at Reid, said his calm presence and humor set him apart.

When Lance passed away in April 2024, he left a legacy of patient-centered care. Now Tara carries his legacy forward in nursing. Two lasting tributes in his honor celebrate the qualities of kindness, integrity, and care he embodied every day – a Character in Nursing Award and a scholarship.

“I feel like the world needs more nurses like him. He’ll never be replaced, but he was such an amazing role model,” Tara said.

“Funny, quirky, sarcastic — he made you question whether he was joking or not. He always made you want to be a better person.”

Nursing was more than just a career for Tara and Lance; it was their way of life.

“We worked the same shift. We were never apart,” Tara said. “We were on the same team at work and obviously at home.”

When they joined Reid in October 2017, both were critical care nurses. They attended a walk-in interview event and received phone calls they were hired within 20 minutes of each other.

“We literally drew straws to see who was going to get this position (in the CCU) and who was going to get the Progressive Care Unit (PCU),” Tara said.

“He was my go-to person for knowledge and he would do the same with me. If I couldn’t figure it out, he was my phone-a-friend. If he didn’t know, we would figure it out together.”

Both were recognized for their high level of care as recipients of Reid’s annual Nursing Excellence Award: Tara in 2021 and Lance in 2022.

During the Nursing Excellence celebration in May 2024, Reid posthumously recognized Lance with the Character in Nursing Award to honor his profound impact on character-driven leadership in healthcare.

Additionally, Tara and the Pence family created Lance’s Legacy, a fund supporting a nursing scholarship in his name. Proceeds from golf tournaments and apparel sales benefit the Lance Pence Scholarship, established through the Reid Health Foundation.

Tara designed Lance’s Legacy hats and shirts featuring a silhouette of Lance and his dog, Scout. The first went to the CCU nurses and physicians who cared for him at bedside.

“How do you say thank you to everyone who was doing their best?” Tara said. “This was one way.”

The following year at the nursing celebration, the scholarship was presented for the first time alongside the Character in Nursing Award.

The Character in Nursing Award was presented to Ashley Brown, RN, Clinical Education Specialist with Nursing Excellence, Resilience & Development (NERD). Brown said the recognition was a heartfelt tribute to a mentor and friend, whose character and sense of professionalism set a high bar.

The Lance Pence Scholarship was presented to RJ Grill and Baylee Wissler, both Richmond residents studying nursing at Indiana University East. As Nursing Care Assistants (NCAs), they provide direct care and support for patients. Grill works on the CCU while Wissler is part of the Family Birthing Center team.

“Lance was a giver and a helper who led with compassion and patient-centered care,” said Misti Foust-Cofield, Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer.

“His legacy continues through the Character in Nursing Award and the scholarship that now invests in future nurses like RJ and Baylee, who have the same heart, dedication, and integrity he brought as a caregiver to patients and families every day.”