From among more than 80 nominations submitted, 11 excellence awards were presented as part of the annual National Nurses Week celebration at Blessing Health. Following are the awards, the nominees and the winners:
The Lauretta M. Eno Distinguished Nurses’ Award recognizes a registered nurse who excels in the art and practice of nursing and exemplifies and contributes to leading initiatives to improve care.
The award is named after the nurse who helped shaped Blessing’s style of nursing education and bedside care.
The winner was Shannon Zanger, Outpatient Care Coordination. Here is what her nomination said, in part: “Shannon has always had a heart to serve people, to meet them exactly where they are, empower them to be their best, and ensure they have access to the resources they need”
The Eno award nominees included Cindy Hoewing, ED; Cindy Peters, Surgery; Rachel Vogel, Quality & Performance Improvement; Evie Wilson, 2 North; Lisa Lake; Halee Eichman, 5th/ODU; Jessica Bichsel, ED; Tara Frank, ED; Rachel Olson, 2N; Abigail Zanger, 2 North; Jennifer Goings, ICU; Lucas Hugenburg, Centralized Staffing; Lisa Tournear, Walk-In Clinic; and Lisa Kerker, Inpatient Care Coordination.
The Advance Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Award recognizes an APRN who has demonstrated excellence in clinical practice and shown efforts to advance the image, profile and visibility of APRNs at Blessing Health System.
The winner was Amy Bates, Cardiology. Here is what her nomination said in part: “Amy represents excellence to her practice, her title, her colleagues, her patients, literally everything she does. She will out work anyone in the room. She is the best team player. I have never heard her tell anyone no. She always shows up 110% for her patients and her colleagues, always delivering above and beyond. She is a wealth of knowledge, experience, and continues to grow and learn more, expanding her skills.”
The nominees for the 2024 APRN Award are: Lisa Orton, Hamilton-Warsaw Clinic; Sara Martin, Family Medicine; Kelsey Gray, Cardiology; Lyndell Lomax, Cardiology, LJ Helmke, General Surgery, Carla Smith, Blessing Cancer Center Medical Oncology; Randi Donaldson, Walk-In Clinic; Kenton Snyder, Walk-In Clinic; Jolinn Tripp, Family Medicine; Rick Knockel, Walk-In Clinic; Erin Bowers, Walk-In Clinic; Chassidy Schroder, Be Well at Work; and Amber Curry, Be Well at Work.
The Licensed Practical Nurse Clinical Excellence Award recognizes an individual who excels in the art and practice of nursing. Nurses nominated for this award exemplify and contribute to leading initiatives to improve patient satisfaction, improved outcomes and strategic priorities.
The winner was Trish Bedwell of Nephrology in Quincy. Here is what her nomination said, in part: “Trish trained me and oriented me to the nephrology department with great patience. She is among the reasons I love working at Blessing.”
The other nominees for the Licensed Practical Nurse Clinical Excellence Award were: Shanette Griffith, Rheumatology-Hannibal; Courtney Gasko, Progressive Care Unit; Penny Hustead, Allergy/Immunology and Endocrinology- Hannibal; Mary Davis, Family Medicine - Hannibal; Lindsey Baugh, 2 North; and Mary Frieden, Walk-In Clinic-Hannibal.
The Year One Wonder Award is for a new registered nurse who has been on staff for more than 90 days. This nurse shows promise as an exceptional member of the nursing staff.
The Year One Wonder award winner was Kaitlin Roberts, Emergency Center. Here is what her nomination said, in part: “Since her first day of orientation, it was clear that Kaitlin was meant to be an ER nurse. Although she has been a nurse for a short time, you would never be able to tell, as she is wise years beyond what her experience shows on paper.
Each shift I get to work with Kait, I am more and more impressed and consider myself very lucky to get to work beside such an excellent nurse. I hope to be able to watch her grow and excel in the coming years.”
The other Year One Wonder award nominees were Ashley Gildersleeve, ED; Payton Hamilton, ED; Isiabell Acklie, CVU; Charlotte Horman, PCU, Kylie Wilson, CVU; Alex Meyer, ICU; Kylie Wilson, CVU; Wendy McCluskey, CVU; Daniel Otero, 2 North; Kaity Lee-Gainer, 2 North; Kennedy Fleer, 2 North; Juliann Heck, 4 North; and Kelli Ryals, 4 North.
The DAISY Transformational Leader Award recognizes nursing leaders who role-model caring behaviors, and the positive impact of their leadership on staff and the patient care they manage.
The winner was Kelly Maisel, manager of the Walk-In Clinic in Quincy and Hannibal and the Blessing Express Clinic. Here is what her nomination said in part: “There have been many times when we see Kelly out on the floor caring for patients without asking, because that is what is needed at that moment. Kelly is not only an amazing role-model, exceptional boss, and leader, she is also a phenomenal nurse. I am constantly finding myself in awe of the many ways she’s continuously helping.”
The other award nominees were Beth Schutte, Rehab; Karen Kearns, Rehab; Laura Weigand, Quality; Kelly McMillan, Centralized Staffing; Kathrine Berhorst, 4 North; Heather Hopwood, Blessing Health Hannibal; Dawn Morgan, Blessing Health Hannibal; Brooke Cameron, 5 North/ODU; Jaden McMahon, ED; and Katie Williams, Surgery Center.
The Partner in Caring Award recognizes care team members other than RNs or LPNs whose contributions make Blessing an excellent place to work and to receive health care.
The winner was Kate Rhoads, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Emergency Medical Services. Here is what her nomination said, in part: “Kate uses her expertise to support every department and entity in our health system. She works tirelessly to make sure that each of us is prepared for the worst possible situations. Last year Kate worked with security to develop a video and provide over 35 sessions of armed intruder training. Kate went above and beyond to make sure we had access to this valuable, life-saving training.”
The other Partner In Caring nominees were Jane Carley, Unit Secretary, 3 South; Elizabeth Colella, EVS; James Booth, EVS; Cindy Sexton, Unit Secretary, Emergency Center; Miranda Verdier, Pharmacist in the Emergency Center; Nadia Bruenger, ER Tech; Elizabeth Branham, ER Tech; Michelle Downey, Social Worker; Laura Lefever, Psych Tech; Tara Redner, CMA- Neurology; Amanda Paden, Respiratory Therapist; Jo Miller, Medical Assistant, Cardiology-Hannibal, and Jill Baker, Certified Medical Assistant, Occupational Health.
The DAISY Team Award recognizes a nursing team for the way the unit works together and the way the unit works with other hospital departments in the delivery of exceptional care.
The winner was the Blessed Beginnings staff and the High Acuity Response Team (HART) for their creation of a multidisciplinary rapid response program to assist the growing number of moms who experience complications – including hemorrhages – often times due to pre-existing conditions.
Other nominees were CVU and the Mount Sterling Clinic.
The Evidence-Based Practice Award recognizes evidence-based practice as a guide for clinical practice and management. Through research and innovation, nurses are able to transform healthcare to provide the best outcomes for patients.
The award winners were Madison Wand, 6 North; Mariah Rice, 4 North; and Megan Rowlands, 2 North. Here is what their nomination said in part: “Madison, Mariah and Megan selected a project for Nurse Residency that focused on the strategic use of color-coded tape to label invasive lines and tubes. Their project embodied the essence of innovation, as they successfully challenged existing norms and paradigms to create a more efficient and reliable system of communication in healthcare.”
The other Evidenced Based Practice award nominee was the High Acuity Response Team – known as HART.
Illini Community Hospital
Chontel Whitaker, RN, received the Illini Nurse Excellence Award. She is Infection Control Coordinator and her nomination read, in part: “Chontel not only does her own work in infection prevention, but also helps us out in surgery on our busier case days. She has been an integral part of training one of our newer staff members in surgery and is always willing to share her vast knowledge with anyone.”
Dede Smith (on left) and Maddy Gwartney (on right), Registration/Scheduling Specialists, received the Illini Partner in Caring Award.
Dede’s nominations read, in part: “There was a day that we had a patient that can become easily confused. Dede took the time to sit with this patient, while Maddy was able to stay at the desk for the phones/able to check people. Dede was able to sit with the patient until the nurse for the clinic that patient was there that day for was able to come and get that patient for her appointment.
Maddy’s nomination was about a lengthy phone call with a patient who she called to reschedule an appointment when the patient was facing unrelated stress. The nominations of Maddy stated, “I believe that patient felt better being able to get all of those feelings out to another person who was not directly involved with what she was dealing with.”