Northwestern Medicine Glenview Outpatient Center announces Dr. Michael Schafer Award winner

The Northwestern Medicine Glenview Outpatient Center staff gathered Aug. 24 to honor the third annual Dr. Michael Schafer Award winner and nominees.

The prestigious award is given to a staff member who exemplifies Northwestern Medicine’s patient first mission and consistently goes above and beyond to deliver the highest level of patient care.

Of the six nominees, this year’s winner is Khyla Tatak, an operations coordinator in the internal medicine department.

“To be mentioned and likened to Dr. Schafer is such an honor within itself,” Tatak, a Grayslake resident, said in a news release. “I am sharing this with my fellow nominees, team members and patients. They are my guiding force to providing better patient and staff experiences. I will continue to do my part to make my patients, my Northwestern Medicine employees and family proud.”

Dr. Schafer was the face of orthopaedic surgery at Northwestern Medicine, serving as the chair and residency program director for 32 years. Throughout his professional career, he educated and supported the careers of many respected orthopaedic surgeons, physical therapists and athletic trainers in practices across the country.

Dr. Schafer was a physician beloved by his patients and colleagues at the Glenview Outpatient Center and consistently provided patient first care with the highest level of dedication and integrity, the release stated.

“Khyla is an example to all of us on how to care for patients and each other,” said Colleen Nugent, an internal medicine physician at Glenview Outpatient Center. “She not only makes our office a better place, she makes the world a better place. I am truly grateful for her presence, hard work, intelligence and compassion.”

”When I thought about how to honor Dr. Schafer’s memory, it made sense to do so by recognizing a member of our Glenview family that displayed the same patients first attitude,” said Micah Eimer, medical director at the Northwestern Medicine Glenview Outpatient Center. “Too often we wait until people are gone to vocalize that they are appreciated and we wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen. We appreciate all that Khyla does for the staff and patients here each and every day.”