Corey Morgan, a housekeeper at Community Memorial Hospital, was cleaning a bathroom after hours in the ambulatory surgery department earlier in April when he spotted a diamond studded ring sitting on top of the paper towel container.

“Oh, this looks expensive,” thought Morgan as he slipped it into his billfold. “Whoever is missing this is not happy.”

Actually, James Hyatt of Utica was feeling terrible and not because he had just had shoulder surgery. His wedding band, with eight diamonds, was an expensive piece of jewelry with even more sentimental value and now it appeared it was gone forever. While Hyatt was being prepared for surgery, a nurse put tape over his wedding band but the surgical precaution was irritating. Hyatt took the ring off, gave it to his son, who put it on his finger for safekeeping. It quickly was apparent the ring was too tight and the younger Hyatt struggled to get it off. When he finally did, he put the ring on the towel dispenser as he washed his hands.

Just then the patient was being wheeled into the operating room and in the commotion the ring was forgotten.

Back home in Utica late that afternoon, James Hyatt called the hospital where there had been a shift change and no one could find the ring.

Morgan, in the meantime, held on to the missing wedding band until he returned to work, where he asked Nurse Missy Boehnert if someone had lost a ring. She described the missing band, Morgan said it was the one he found and turned it over. Boehnert gave it to Nurse Manager Diane Chase, who had been in contact with Hyatt, and the ring was promptly returned.

“Everybody at Community Memorial was absolutely wonderful,” says Hyatt, who is a member of the Department of Defense at the former Griffiths Air Force Base and the father of a New Hartford police officer. “The whole thing has been unbelievable.”

When Hospital President David W. Felton learned of the missing ring and its subsequent return he commended Morgan on his honesty.

“What was I going to do with a wedding band?,” said the 20-year old native of Sherburne.

“I was pleased first of all to hear the ring had been found and impressed Corey returned it,” said Felton, who recognized Morgan’s “good moral and ethical values” by presenting him with a gift certificate from Adventure Bikes and Boards in Hamilton.

“It’s employees such as Corey who make Community Memorial the hospital it is and one reason why we have such high patient satisfaction.”

Morgan was surprised by the attention. “Honesty is the best policy, especially in a hospital. If you’re not honest, you’re not communicating right and communication is the key to our teamwork.”