2008 Nurses Week Award Recipients
The list of nominees for the Nurses Week Awards continues to grow each year with many exemplars of outstanding nursing practice. Congratulations to all the nominees and award recipients. Your nursing practice is very much appreciated by all your nursing colleagues and serves as a shining example to us all.
Louise McNamara Award
Judy Reiner, RN, Emergency Department
Given in memory of Louise McNamara, Clinical Manager of 3 South-Women’s Unit. Louise was committed to assuring the provision of the highest quality in patient care through the practice of excellence in nursing. Her passion for patients and her staff has served as our gold standard for many years. The nominees included: Michelle Caja , Sarah Cobb, Bea Etzel, Kelli Junkins, Pat Keith, Sue Kolojeck, Elaine Leece, Ann Lukic, Patricia McCarty, Lisa Mitchell, Patrick Murphy, Nancy Richards, Donna Shields, Kathleen Turvey, Lisa Wallace, Barb Watson, Karen Wright, Chris Wrobel, and Pat Zabala.
Award winner Judy Reiner was described as follows: “ The first time I met Judy oh so many years ago, I knew she was special. I was struck by her friendliness and by her nursing knowledge. She has always been a patient teacher and team worker here in ED. She seeks new knowledge and invites others to join her in hew learning. I have also felt blessed to have her in my professional life as she is a wealth of knowledge. But I have also felt blessed to have her as a friend. Her level of integrity is inspiring to myself and to others.” Another nomination included these comments: “She is always there helping other fellow nurses in their time of need . . . always sharing her knowledge and smiling face in moments of trouble . . . Sometimes words can’t describe a fellow human being; those words must come from the heart and Judy has one huge heart . . believe me it is full of love.” One colleague described Judy in this way: “She encourages our experienced nurses to week continued growth and professional development. She is an excellent resource person . . . She sets high standards for herself and others . . . She is a shining example to all of us what a professional nurse should be.” Lastly, Judy was described by a colleague as: “ . . . eager to learn new techniques, equipment and information and can hardly wait to plan the format in which it is shared . . . Judy is always available as a resource person, an expert on patient care . . . Judy has often said goodbye at the end of a long day, only to be seen an hour later because she decided to ‘help with one more thing’ or ‘one more person” . . . She is always supportive of the staff, whether it’s a procedure they feel nervous about, going back to school, or a personal matter . . . She barely took time off to go through her own health crisis recently, instead choosing to focus on others as usual.”
The Vollmer Nursing Education Award
Janie Sirl, RN, Emergency Department
The Vollmer Nursing Education Award honors the memory of the Reverend Philip Vollmer, Jr., Administrator of Fairview Hospital from 1923 until 1954, and Trustee and Administrator Emeritus thereafter, until his death in 1969. This award is given to a nurse who demonstrates outstanding character and nursing ability, and is an RN advancing his/her degree in nursing or a closely related medical field, or an LPN studying to become an RN. The nominees included: Ellen Bertke, Sara Cobb, Linda Cooper, Kathy Kosmalski, Beth Nickel, Debbie Rapchek, Ann Roach, Lauren Ward, and Stacey Ziemak.
Award winner Janie Sirl was described in her nomination as: “ . . . a dedicated, competent nurse who is also an excellent teacher and mentor. She has a superior clinical base and a personality and manner that are conducive to her teaching role. Her dedication to teaching is matched only by her dedication to her patients and to Fairview Hospital. I look forward to my days working with her and I will look forward to working with her students in the future . . . she is certainly worthy of recognition for her hard work.” Another nomination stated: “Janie is a wonderful person . . . her compassion for people and willingness to help others are beyond explanation . . . She gives what ever she can give to other people . . . always willing to help other nurses in need . . . “ Another nominee said: “Janie is dedicated to obtaining her fullest potential in nursing . . . she does it with strength and grace.” Still another nomination described Janie as follows: “She is an excellent bedside nurse. She gives quality care to her patients . . . highly motivated, self-directed . . . maintains a professional manner in her interactions. . . role model and mentor.”
“Inspire by Example” Award
Donna Halpin, RN, Operating Room
The “Inspire by Example” award recognizes excellence in leadership by nurses, focusing on the advancement of the Department of Nursing Service’s mission, vision and values within the framework of Service Excellence...making Fairview Hospital the best place to receive care, the best place to work and the best place to practice medicine. The role of the leader is to enhance, transform, coach, care, trust and cheerlead using appropriate timing, tone, consequences and skills. The nominees included: Ellen Bertke, Joan Bier, Deb Bryson, Bea Etzel, Bill Jay, Linda Kussmaul, Monica Neuman, and Jennifer Sipsock.
Donna’s nomination for this award stated: “Donna has continued to grow both personally and professionally . . . must negotiate and coordinate many competing needs and handles these requests with grace and fortitude . . . willingly accepts and implements improved practice suggestions . . . allows others to rise to their own full potential by giving the opportunity and latitude to process through issues before offering intervention if necessary. This is a learned behavior that is difficult for most people but one of her very strong suits . . . she related the importance of personal excellence as it pertains to the standard of care for the patient . . .”
The Robert & Lorraine Warren, Sr. Nursing Award
Georganna Machesky RN, PK2 and Cindy Padavick, RN, Pediatrics
Presented to 2 nurses at Fairview Hospital who display the “Spirit of Compassionate Caring” while working as mentors to the next generation of nurses. Recipients of this award serve as role models by providing care that is characterized by dignity, concern, kindness and respect for the individuality and diversity of our patients. The nominees included: Maureen Buttrick, Cathy Caunter, Judy Grealis, Caroline Meder, Lori Miske, Margaret Shiels, Colleen Szep, and Jen Wypasek.
Award winner Georganna Machesky was described as: “ . . . a role model by providing care that is characterized by dignity, concern, kindness, and respect . . . She is an example of how to focus on the patient and their family and how to give them 110% of herself 100% of the time. Her problem-solving skills are exceptional and she exceeds in the area of efficiency and effectiveness. What makes this role model so effective is that she produces quality outcomes for her patients and she is passing that skill onto the next generation of nurses.”
Award winner Cindy Padavick was described as: “ . . an example of a nurse mentor to the next generation. She is energized and passionate about the nursing profession. Cindy comes to work each day with a very positive attitude. She is kind and gentle to all she cares for . . . has received numerous STAR cards for the kindness and care she displays . . . always willing to accept the invitation to precept . . . excellent communication skills . . . gives the students the best experience by offering them a variety of illnesses and diagnoses to learn from . . .guiding them through their clinical rotation . . . Cindy is a stellar nurse of today showing the way to the future nurses of tomorrow.”
“The Janice G. Murphy Award”
Patty McCarty, RN, PreAdmission Testing
This award is presented to a nurse who displays energy and enthusiasm for the profession of nursing. This individual will possess a strong personal commitment to patients and their families; demonstrate compassion in their caring, display a high level of confidence in continuous improvement toward quality outcomes in all aspects of patient care and promote relationships of trust and respect among nursing team members. The nominees included: Kate Beirne, Theresa Chambers, Mary Chulock, Connie Cobb, Linda Cooper, Amanda Corniello, Bea Etzel, Terry Giorgi, Shawnda Geisel, Libby Hawk, Lisa Mitchell, Connie Norsic, Annette Piechowski, Marge Piernik, Gail Piscitani, Margaret Porcelli, Gwen Print, Dianne Reece, Tracy Smith, jean Sparks, Jen Stack, Maria Torres, Kim Vranic, and Doris Wilt.
Patty’s nominations for this award described her as follows: “She combines a high level of clinical knowledge with a high level of enthusiasm and energy. She promotes a cooperative effort among the staff, physicians, and patients and their families. Despite the many demands of her position, she always responds with kindness and respect. Patty constantly exemplifies a definitive passion for her profession of nursing on a daily basis . . . Patty is flexible, always providing positive feedback and has a keen interest and concern for her staff. Patty’s solid work ethic is continually demonstrated as she goes above and beyond the call of duty for patients, family members, and in particular, her staff.”
Cleveland Clinic Health System Hall of Fame Award
Pat Keith, RN, PK2 and Sue Kolojek, RN, 4N
The annual Cleveland Clinic Health System Hall of Fame Award recognizes (2) nurses from each CCHS facility for their special skills, dedication and compassion in the delivery of outstanding hands-on patient care. Nurses are recognized for consistently going above and beyond in providing excellent care to patients and their families. The nominees included: Irene Alaimo, Christine Alten, Deb Bryson, Bea Etzel, Beverly Farver, Marsha Gaul, Janet Gonzalez, Annette Krivos, Michelle Kuznik, Caroline Meder, Kelly Orolsky, Marge Piernik, Jackie Rambert, Deborah Rapchak, Jean Rini, Linda Rogers, Nadine Siers, Jennifer Sipsock, Donna Tacchite, and Karen Wright.
Pat Keith’s nomination stated: “[Pat] is a positive role model for excellence in nursing . . . a true patient advocate . . . a role model during times of crisis . . . She makes decisions with confidence and most importantly makes appropriate decisions under pressure . . . excellent resource for staff . . . promoter of team work on our unit and other units . . . I can also site many examples of the times she worked and motivated others to work together on our unit to produce quality outcomes for patients . . . [Pat] asked nurses to change assignments to help accommodate the high volume of work that needed to be completed on the floor. The nurses respected her decision and willingly changed their assignments . . . “
Sue Kolojek’s nomination included the following example: “[Sue] interprets professional practice as doing what needs to be done to get a patient care need met without worrying about whose job it is. For example, when a patient recently had an untoward response . . . [her] quick thinking and assessment identified that the patient needed immediate intervention. [Her] ability to quickly assess and respond to an emergent situation resulted in a favorable outcome for this patient and her family. This is one of many examples of [Sue’s] professionalism and commitment to giving our patients and their families exceptional care.