Nursing Excellence (Recognition) Booklet

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E X C E L L E N C E

NURSING

2014

Nursing Excellence Awards

L e t t e r f r o m t h e S e n ior V i c e P r e s i d e n t f or P at i e n t C a r e S e rv i c e s a n d C h i e f N u r s i n g O f f i c e r Our theme for Nurses Week 2014 is Privileged to Care, Passion for Excellence. This is not an official theme – you won’t find it on a national website about Nurses Week. Rather, it is the theme we at UMMC chose for the special week that honors nurses. Privileged to Care, Passion for Excellence is also our new nursing vision statement created and selected by Medical Center nurses to reflect where we want our nursing practice to be in the future. Our aim is that every patient, every family member, and every colleague will understand each nurse feels privileged to care for patients and has a passion for excellent care, service grounded in compassion and respect, and outstanding outcomes.

Nurses with this vision will carry our mission into every corner of the Medical Center – the procedural areas; the intensive, intermediate and acute care units; and the ambulatory clinics. Using evidence-based practices translated from research and quality improvement studies, UMMC nurses are dedicated to distinction and quality, constantly innovating while defining themselves as leaders, educators, care providers, and scholars.

The Nursing Excellence Awards recognize the talent, skill, knowledge, and expertise of our nurses.

The privilege of making a difference in a patient’s life is the intrinsic reward of our profession, and we take this special opportunity to celebrate nurses who are willing and able to share their passion for excellence in patient care delivery. I am pleased to acknowledge on the following pages, nurses who have been recognized by their peers for Nursing Excellence Awards.

Lisa R owen, DNSc, RN, FAAN

2014

Nursing Excellence Awards

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page 2

page 10

Excellence in Advanced Practice Nursing

page 13

Excellence in Advanced Practice Nursing – Rising Star

page 16

R e g io n a l R e c o g n i t i o n

2014 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards Regional Finalists

S p e c i a l A c h i e v e m e n t A wa r d s

Excellence in Nursing Practice page 17 Excellence in Community Service page 21

Excellence in Innovation through Evidence-based Practice

page 23

Excellence in Innovation through Research

page 25

Excellence in Leadership page 26

Excellence in Precepting, Mentoring and Education

page 29

Excellence in Publication or Presentation

page 32

Outstanding Nursing Support Staff page 33 Physician Colleague page 36 Rising Star page 39 Special Friend of Nursing page 44

University of Maryland School of Nursing Colleague

page 46

l i v i n g e x c e ll e n c e awa r d s page 47

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CNO A wa r d f or T e a m E x c e ll e n c e Presented to the area of patient care that has consistently shown excellence in teamwork to provide extraordinary care to their patients and families.

pacu

POST ANESTHESIA CARE UNIT

In the Medical Center’s Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU), a skilled professional team advances the art and science of perianesthesia nursing through evidence-based practice, focusing on patient and family-centered care.

And they do all of this with great compassion and flexibility.

Comfortable in a dynamic and everchanging environment, the PACU nursing staff does whatever it takes to safely care for patients. The census fluctuates by the hour, depending on the Medical Center’s need to expand beds on any given day.

The staff members skillfully accommodate patients across the continuum, from preoperative preparation and post-procedural

recovery to boarding of ICU, IMC, and acute patients when the beds on the inpatient units are full. In addition, the staff is cross-trained to care for both adult and pediatric patients.

Jim McGowan, DHA, vice president of procedural care services, says “This is a team that transcends geography while maintaining their practice focus around the patient populations they serve. You can approach any staff member at any bedspot and the response you will encounter is one that is identical: open, receptive, supportive and collaborative. You expect that from any unit leadership, but the staff across the entirety of the PACU is one that practices that with each and every encounter.”

Team from PACU and STC PACU with Bea Hazzard, MS, RN, CPAN, Nurse Manager

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Nursing staff members are truly exceptional in their versatility, depth, and breadth of competencies and bring-it-on spirit. When you walk through the PACU, you will see two seas of scrubs: blue on the General side and pink on the Trauma side.

While these groups function to support the patient care on the two sides, they also function as one large group that pulls together to cover each other’s patients, if necessary. Bea Hazzard, MS, RN, CPAN, is the manager of the PACU and said she is “proud of the way the group works together and celebrates as a large team.”

This team cares for approximately 80 patients across both sides per day, on a 24/7 basis. Patients occupy 43 bays in

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total, with 12 bays designated to Trauma and 31 to the General Operating Rooms.

As the primary site for ECTs, the isolation bays, in addition to all of the bays in the PACU, are multi-purpose. At the start of the day, 4 to 8 of the bays are used for pre-operative preparation and holding throughout the day, with rapid turnaround of patients, where blocks and epidurals can be started to promote OR efficiency.

Collecting data on the pre-op holding area work is underway, and the staff members are looking at numbers of patients, time spent in the holding area, first case starts and other measures. Two nurses arrive at six a.m. to open the pre-op holding area, and the work is a collaboration of the PACU, Ambulatory Surgery Center Unit, and the Operating Room (OR) teams.

Anesthesia providers appreciate the pre-op holding area as a safe place for patients awaiting surgical procedures.

The patients are cared for by nurses who are responsible for ensuring all pre-op documentation is complete and the patient is being assessed in a controlled environment in a PACU bay, rather than waiting outside of an OR. The team’s “commitment to patient care is obvious through their willingness to spearhead new workflows beyond postanesthesia recovery,” said Margie Goralski Stickles, MSN, MBA, RN, CCRN, director of nursing for perioperative and

procedural services. The PACU serves Sara Hohl, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II as the Medical Center’s area for daily and even minute-to-minute temporary bed expansion. Depending upon patient volume, the Trauma side may be used to care for Trauma Resuscitation overflow.

Both sides board patients every night.

PACU patient boarding is always a challenge at academic medical centers because we don’t have the luxury of a fixed, static OR schedule. We have postoperative patients who may need to return urgently to the OR from inpatient units; patients who are brought directly to the OR from the Trauma Resuscitation Unit, Critical Care Resuscitation Unit, and the continued on page 4.

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“There is not a group of nurses more deserving of this award than the PACU staff. This unit exemplifies teamwork and excellence not only by their actions but also by their attitudes. They have been tolerant and patient with major construction, policy updates, and infrastructure changes (not to mention years with a single restroom!). During these changes patient care was never sacrificed. If anything, I believe the growing pains have brought the PACU staff closer together, and patients seem to have benefited by having the attention of a team rather than a single person. Each day nurses can be seen helping one another at the bedside, with paperwork, or with consultations to various services. They are a trustworthy group of care providers, and I cannot be happier for them to receive such an honor.”

CJ Bucci, MD Assistant Professor Division of Trauma Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Emergency Department; and an expanding transplant patient population that requires flexibility for unplanned organ donation.

The PACU has boarders almost every night and the charge nurses do a good job spreading them across many nurses’ assignments. With charge nurses advocating for their patients to be moved to an inpatient unit as soon as possible, most boarders stay in the PACU for less than 24 hours. Occasionally, when the Medical Center does not have even one

extra bed, patients may need to stay in the PACU for more than 24 hours. In these cases, the PACU nurses coordinate the patient’s care in the same way inpatient nurses coordinate care, integrating multidisciplinary team members in the patient care requirements.

Basically, the PACU staff members arrive to work and are up for anything.

It may be prepping patients for surgical procedures; or providing perianesthesia care in the main PACU or satellite areas; or boarding ICU, IMC, and acute patients;

Kristen Rouse, BSN, RN, Senior Clinical Nurse I and Bea Hazzard, MS, RN, CPAN, Nurse Manager with their Magnet story board.

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or caring for adults, pediatric – did I mention they are PALS certified? – or ECT patients; or even discharging patients. And through the course of a 24-hour period, this type of diversity and turnover of about 80 patients can be exhausting for staff members. PACU nurses are leaders in studying fatigue in the profession.

There is great pride in the fatigue research activities of the PACU team.

“Here is a Magnet moment for you,” said Margie Stickles: Four nurses on the staff co-authored a paper that won the 2014 Mary Hanna Memorial Journalism Award.

This award is given by the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, the official journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, for journalistic style, originality, clarity of expression, relevance of content to the specialty, and overall contribution to the collection of published nursing knowledge. The nurse authors, along with Bea Hazzard, are; Trisha Klein, MS, RN, senior clinical nurse I; Brittany Russell, RN, CPAN, clinical nurse II; Patricia Walkowiak, BSN, RN, clinical nurse II; and colleagues Karen Johnson, PhD, RN, CCRN, and Dzifa Dordunoo, MSN, RN, CCRP, a doctoral student at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.

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Eric Smith, MD, Anesthesia Resident and Ashley Moran, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II

The scholarly paper, “Work- and Nonwork-Related Factors Associated with PACU Nurses’ Fatigue,” demonstrated that despite acute fatigue scores, intershift fatigue scores reflected recovery, and chronic fatigue scores were low.

Bea explained, “the Medical Center’s PACU nurses have developed successful fatigue-reduction strategies prior to the study, which may account for the results.

They include sufficient time between admissions, a culture of peer support and teamwork, a charge nurse out-of-the-

Alnie Snyder, Unit Secretary and Steve Anderson, BSN, RN, CNRN, Clinical Nurse II

numbers to coordinate the high volume of admissions, ensuring all nurses get at least one break during their shift, use of a flex shift nurse to prevent shift overruns, and reduction of the number of three consecutive 12-hour shifts.”

Planning another study in the PACU, the nurses plan to conduct a randomized controlled trial to study the effectiveness and utilization of QueaseEase as an adjunct to usual antiemetic management of postoperative nausea and vomiting. The study will include inpatient and outpatient surgical patients from two hospital sites.

At the Medical Center, the patients from the trauma and general sides of the PACU and the 7N PACU will be included. A proposal is being drafted for IRB review.

Collaborating with orthopaedic surgeons in the Trauma Center, the PACU nursing staff on the trauma side are currently helping to facilitate several studies performed by our orthopaedic surgeons, such as the Oxygen Study. This aims to assess “the efficacy of supplemental perioperative oxygen in the prevention of surgical site infections.” It is a randomized controlled clinical trial in which the PACU nurse’s role is to provide supplemental oxygen to the patient based upon the level at which he/she is randomized. The study

participants, 1000 patients across 27 sites, have undergone plate and screw fixation of high-energy tibial plateau, pilon and calcaneous fractures. The nurse keeps the orthopaedic physicians unaware of what level of oxygen their patients are receiving and documents whether the study protocol was adhered to. If the patient’s treatment diverted from that indicated in the randomized instructions, this is documented by the nursing staff as well.

In January and February, the PACU nursing staff participated in a survey to assess the relationship between compassion fatigue and unprofessional behavior.

Trisha Klein is one of the research team members and a senior clinical nurse I in the PACU studying this important issue with colleagues including Kathryn T. Von Rueden, MS, RN, ACNS-BC, FCCM. Nurses from the trauma side of the PACU were among the 523 Shock Trauma Center staff members surveyed for this study, which aims to assess how vicarious trauma relates to burnout and unprofessional behavior in a major trauma center. The team hopes to determine the staff ’s perceptions of disruptive behavior, their compassion fatigue scores and whether staff reporting high compassion fatigue also report high exposure to disruptive continued on page 6.

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“The post anesthesia care unit (PACU) has continued to demonstrate the level of excellence and quality improvement that all units should strive for. Furthermore, many of the members have initiated policies and protocols to improve the care of post-operative patients. The entire team, including the trauma and general operating room staff, and their leaders, deliver and aspire to provide the highest quality of care. I am proud to work with all of them and congratulate them on this well-deserved award.”

Caron Hong, MD, M.Sc Assistant Professor, Medical Director of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine The Shock Trauma and Anesthesiology Research – Organized Research Center (STAR-ORC)

behavior. This study follows a previous one published in 2009 that measured compassion fatigue. The investigators hope to assess any differences in the overall scores that may have occurred since the first study, after interventions were enacted to attempt to mitigate the unfavorable effects of compassion fatigue on staff members at that time.

Working on the trauma side of the PACU can offer emotional challenges

for the staff members. They shared how well they know each other and can decompress together, processing events in a supportive and meaningful manner.

Kristin Wojtowycz, BSN, RN, clinical nurse II, said, “Every day is different. We see everything from the routine to the unusual or extreme. In this PACU, the extraordinary can become typical. It’s not your average PACU.” When necessary, pastoral care chaplains

are on site to help the staff through emotionally charged moments with patients and families experiencing acute trauma. The Integrative Therapy team regularly provides brief massages, Reiki and meditation for the staff, patients and families.

A challenge noted by one of the nurses on the trauma side is “we need to treat every person respectfully, whether it is someone who committed a crime or someone’s 80-year-old grandfather.

Even the 80-year-old who awakens from anesthesia may be unintentionally rude or violent. All patients are treated with dignity and respect here.”

Recognizing the need for an excellent hand-off from the OR to the PACU, a process improvement was implemented.

The team used a Plan, Do, Study, Adjust rapid-improvement process to address hand-offs. (See Box 1, at right, for details.)

The team’s high standards have led most of them to seek certification by a national board. Twenty-one PACU nurses are certified in specialties including CCRN, CPAN, CNRN, and CEN. Recognizing the desire of the nurses to study together for the certification exam, Bea leads a study group with a nursing leader from Mercy Medical Center. This group meets continued on page 8.

Julia Grahm, Patient Care Technician and Rob Rodriguez, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II

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Plan, Do, Study, Adjust PROBLEM: Handoff from the Trauma OR to the trauma side

of the PACU involves a multi-step process. The circulating OR nurse calls the PACU charge nurse to give an overview of the patient. This enables the charge nurse to assign the patient appropriately and the receiving PACU nurse to prepare for his/ her admission and obtain the proper equipment and supplies based upon the patient’s surgery, brief history and condition.

Once the patient arrives in the PACU, the anesthesia provider, usually a CRNA, provides a detailed bedside report.

The PACU nurses noticed a trend toward the patient arriving to the PACU with a report from the OR nurse that was missing some information they deemed necessary, or at least extremely helpful. This meant that the PACU nurses often felt unprepared and spent time looking for equipment or supplies they didn’t realize they would need, delaying the OR team’s ability to leave the PACU. Often, this information was as simple as isolation status or the need for a cable to transduce arterial blood pressure, but it had the potential to negatively affect efficiency and safety. Sometimes patients even had to be re-assigned to a different bay on a moment’s notice. The charge nurses began to “pull” information from the OR nurses, and this sometimes led to frustration on both ends.

In addition, bedside report between a CRNA and/ or anesthesiologist and PACU nurse includes some of the information provided by the OR nurse to the PACU nurse in the telephone report, but also includes the anesthetic course in more detail. While this report was typically thorough, it was somewhat provider-dependent. In an effort to standardize anesthesia provider information related to the PACU nurses, Linda Goetz, MHS, CRNA, director of the nurse anesthetists, provided a badge card for the CRNA staff listing the information most valuable during handoff to the PACU nurses.

STUDY: When the time came for the OR/PACU expansion,

Trisha worked with Phyllis Napfel, RN, senior clinical nurse I in the OR, to be sure all the new staff were aware of and able to use the report tool. As the perioperative department has expanded and large numbers of staff were oriented en masse, this simple tool served to make sure everyone was sharing information consistently, enhancing efficiency and safety even if it was a nurse’s first time giving report.

ADJUST: During a meeting of the OR Handoff Task Force

by Trisha Klein, MS, RN, senior clinical nurse I, PACU, met to discuss this issue and developed a tool to facilitate report.

It developed into a list of information the PACU nurses expected to have before the patient arrived in the PACU. The OR nurses agreed that this was information they could provide in their report.

(developed to identify areas for improvement and action plans) PACU nurses proposed a few additional fields they would appreciate more consistently hearing about from the CRNAs. This information was then added to the badge cards and they were redistributed to the CRNAs. The interdisciplinary team OR Handoff Task Force included representatives from both sides of the PACU, leadership, anesthesiologists, CRNAs, and a clinical nurse specialist. The revised card used by the CRNAs and anesthesiologists now includes the following information:

DO: The tool, typed on a small sheet of paper, now hangs near

Hand-off Information

PLAN: A small team of OR and PACU nurses, spearheaded

the phone in each OR to serve as a prompt for reporting to the PACU nurses.

This simple tool provided clarity to all the OR nurses about the information the PACU expected to receive and they could gather this information before calling the PACU with report.

The PACU nurses found themselves more satisfied with the reports they received and spent less time on the phone asking questions and waiting for the answers. Arriving in the PACU following a report with necessary elements, the patient received the undivided attention from the receiving nurse who could focus on the patient’s assessment and needs rather than locating equipment/supplies at a moment’s notice.

• Patient name • MRN • Age • Weight • Allergies • Surgeon • Attending anesthesiologist • Type of anesthesia administered • Difficult airway (y/n)

• Airway type (ETT, LMA) • Reversal of NMB (y/n) • Opioid & analgesic totals • Antibiotic & time of administration • Additional medications • Intraoperative fluid balances • IV access & invasive lines • Recent lab

Box 1 NURSING EXCELLENCE AWA R D S 2 0 1 4

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Elshadie Birratu, RRT Respiratory Therapist over the course of 12 weeks and is open to nurses across the city, with five UMMC nurses participating.

As you can see, the PACU team does it all! For their expansive knowledge base, depth of skill sets, advancement of the profession of nursing through research and publishing, improvement of patient outcomes through translational practice and lean work, unbelievable flexibility and spirit of positivity and cohesion, teamwork

Melissa Smith, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II

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and collaboration, and compassion for their patients and each other, the PACU team has been selected to receive the CNO Award for Team Excellence.

When asked what they feel most proud of, most of the PACU nurses mentioned their team. Kristen Rouse, BSN, RN, senior clinical nurse I, said, “Our team is great.”

Christa Arndt, RN, clinical nurse II, said, “We share the same goals and concerns about patient care. We all want to manage

the patients as best and safely as possible.”

“When appropriate, we use our senses of humor to help our patients and us through challenging times,” Debrahe Rowland, BSN, MFA, MS, RN, clinical nurse II, added.

“I love this team,” said Bea. “They are so incredibly flexible and willing to take on challenges. They say to me, ‘We’ve got this, Bea.’” Mary Petrosino, RN, clinical nurse II said “Our manager pushes each of us to achieve more.” The nursing staff said Bea has done a wonderful job of letting us maintain our identities on both sides of the PACU, while creating a blended feel and team approach. Staff members from both sides of the PACU eat lunch together, socialize outside of work and problem solve together on a daily basis.

Julie Busseau, BSN, CPAN, senior clinical nurse I, said “The thing I like best about the PACU is our co-workers.

We have a great group of nurses, work hard and have fun while doing it.” Jean Ludwig, MS, RN, CCRN, senior clinical nurse I, adds “just this morning, we were celebrating milestones and new nurses.”

Evaliz Jimenez, RN, clinical nurse I, has just become a nurse. The team is thrilled

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she will be staying at the Medical Center and starting a new job in the Surgical Intermediate Care Unit. They spoke with tears in their eyes about what a wonderful team member Evaliz is and how they will miss her as she begins her new role. A patient care technician for the past seven years, Evaliz said, “when patients come out of the OR and speak Spanish, it is wonderful to speak with them.”

The team provided many examples of how they care about each other and the patients, their adaptability and collaborative practice. When you hear the same themes repeatedly mentioned on rounds, you learn what is important to and valued by the team. For the team, the bottom line is patient care. Bea said “staff members are patient advocated. The PACU can be a kind of limbo area for patients and families, but the nursing team is always focused on ensuring the patient gets what he or she needs – the staff is constantly problem-solving.”

Julie Busseau sums it up: “We don’t allow patients or their needs to be lost in the system. Each one is an individual with individual care needs.”

Ashley Moran, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II; Mary Petrosino, RN, Clinical Nurse II; and Brittney Usilton, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse II

— Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN, FAAN Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer

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R e g io n a l R e c o g n i t i o n 2014 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards Regional Finalists for District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia

The following University of Maryland Medical Center nurses have been named 2014 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence regional finalists for the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region. Our staff has been recognized in three out of the six categories that Nurse.com recognizes: (1) Advancing and Leading the Profession; (2) Clinical Nursing, Inpatient; (3) Education and Mentorship; (4) Home, Community and Ambulatory Care; (5) Patient and Staff Management; and (6) Volunteerism and Service. Five nurses have been selected as regional finalists for each category, totaling 30 nurses. These nurses will be honored at the Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards on June 10, 2014, at Martin’s Crosswinds. One nurse in each category will be named a regional winner, and those six will be eligible for national recognition in the fall.

Regional Finalist, Clinical Nursing, Inpatient

Nancy Corbitt, BSN, RN, OCN, CRNI Senior Clinical Nurse II Hematology and Oncology Greenebaum Cancer Center

Awarded to an RN who demonstrates superior clinical nursing knowledge and expert skills and applies both in ways that measurably impact the quality of care and improve patient care outcomes in any inpatient clinical setting or nursing specialty.

Nancy is highly respected not only for her knowledge and expertise, but also her commitment to the patient and her skills as an advocate. When situations arise where a patient might not fully understand or agree with a physician’s plan, Nancy has excellent skills to explain and reframe a conversation to resolve any miscommunications or misunderstandings. If a concern remains when understanding is achieved, Nancy is never intimidated or afraid to advocate for her patient. She is an excellent role model to other nurses and recognized by her peers and leadership for this, and is also a proactive teacher who will challenge others to improve their own skills in this area. Her current projects include writing test questions for the new Oncology Nursing Society Chemotherapy Biotherapy Administration course, web administrator for a special interest group on neutropenia within the Oncology Nursing Society, and serving as a peer reviewer for the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. She is also an active member of the Oncology Nursing Society, Infusion Nurses Society, and National Nurses Staff Development Organization. Moreover, here at the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center at UMMC, she co-led a complete revision of the process we use to assure the cancer center nurses are competent to administer chemotherapy through utilization of technological simulation.

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R e g io n a l R e c o g n i t i o n

Regional Finalist, Home, Community, and Ambulatory Care

Karen Hardingham, BSN, RN, CPST Pediatric Outreach Coordinator University of Maryland Children’s Hospital

Awarded to an RN who exemplifies outstanding clinical knowledge and nursing expertise in caring for patients in settings outside the hospital in professional home care nursing, home hospice, sub-acute and intermediate, or in other ambulatory community, industrial, or school nurse roles.

As the leader of the Baltimore Safe Kids coalition, Karen coordinates activities whose purpose is to prevent unintentional childhood injuries in Baltimore City.

Karen has been recognized as the community leader by UMMC Nursing. She is passionate about providing safe care to children. Karen goes to Annapolis every year to testify regarding car seat and seatbelt safety for children. She is an advocate for better seat safety standards. In addition, Karen worked with Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) to get car beds for Shore Medical Center and UMMC transport teams to ensure safe transport of pediatric patients.

Karen has been working with the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital marketing staff to reach more children and families by enhancing communication related to pediatric patient safety through social media. She writes an article for each publication of the Pediatric Press, a fun and fact-filled newsletter from the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital. She appreciates every opportunity that she has to promote the safety of children. In addition, this year, Karen provided key information regarding hyperthermia risk for children in a televised news story.

Karen participates on the Baltimore City Fatality Review team which meets monthly under the direction of the Commissioner for the Baltimore City Health Department. She utilizes the information gained from these meetings to guide her objectives for the many pediatric safety programs and activities that she plans each year.

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Regional Finalist, Advancing and Leading the Profession

Karen Yarbrough, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Stroke Program Director

Awarded to an RN who is well known and respected as a visionary, innovative leader, and change agent, who moves the profession forward through work in patient care administration, education or research, or strengthens it through other professional activities, endeavors, or contributions.

Karen is responsible for developing and managing programs that support the Maryland Stroke and Brain Attack Center. Ms. Yarbrough has been an indispensable leader in the Stroke Program. She has guided an increasingly complex interdisciplinary effort to first, secure Primary Stroke Center designation, and subsequently, Comprehensive Stroke Center certification.

Her knowledge and judgment as well as her ability to interact effectively with others has brought her innumerable compliments from hospital leadership and day-to-day care providers. She is admired by the six vascular neurologists in the Department of Neurology Stroke Division. Her influence extends throughout the hospital as well as to approximately 40 community hospitals where she is viewed as a “go to” resource for “all things stroke.”

Karen’s commitment to Stroke Care Best Practice and her deep love of nursing sets her above the norm. She is profoundly respectful of the nursing role both at the bedside, in the community and to the advanced practice role. She believes in the empowerment of nursing to own quality improvement and clinical outcomes. She is a model of professional collaboration, building consensus, and strengthening team initiatives, not only with regard to regulatory processes but especially with building and understanding the importance of transition from hospital to home and community. This holistic approach and commitment to the contiguous patient experience truly emphasizes her deep understanding of the patient and family experience.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n A d va n c e d P r a c t i c e N u r s i n g Presented in recognition of an advanced practice nurse who pioneers advances in clinical practice, care delivery and the nursing profession.

Award Recipient

Diane Keegan-Wells, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

NOMINATION 1:

Diane has been a member of our Pediatric Hematology/Oncology division for over 25 years, and has been an exemplary nurse and staff member ever since her arrival. She provides top-notch care for patients in all stages of illness, and cares for their families in the same loving and respectful manner. In addition to providing nursing care, she is also actively involved in teaching nurses, nurse practitioners, students, and residents. Diane is also a member of the Children’s Oncology Group, and serves on a team that investigates any errors that may occur with the administration and dosing of chemotherapy, and also makes suggestions to prevent future errors from occurring. We have been impressed with the care that Diane shows patients in the final stages of cancer, and their families.

She spends extra time with these families, and even visits them in their home to provide some additional one-on-one counseling, and helps them with the incredibly difficult decisions they must make on behalf of their child.

NOMINATION 2:

Our patients and families adore her and recognize her diligence and dedication in the care of their children. She has always gone above and beyond her responsibilities to get what our patients and families need. She frequently has to deal with several departments and recently has become more and more involved with insurance companies to accomplish exemplary care for our patients. Diane demonstrates a spirit that “never gives up� and she provides hope and guidance to several family members in need. Diane has a love for our patients and families that is very unique and we are amazed by her energy and ability to know exactly how to help others. When we have patients who are not doing well and the families are struggling with a dying child, Diane goes to their home and spends time talking with families and helps them navigate through these extremely difficult times and the decisions they have to make. Not only does Diane serve our patients and families but she is also actively involved in teaching nurses, nurse practitioners, students and residents.

Nominees

Victoria Beltran, MSN, NNP Nurse Practitioner

Bonjo Batoon, MSN, CRNA Nurse Anesthetist

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

STC Operating Room

In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, she spends time taking care of premature babies, teaching NP students and new Neonatal NPs, as well as residents and fellows.

He is highly regarded by fellow staff members, displays high standards of professional behavior, and is an excellent mentor and trainer. continued on page 14.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n A d va n c e d P r a c t i c e N u r s i n g

Peggy Dorr, DNPc, CRNP Nurse Practitioner

Mindy LeBrun, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner

Pediatric Cardiology

Interventional Radiology

Peggy is able to seamlessly adapt to diverse situations that she has been placed in.

Mindy is a patient advocate and a leader in her field.

Sarah Finke, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner

Ayo Mandi, MS, CRNP, CCNS, CCRN, CMC-CSC, PCCN, CEN Nurse Practitioner

Organ Transplant Team

Her patient care plans are very well thought through, and the care she provides embodies excellence on every level.

Suzanna Fitzpatrick, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Transplant Intermediate Care Unit

Her organizational and teaching skills are a superb and huge asset to the new medical students and new junior residents.

Ashley Jackson, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Transplant Intermediate Care Unit

She is thorough in her patient care, meticulous in her documentation, shows strong leadership skills in her mentoring of junior nurse practitioners.

Patti Jones, MS, ACNP-BC, CCRN Nurse Practitioner Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Patti is always at the center of educational efforts and keeps a working file of evidencebased critical care articles and handouts on core procedures and policies.

Joe Larivey, MS, CRNP Lead Nurse Practitioner UMMC Orthopaedics and STC Orthopaedics

He is passionate about his patients and his professional obligations.

Advanced Heart Failure Services

Ayo is a huge morale booster, a calming force, and the “gorilla glue� of the Advanced Heart Failure Service.

Christine Provance, MS, RN, CCNS Clinical Nurse Specialist NeuroCare Acute Care and NeuroCare Intermediate Care Units

She has been instrumental in assisting the staffs on both Neurocare 4 IMC and Neurocare Acute C5 West to develop and maintain essential competencies necessary to care for the complex patient populations on both units.

Lauren Schroeder, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Adult Emergency Services

She is dedicated to providing excellent patient care and will advocate for her patients so that their outcome is optimal.

Jo Ann Sikora, MS, CRNP Lead Nurse Practitioner Cardiac Surgery

She has trained a large number of cardiac surgery advanced practitioners and has earned a position as a leader of this high-functioning group.

Michelle Turner, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Stoler Pavilion

She treats patients with the human touch and has a true understanding of their needs during their journey with us in the Stoler Pavilion.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n A d va n c e d P r a c t i c e N u r s i n g

NURSE PRACTITIONER TEAM FROM THE MEDICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: Left to right:

Lou Ellen Lallier, MS, CRNP John Hagan, MS,CRNP-AC, CCRN Kim Bowers, MS, ACNP, CCRN Tracey Wilson, MS, CRNP Not pictured:

Kerri Bouchard, MS, CRNP

Each of the NPs individually take the time to listen to the bedside nurse’s concern and then act accordingly – whether advocating on behalf of the patient, teaching the bedside nurse regarding patient disease process, or any other way fitting the situation.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n A d va n c e d P r a c t i c e N u r s i n g – R i s i n g S ta r Presented to an advanced practice nurse with less than two years experience who demonstrates great transition from expert nurse to novice provider. This APN demonstrates keen collaborative skill, clinical expertise, and leadership.

Award Recipient

Sarah Finke, MSN, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Organ Transplant Team

Sarah utilizes knowledge and professionalism to obtain organizational and patient care goals.

She identifies and implements new approaches to patient care in an environment of ever changing patient status. She remains calm in high pressure situations and willingly accepts challenges.

Sarah creates an atmosphere where interpersonal relationships are valued. She practices with tact and dignity and is able to navigate difficult situations to achieve a positive outcome. Sarah is the definition of a rising star. Despite her novice status, Sarah carries herself with an air of professionalism and navigates difficult scenarios with ease.

Award Recipient

Faresha Sims, DNAP, CRNA Nurse Anesthetist General Operating Room

Faresha is a rising star CRNA and is a terrific addition to our team. She is a 2013 DNAP graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University. As a new grad APN, she has transitioned well to the CRNA role and is a true advocate for collaboration and evidence-based patient care. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), the Maryland Association of Nurse Anesthetists (MANA), the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and the American Society for Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN). She participates in many local community service endeavors, most notably the ‘Emerging Healthcare Leaders’ Mentoring Program.

She has received many awards and honors, including the AACN Professional Development Scholarship, the C. Paul Boyan Clinical Excellence Award and is recognized by Sigma Theta Tau International.

Nominees

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Christine (Chrissy) Mulford, MSN, NNP Nurse Practitioner

Dawn Silverman, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Surgical Intensive Care Unit

She is always quick with her patient care responsibilities and the first to offer help to others.

She has offered her time and input to elicit feedback from the nursing staff around existing challenges and has assisted in developing action plans for process improvements.

NURSING EXCELLENCE AWA R D S 2 0 1 4

E x c e ll e n c e i n N u r s i n g P r a c t i c e Presented in recognition of a direct care nurse who advances clinical practice, care delivery, and the nursing profession through expert nursing practice, collaboration with the multidisciplinary team, and commitment to patient and family centered care.

Award Recipient

Joshua Steen, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Medical Intermediate Care Unit

Joshua Steen started his career as a new graduate nurse in the Medical IMC in November 2011.

He is very inquisitive and intelligent and strives for improvement of practice on the unit and in his own growth and development as a nurse. He is always looking for ways to improve care and practice on the unit. He noticed that the unit was not using proper protective practices when caring for patients on chemotherapy and other hazardous medications. He presented this topic at the first Mortality and Morbidity conference in the MIMC in May 2013. He also developed signs for the patient doors to alert staff when these drugs are being given so that staff could take proper precautions. He has done extensive work revising our kardex system and huddle sheets this past year. He first surveyed the staff to see where they thought improvements needed to be made in the kardex then added these items. Joshua also revised the huddle sheet to include site of central lines, HIV status, vaccine needs, pressure ulcer risks and prevention, and urinary catheter and central line assessment. This huddle sheet is used at the start of every shift and serves to alert the staff to care and safety needs of the patients.

Nominees

Tracey Boykin, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Melissa Custer, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse II

University Health Center

Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Tracey is a team player, extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and compassionate.

She is constantly looking for ways to improve patient outcome measures.

Susan Burke, RNC-NIC Senior Clinical Nurse I

Emily Davis, RN Clinical Nurse II

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

She role models a high level of clinical expertise and serves as a clinical resource for both new and seasoned nurses.

Jane Choi, BSN, RN, CNOR Senior Clinical Nurse I General Operating Room

She demonstrates exemplary professional practice and is a role model and resource for the younger nurses on the unit.

Surgical Intensive Care Unit

On rounds, she is not afraid to raise critical patient safety concerns.

Jim Earley, MS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse II Child Psychiatry Unit

His ability to be flexible and collaborative with colleagues to meet operational needs is outstanding. continued on page 18.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n N u r s i n g P r a c t i c e

Danielle Evans, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Kristen Mezu, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Medical Intensive Care Unit

Pediatric Progressive Care Unit

Danielle has dedicated many hours to decreasing the MICU CAUTI rate by developing teaching tools, doing real time audits, developing a process for CAUTI M and M rounds, and doing unitbased education.

She will not rest until each patient’s plan of care is uniquely tailored to his/her needs, and her ingenuity in the process results in each patient feeling genuinely cared for and important.

Debra Johnson, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Care Unit

Debra works very hard and makes sure that she is an extension of nursing leadership in implementing new policies and procedures.

Anne Johnston, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse II Interventional Radiology

She shows expert leadership when in charge and clinical expertise when mentoring/leading the staff.

Angela Lewis, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Progressive Care Unit

Angela has been working on many projects on the unit that include patient education, creating information binders for the patients at the bedside, and developing a plan to implement a better system for bedside rounding.

Janis Marcella, BSN, RN, OCN Clinical Nurse II Digestive Health Center

Janis has demonstrated how a team works during staffing shortages or unexpected changes in the clinical area.

Sharrief McGee, RN Heart-Lung Transplant Coordinator Cardiac Transplant

Sharrief has been able to master the medical management of the very sick lung transplant patients.

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Julia Prokic, RN Clinical Nurse II Medicine Telemetry 13 East/West

Since her first days on the unit, Julia has taken initiative in excelling in her own practice, as well as investing in the professional practice on the unit.

Christine Rhoad, RN Clinical Nurse II Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Chrissy is a very good listener and helps relay to other team members some of the issues that may be interfering with the patient’s care and noncompliance with their medications.

Mae Ann Rilloraza, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

Without bedside clinical experts like her, leading advancements in clinical practice would not be possible.

Maria Milarina San Pedro, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Adult Psychiatry Unit

Maria is persistent and committed to the recovery model.

Bridget Taylor, BSN, RN, CCRN, FCCS Senior Clinical Nurse I Medical Intensive Care Unit

Her documentation leaves no questions because she is so thorough, making it easy to understand all the events that have occurred surrounding her patients for her shifts.

E x c e ll e n c e i n N u r s i n g P r a c t i c e

Katherine Vann, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse II STC Acute Care

She has been the driving force in efforts to improve physician to nurse communication by developing a format for nursing staff to utilize during daily rounding with physicians.

Maria (Nikka) Verano, BSN, RN, CEN Clinical Nurse II Adult Emergency Services

She pays close attention to every detail of the management of her patient, from the initial triage to the outcome of the intervention provided.

Dana Vitale-Kontze, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit

She is an excellent clinical nurse, her reservoir of knowledge is outstanding and she can identify when a patient is getting sick.

Mary Ellen Dietrich, BSN, RN, CCRN Clinical Nurse II

Emily West, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Critical Care Resuscitation Unit

Critical Care Resuscitation Unit

With the help of these two RNs and many more, the interdisciplinary team was able to put forth a patient-focused plan of care that incorporated the patient’s ideas and goals.

TRANSPLANT INTERMEDIATE CARE UNIT

We have singled out here a group of senior nurses whose expertise, compassion, experience, and intellectual abilities make the floor run exceedingly well and result in an environment where expectations are exceeded every single day.

Melissa Weygant, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II NeuroCare Acute Care Unit

Melissa consistently demonstrates safety and quality by utilizing good hand hygiene and hourly caring rounds.

Xiping Ma, MS, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Care Unit

She is a patient advocate and always goes the extra mile, not just for her patients, but for anyone.

Jill McDaniel, RN Clinical Nurse II Christine Miller, MSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Lydia Moges, BSN, RN, CCTN Clinical Nurse II Nancy Rosenthal, RN Clinical Nurse II Koren Semple, RN Clinical Nurse II continued on page 20.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n N u r s i n g P r a c t i c e

MTCC MARS GROUP, MULTI TRAUMA CRITICAL CARE

These nurses were chosen due to their capacity for managing complex, critically ill patients and their individual clinical skills.

Jeff Broski, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Chris Kuligowski, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Maria Cocoros, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Collette Leonovich, BSN, RN, CCRN, ATCN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Donna Mursch, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Jessica Sinsky, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Genna Sellers, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse II

Christa Swanke, BSN, RN, CNOR Senior Clinical Nurse I

Courtney Turnbull, MS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Meghan Wyman, RN Clinical Nurse II

Breighanna Wallizer, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse II

Tasha Zochert, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

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E x c e ll e n c e i n C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e Presented to a nurse who promotes health in the community through innovative and creative contributions.

Award Recipient

Holli Weaver, BSN, RN, CPEN Senior Clinical Nurse I Pediatric Emergency Department

Holli has participated in multiple international medical mission trips, completing her second trip to Nicaragua in March 2014. She also assisted in a medical mission trip to Guatemala. She has been a volunteer for several Maryland Safe Kids initiatives, under the direction of Karen Hardingham.

She recently recruited several employees to assist her in an HIV community education and referral initiative for the Institute of Human Virology, the JACQUES Initiative group, in Baltimore, Maryland. She also volunteered at the Western Tech High School career fair in March of this year and discussed future opportunities in healthcare to students in attendance.

Nominees

Patricia Chambers, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Deborah Galloway, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Acute Care Unit

Medicine Telemetry 11 East

She is an example of how one person can make a big difference in the lives of others.

Debbie consistently volunteers for health fairs, the annual banquet fund raiser for Alzheimer’s, assisting the elderly, and the visually challenged.

Carmelle “Suzie” Charles, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Medicine Telemetry 13 East/West

Sonja Okeke, RN Clinical Nurse II

Suzie has supported the local community on multiple levels in initiatives such as the Jacques Initiative HIV testing days, community service for her church, and serving as a volunteer to complete HIV screening in the inpatient setting and the community.

STC Operating Room

Mercy Ejikemeh, MPH, RN, CMSRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Medical Intensive Care Unit

Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Her commitment, dedication, intelligence, positive attitude, leadership, and personality qualities have touched many lives here in the U.S. and also in Nigeria.

She is very involved with activities with the Rock of Ages multicultural church that benefits the community.

Marie Lea-Wilson, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

In February of this year, Marie and a team of people set up a medical clinic in El Progreso Yoro, Honduras performing sick/well adult and child checkups. continued on page 22.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e

AED RETENTION COMMITTEE, ADULT EMERGENCY SERVICES Back row:

Chelsea Ruch, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Nick D’hemecourt, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I Basia Koser, RN Clinical Nurse II Front row:

Melissa Cross, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Meghan Schott, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Not pictured:

Lauren Russell, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Jen Marinaccio,BS, RN Clinical Nurse II

They are all committed to engaging the staff in social events outside of work and community service, including volunteer work and fund raising.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n I n n o vat i o n t h r o u g h E v i d e n c e - b a s e d P r a c t i c e Presented in recognition of innovative and creative contributions that have improved patient care through evidence-based practice.

Award Recipient PEDIATRIC TEAM, PEWS GROUP Back row:

Jodie McKenna, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Tracy Kratz, BSN, RN, CPEN Senior Clinical Nurse II Pediatric Emergency Department

Front row:

Jessica Strohm-Farber, DNP, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Diana Novak, MS, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse II Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Lisa Silva, BSN, RN, CPN Senior Clinical Nurse I Pediatric Progressive Care Unit

Privileged to Care. Passion for Excellence. The theme for UMMC’s 2014 Nurse’s Week Celebration reflects the underpinnings of the phenomenal efforts and work accomplished by the Pediatric Early Warning Scores (PEWS) Group, a multidisciplinary team inclusive of several departments in the Children’s Hospital including the PPCU (Pediatric Progressive Care Unit), IMC level patients in the PICU and most recently patients being admitted from the Pediatric ED. The PEWS group was initiated in February 2013 under the leadership of Jessica Strohm-Farber DNP CRNP. The group had many members from the multidisciplinary team including nurses, respiratory therapists, physicians and NPs; a few notable members took the lead with embracing the importance of this body of work which was evident through their passion when educating staff at the initial implementation, re-educating staff as the algorithm was tweaked, as the Pediatric ED was brought on board with scoring PEWS at the times of decision to admit and just prior to leaving the ED and currently with the ongoing analysis of the effectiveness of this scoring system on patient outcomes.

Within four months of the first meeting, this team accomplished a phenomenal amount of work including: adapting a standardized PEWS algorithm and scoring tool to the needs of the UMMC Pediatric Population, educating staff on PEWS and the tool, and starting the routine scoring of pertinent patients. This group was truly a task force-one that was brought together with specific goals and objectives to meet; once met, this group had no need to exist independently yet, there was consensus of the need to continue monitoring the relationship of PEWS with Pediatric Code Blues (fortunately are few and far between), rapid response calls and critical interventions required while the patient is awaiting an ICU bed and once in the ICU. Several members from the PEWS task force have joined a newly formed committee, the Pediatric Early Recognition and Resuscitation Committee (PERRC). They continue to fully contribute and are paving the way for sustained and improved safety and excellence for our pediatric patients and families. continued on page 24.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n I n n o vat i o n t h r o u g h E v i d e n c e - b a s e d P r a c t i c e

Nominees GREENEBAUM CANCER CENTER, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

MEDICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT, PRONING TEAM

Back row: Left to right:

Donna Huffer, MA, BSN, RN, OCN Clinical Practice and Education Specialist

Kirsten Head, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Clinical Practice and Professional Development

Joan Davenport, PhD, RN Assistant Professor, UMSON

Nancy Corbitt, BSN, RN, OCN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Hanna Entwistle, BSN,RN Clinical Nurse II

Hematology and Oncology Unit

Front row:

Amanda Harris, RN Clinical Nurse II Hematology and Oncology Unit

Lisa Malik, MS, RN, OCN Senior Clinical Nurse I Greenebaum Cancer Center

Not pictured:

Arlene Davis, BSN, RN, OCN Senior Clinical Nurse I Stoler Pavilion

Kristina Miller, BSN, RN, OCN Senior Clinical Nurse I Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

The GCC Professional Development Council’s innovative approach, using simulation to validate competency, has ensured all nurses receive the opportunity to demonstrate competency in a consistent manner.

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Minette Vergara, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I Caroline Weaver, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I Emmylou Cui, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Danielle Cruz Student Nurse Not pictured:

Kerry Sue Mueller, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN Nurse Manger Carl Shanholtz, MD Medical Director Chris Wells, PhD, RPT Respiratory Therapist

The protocol and the guidelines created by the Proning Team have helped bedside nursing staff gain the skills and knowledge required in taking care of a prone patient using a regular bed and effectively using available resources.

E x c e ll e n c e i n I n n o vat i o n t h r o u g h R e s e a r c h Presented in recognition of innovative and creative contributions that have improved patient care through research.

Award Recipient

Jamie Tumulty, MS, CPNP-AC Nurse Practitioner Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Jamie is a co-investigator for the Alarm Identification and Simulation (AIRS) nursing research study.

The principal investigator is Lisa Rowen, DNSc, RN. This study was conceptualized, initiated, and funded due to Jamie’s interest and concern regarding novice nurses’ ability to identify and appropriately respond to alarms in critical care settings. Jamie actively collaborated with nurse researchers to design and develop the AIRS study. She developed the simulation test and engaged expert nurse colleagues to test the instrument’s validity and reliability. Once validity was confirmed, Jamie assisted in operationalizing the study and has been meticulously involved in every phase of study conduct. She is a key team member and leader in this research project. She makes herself available to conduct study testing and coaching to meet the needs of the study participants and to ensure the study is conducted properly. Jamie understood the need to enhance new nurses’ education regarding alarm identification and appropriate response. She reviewed the available evidence and when it was revealed that there was a gap in the literature on this topic, she set out to generate the necessary evidence to tackle the issue.

Nominees

Darlene Carco, BSN, MHA, RN, CNOR Senior Clinical Nurse I

Cheryll Mack, BSN, MPA, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

As a result of the incentive program overseen by Darlene and former colleague, Melissa Reece, the efficiency of the Shock Trauma operating room has greatly improved and has reached the initial goal set one year ago of a 60 minute average room turnaround time.

Adult Emergency Services

She is an active member of the leadership team in which she mentors younger, newer staff in their research and EBP projects.

Kathleen Lee, BSN, RN, CNOR Senior Clinical Nurse I

Shari Simone, DNP, CRNP-AC, FCCM Senior Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Program Manager

STC Operating Room

Women’s & Children’s Services

Kathy’s active involvement with the “retained sponges” initiative is an important project for patient safety and shows strong service to the patient, unit and institution.

She was instrumental in securing the PICU as a site in the RESTORE study, a national multicenter, prospective randomized control study of sedation in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n L e a d e r s h i p Presented in recognition of the unique ability to lead and inspire others towards achieving the vision and goals of the Department of Nursing and Patient Care Services. Two awards will be presented in this category: 1) a manager who has demonstrated inspiring leadership and passion in the pursuit of nursing excellence, and 2) a clinical nurse who has led, advanced, and/or strengthened nursing, either as a profession or in the delivery of patient care within and/or beyond the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Award Recipient for Management

Diane Brown, MSN, RN Nurse Manager, STC Acute Care STC Outpatient Pavilion & STC Hyperbaric Chamber

Diane has been a strong change agent and an inspiring leader since assuming the role of Shock Trauma Acute (STA) Nurse Manager in September. While also managing the Shock Trauma Outpatient Pavilion and the Center for Hyperbaric Medicine, Diane has demonstrated the unique ability to lead her staff to become proactive and enthusiastic leaders. She immediately shared her vision of developing a meaningful charge nurse role that would serve as a resource and mentor to meet the demands of the influx of new graduate nurses on the unit. She also saw an opportunity to improve and structure the nurse orientation process and mentored a senior clinical nurse in fronting this initiative. Her ability to tirelessly balance many responsibilities in such diverse clinical areas, and her professionalism in doing so, makes her a role model for the nursing profession. Just recently she simultaneously supported two different units with two very different challenges; the outpatient conversion to EPIC and the inpatient CMS site visit. Diane has heightened the connection between the Shock Trauma Outpatient Pavilion and Shock Trauma Acute Unit to improve practices relating to the discharge process and transitional care, pioneering advances in clinical practice and care delivery at the Medical Center. Diane empowers staff to own their own practice and to advocate for themselves and their patients.

Award Recipient for Clinical Leadership

Meredith Huffines, MS, BS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse II Surgical Intensive Care Unit

She is an exceptional clinical educator who is always thinking ahead to improve patient outcomes, safety, and the role of the bedside nurse. When she identifies a gap in a process, she establishes a partnership with other unit leaders, as well as other health care providers to find solutions and improve care and service. For example, she is currently working with providers to clarify lumbar drain guidelines for the SICU. Meredith worked very closely with Rabbi Ruth to develop a debriefing protocol used in stressful situations in the SICU which has been adopted by other critical care units. She coordinates the SICU new staff orientation, SICU Morbidity & Mortality Rounds, SICU monthly staff meetings, education, and teaches in the critical course class for new critical care nurses. She maintains professional knowledge and skills through conferences, in-services, seminars, and continuing education. Meredith presented a poster at last year’s Magnet Conference with our nurse manager on the SICU’s unique Morbidity & Mortality multidisciplinary meetings. She has influenced other staff and inspired them to believe in themselves. She is a mentor to new and experienced nurses. She has created an environment for new nurses to nurture, grow, and thrive with great potential.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n L e a d e r s h i p

Nominees for Management

Lesli Bennett, MSN, MBA, RN Nurse Manager

Nicole Fletcher, MS, RN, CEN Nurse Manager

Cardiac Care Unit & Cardiac Progressive Care Unit

Adult Emergency Services

She is highly respected by the physician staff and is able to work through critical issues with the physicians to help her nursing staff.

She is adaptable, flexible, approachable, and displays professional integrity at all times, even in the most challenging situations.

Ruth Borkoski, BSN, RN Nurse Manager

Simone Odwin-Jenkins, MBA, BSN, RN Nurse Manager

Medical Intermediate Care Unit & Medicine Telemetry, 13 East/West

Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit & Orthopaedics Unit

She is quick to address any safety and/or care issues with huddles and meetings.

She makes sure that all staff are adequately equipped with the right knowledge, training, and skills to take care of our fast evolving patient population.

Cindy Dove, MS, RN Nurse Manager Surgical Intensive Care, Surgical Intermediate Care & Surgical Progressive Care Units

Patty Wall, BSN, RN Nurse Manager

Cindy relentlessly promotes patient-driven excellence as evidenced by her ability to periodically round at the bedside with patients and families in order to uphold family patient satisfaction.

Patty has smoothly transitioned into a difficult role as nurse manager and gracefully gone from working at the bedside to managing a group of her peers.

Interventional Radiology

Nominees for Clinical Leadership

Visitacion “Bing” Casal-Calingacion, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Julie Caprio, BS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit

Cardiac Care Unit

She is a patient advocate who is relentless and will not give up until the right thing is done.

She is the schedule guru and tries very hard to staff the unit safely while accommodating the staff ’s many schedule requests.

Julie Busseau, BSN, RN, CPAN Senior Clinical Nurse I Post Anesthesia Care Unit

She maintains a calm, even-tempered approach to her work even when faced with changing assignments and multiple demands on her time.

Fatemeh Jorshari, MSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Surgical Intermediate Care Unit & Surgical Progressive Care Unit

She is fundamental in the mentoring and training of new staff hired on the SIMC and the SPCU. continued on page 28.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n L e a d e r s h i p

Patricia Kruger, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

MEDICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

She is someone that others seek out. Staff are receptive to her leadership style and initiative.

Kevin Marshall, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Care Unit

Kevin excels at precepting. His preceptees appreciate his patience and his knowledge and ability to let them do things without making them feel rushed.

Left to right:

Brenda Moore, MSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Mother /Baby Unit

She actively mentors and supports staff at the same time that she holds them accountable for quality patient care and adherence to the behavioral standards.

Minette Vergara, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I Rebecca Stecher, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I Maya Villegas, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Cheryl Coale, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

These four individuals have helped to mentor over 30 new graduates into the unit, have helped to mentor six young nurses into the SCN role, have taken care of patients, oriented new nurses to the charge nurse role, and helped prepare for regulatory visits.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n P r e c e p t i n g , M e n tor i n g a n d E d u c at io n Presented for significant contributions to the education of colleagues, students, patients, or families.

Exhibits teaching expertise in roles such as mentor, preceptor, or instructor and participates in the development of educational programs or instruction for colleagues, students, and patients or family.

Award Recipient

Kristina Miller, BSN, RN, OCN Clinical Nurse II Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

Kristina Miller, part of a four member team responsible for the design and execution of a chemotherapy administration competency assessment project using simulation in the UMMC MASTRI center, demonstrated effective staff development and mentoring skills for our project this past year. Her contributions to our chemotherapy skill validation project were: (1) Strong chemotherapy administration expertise; (2) Effective simulation debriefing skills; (3) “Grammy worthy” theatrical talents required in the control room; and, (4) A passion for staff education and patient safety. With Kristina’s talents, we were able to meet and exceed our project objectives. We achieved 100% compliance with an assessment method that was value-added for staff. Simulation is now an effective and sustainable method for us to assess chemotherapy competency in the future.

Kristina, you were critical to our success!

Nominees

Julie Anderson, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Connie Groves, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Cardiac Care Unit

Interventional Radiology

One of the reasons for Julie’s success as a preceptor comes from her ability to provide constructive feedback and develop goals for orientees that direct them to success in their transition to staff member.

Connie welcomes the opportunity to teach others any chance she gets.

Stephen Anderson, BSN, RN, CNRN Clinical Nurse II

Medical Intensive Care Unit

Nicole Hodski, BSN, RN, CCRN Clinical Nurse II

Steve’s relaxed and approachable nature makes him an excellent teacher and mentor to new staff.

Nicole has successfully been the primary nurse preceptor for three nursing students who all transitioned into the new graduate nurse role in the MICU.

Arlene Davis, BSN, RN, OCN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Lauren Horton, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Stoler Pavilion

Surgical Intermediate Care Unit

Arlene ensures that staff have the knowledge and understanding that they need to be successful.

Lauren’s experience and clinical skills allow her to serve as a great resource on the unit for our new nurses.

STC Post Anesthesia Care Unit

Maureen Delmundo, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

continued on page 30.

Adult Emergency Services

She is an artist when it comes to precepting and demonstrates an exceptional talent.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n P r e c e p t i n g , M e n tor i n g a n d E d u c at io n

Virginia Nganga, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Magda Wardrop-Truesdale, RN Clinical Nurse II

Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit

Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

She oversees the orientation of staff by making certain that newly hired staff have the necessary items in their orientation binder to insure a smooth transition and to ensure the orientees’ success in the unit.

She actively educates our nursing students that participate on the unit for their psych clinical rotation.

Diane Pannullo, BSN, RN, CHPN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Acute Care Unit

Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Having all of this critical care nursing knowledge is not what makes Diane so special; but it is her ability to communicate it eloquently and respectfully to nurses, patients, families, and physicians.

Laura White, RN, OCN Clinical Nurse II

Laura has worked effectively with senior nursing students, taking the time to educate and demonstrate many of the essential skills that they need to succeed as new nurses.

PEDIATRIC HEMATOLOGY/ONCOLOGY

Kim Sadtler, MSN, BSN, RN, PMHCNS-BC Nurse Manager Child Psychiatry Unit and Psychiatric Emergency Services

Kim has exhibited the highest professional standards in nursing management while guiding our learning experiences using evidenced-based rationales.

Alison Shephard, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I STC Acute Care

She has the knowledge and expertise to provide holistic care to our patients in what, at times, can be an extremely hectic environment and has the unique ability to mentor others to do the same.

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Sherri Brice Ambulatory Tech

Diane Keegan-Wells, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner Christine Rhoad, RN, APHON Clinical Nurse II

This nomination is to acknowledge the work and innovation of the Peds Hematology/Oncology Sickle Cell Lunch and Learn Team who successfully implemented a quarterly “Lunch and Learn” program for patients and families within the Peds Hem Onc practice.

E x c e ll e n c e i n P r e c e p t i n g , M e n tor i n g a n d E d u c at io n

PRIMARY PRECEPTOR GROUP, GENERAL OPERATING ROOM & STC OPERATING ROOM

STROKE NURSE FELLOWSHIP

Dominique Banks, MS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Dorela Drevea, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

Neuro Care Acute Care Unit

Elizabeth Cahill, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Lauren Emshwiller, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Intermediate Care Unit

NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

Anita Granston, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Julie Schaller, BSN, RN, CNRN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

NeuroCare Intermediate Care Unit

Back row:

Arin Kimball Surgical Tech II Heather Kreller Surgical Tech II Jill Ciotta, BSN, RN, CNOR Senior Clinical Nurse I Janet Cole Surgical Tech II

Katrina Harston, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Monique Barrow, RN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

Front row:

The stroke nurse fellows serve as essential unit-based experts for nursing education, development of stroke care protocols and are committed to providing the highest quality and evidenced-based care to the stroke patient population.

Eden Teklewold Surgical Tech II Clare Howard, BSN, RN, CNOR Clinical Nurse II Darlene Cabasada Surgical Tech III Roselle Aquino, BSN,RN Clinical Nurse II Emmie Gille-Jucar, RN Clinical Nurse II Not pictured:

Niann Gacosta, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

As the primary preceptors in Perioperative Services, these individuals are being acknowledged for the extra time and energy that they have given to assist with the successful training of new employees in the operating room setting.

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E x c e ll e n c e i n P u b l i c at i o n or P r e s e n tat i o n Presented in recognition of innovative and creative contributions that have improved patient care through scholarly publication or presentations.

Award Recipient POST ANESTHESIA CARE UNIT TEAM Left to right:

Patricia Walkowiak, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Beatrice Hazzard, MS, RN, CPAN Nurse Manager Brittany Russell, RN, CPAN Clinical Nurse II Not pictured:

Trisha Klein, MS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

I would like to nominate Beatrice Hazzard and her UMMC co-authors, Trisha Klein, Brittany Russell, and Patricia Walkowiak, for their original manuscripts published in the August 2013 issue of the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing. The journal article is entitled “Work and NonworkRelated Factors Associated with PACU Nurses’ Fatigue,” and reports findings of a nursing research study done in the UMMC PACU. The study was conducted by Bea, Trisha, Brittany, Patricia, and Karen Johnson, with the help of the entire PACU nursing staff and consultation from our UM Nursing partners. It was funded by the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses (ASPAN) and reflects three of their top priorities. ASPAN recently awarded the publication The Mary Hanna Award, a national recognition. We know that well rested nurses provide safer care and are more satisfied, while fatigue can lead to errors and disengagement.

The study found that PACU nurses work in an environment that leads to fatigue by the end of the shift, but that there is sufficient recovery when not at work, so the acute fatigue does not become chronic fatigue. The study also reported that UMMC PACU nurses have developed strategies to support each other’s workloads when at work to minimize the effect of factors that lead to fatigue – a wonderful testament to nurses and teamwork in the PACU. Nominees

Lora Cheek, RN, CNRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

NEUROCARE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Interventional Radiology

Lora is responsible for yearly stroke competency education for our nurses and radiology techs.

Nisha Kumar, BSN, RN, FNE-A Clinical Nurse II Orthopaedics Unit

She fosters team work, employee satisfaction, and patient care excellence and satisfaction.

Dominique Banks, MS, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Danielle Jaskulski, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Mary Ann Bautista, MS, RN, CNRN, CCRN Clinical Education Coordinator

Shereena Sorrell, MS, RN, CNRN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

These four neurocritical care nurses represented innovative and creative poster projects at four national conferences this year, improving patient care for the neurocritical care patient population.

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O u t s ta n d i n g N u r s i n g S u pp ort S ta f f Presented in recognition of excellence in patient care and service through compassion, respect, integrity, and support to nurses. This staff member reports directly to a nurse manager, e.g. PCT, CNA.

Award Recipient

Brenda Johnson Patient Care Technician NeuroCare Intermediate Care Unit

Brenda is our outstanding support staff in the NeuroCare IMC. She is always the first to offer assistance with any patient and family member on the unit. Brenda celebrated 40 years at UMMC at the 2013 Gala Celebration. She is still a role model steward for UMMC arriving around 0600 and always ready to start her day! She’s not scheduled to work until 0700 but her smile and dedication for the job is so obvious to everyone – even to the night shift when they see her so early.

Brenda shows pride in what she does. Her patients are always washed and ready for the day by 0830; she rounds on every single patient so that she is able to help out whenever she’s needed.

She rarely ever misses a day of work.

Nominees

Vera Ahmed Housekeeper

Latoya Bond Nursing Assistant

Housekeeping

Pediatrics

She is a terrific example of a staff member who provides truly excellent customer service to everyone in the unit.

She truly exhibits a teamwork approach by maintaining an open line of communication with staff and patients.

Iris Aikans-Afful Patient Care Technician

Sherri Brice Ambulatory Technician

Medicine Telemetry, 13 East/West

Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

She is an effective communicator, knowledgeable in her clinical skills, and frequently goes beyond the call of duty to ensure her patient’s needs are met.

Through her years of clinical experience and her experience as a patient’s mother, she has a wisdom and understanding of the patient experience that truly allows her to see how it is to “walk in the shoes” of the patient.

Lakisha Alexander Patient Care Technician Adult Emergency Services

She has an infectious positive attitude that is very appreciated in a high stress unit like the Adult ED.

Russell Brimer Data Coordinator eCare

Whenever he sees an opportunity to help, he is quick to volunteer and support fellow staff members, as well as the leadership team. continued on page 34.

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O u t s ta n d i n g N u r s i n g S u pp ort S ta f f

Marieke East Nursing Assistant

Michael Houck Patient Care Technician

Supplemental Staffing

Cardiac Care Unit

She is very friendly and caring in the way she delivers her care and interacts with the Outpatient Pavilion team.

Each month Mike creates a schedule with the PCs and nursing student staff members to secure the patient care needs of the unit.

Cheryl Eubanks, BA Administrative Assistant

Latanya Howe Patient Care Assistant

Surgical Acute Care Unit

STC Acute Care

Cheryl’s commitment to excellence is displayed through her communication style, hard work, and dedication.

She has wonderful rapport with her patients and their families, frequently remembering small details about their personal preferences.

Calvin Foots Mental Health Associate

Malcolm Johnson Patient Care Technician

Adult Psychiatry Unit

Medicine Telemetry, 11 East

Calvin exhibits an unbridled enthusiasm for his job, which is evidenced by his attention to detail.

He has been an intricate part of improving our patient satisfaction scores through his smile, enthusiasm, and love for the job.

Tia Generette Patient Care Technician Orthopaedics Unit

Tia’s vigor and passion for patient and staff satisfaction is seen every day she works.

Julia Graham Patient Care Technician Post Anesthesia Care Unit

She is a hard worker who anticipates the needs of both the patients and the nurses.

Diane Knight Patient Care Technician Hematology and Oncology Unit, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

Patients and families alike love her because they know they will receive excellent care.

Jessica Lacher Patient Care Technician STC Post Anesthesia Care Unit

Jess is always interested in addressing unit issues, bringing process and supply issues to the attention of unit leadership in an effort to improve patient care.

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O u t s ta n d i n g N u r s i n g S u pp ort S ta f f

Helaine Mark Nursing Assistant

Kellie Tenaglia Patient Service Coordinator

Supplemental Staffing

Interventional Radiology

She is one of the most dedicated employees within the Supplemental Staffing Department.

Kellie is respectful, friendly and an essential member of the IR team.

Durwood Miller Mental Health Associate and Nursing Assistant

Heather Thomas Medical Assistant

Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

Stoler Pavilion

He is a joy to work with and goes above and beyond to help his peers.

She works with three very busy clinics throughout the week, assisting her team in providing quality care and excellent customer service.

Teisha Nicholas Patient Care Technician Pediatric Emergency Department

She has played an important role for many of our new PCTs and nursing students by assisting them with orientation and offering to be a resource for questions.

Tyeshia Thomas Unit Secretary Surgical Intensive Care Unit

She is very proactive and ever ready to help our patient staff and other health care providers who visit our unit.

Shemeka Phelps Medical Assistant Stoler Pavilion

Her intuition allows her to just know when someone is in need, whether it is a patient or a clinical staff member.

Tyerly Scheppske Nursing Assistant Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

She works proactively to communicate frequently with the charge nurse throughout the shift and to adjust to changes within the environment.

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P h y s i c i a n C oll e a g u e Presented in recognition of the unique ability of an attending and a resident/fellow to collaborate with nurses toward the goal of excellence in patient care in a professional and positive manner.

Award Recipient for an Attending

Myung Park, MD Attending Cardiology

Despite her clinic practice, attending schedule and lecture demands, this renowned physician has consistently made time to meet with unit nursing leadership to promote exceptional care.

Dr. Myung Park is an advocate for nursing and is supportive of our initiatives. She has prepared for Joint Commission, CMS and Magnet visits and program recertification. On a monthly basis, she reviews unit data and ensures communication to her medical staff. Under her directorship, the physicians’ monthly hand hygiene scores have improved dramatically, and CLABSI and CAUTI rates have decreased. At times of untoward events, Dr. Park comes to the table without accusations but with a goal to work through the event to ensure safe care for the future. When resources are needed, and often she recognizes the need before we ask, Dr. Park goes up the chain of command to make the request. Education is paramount in her eyes for developing sound clinical care and she gladly shares her expertise during rounds and doing frequent in-services.

We could not have a better physician leader and colleague.

Award Recipient for a Resident/Fellow

Jessica Galey, MD Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellow Labor & Delivery

Dr. Galey is a true supporter of the nursing staff in Labor & Delivery. As the Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellow, she takes an active role in teaching the anesthesiology residents the skills necessary to care for obstetric patients requiring or desiring anesthesia. In addition, she participates in the care of the most critically ill obstetric patients and coordinates the care of these patients in the main operating room, in conjunction with the L&D nursing team.

Dr. Galey takes the time to educate and collaborate with the nursing team and readily helps the staff whenever she can. When she educates the patients, Dr. Galey is able to explain the physiology and processes in a manner that patients can understand. She takes the time to ensure both the patient and her family are comfortable. Her bedside manner is exceptional and that is a true gift in today’s medical environment. During times of increased census or acuity, Dr. Galey is calm, easily approachable, and a true team player. The nursing staff in L&D believe that Dr. Galey is a compassionate physician colleague, who exemplifies what it means to be a collaborative team player.

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P h y s i c i a n C oll e a g u e

Nominees for an Attending

Jonathan Bromberg, MD, Ph.D. Director of Research and Director of Strategic Services for Transplantation, Abdominal Transplant

Stephanie Knight, MD Psychiatrist Adult Psychiatry

He has been a strong, successful driver of quality improvement in the division and fosters collaboration with nursing in achieving this end.

She exemplifies a true interdisciplinary team member, by treating all members of the team as equals, and modeling this behavior to the residents and medical students who work with her.

Brandon Bruns, MD Attending Surgeon

Stephen Lowe, MD Vascular & Interventional Radiologist

Acute Care Emergency Surgery/Shock Trauma Center

Radiology

He not only receives nursing input with open ears but actively solicits it on a daily basis.

He makes himself visible and is willing to assist the nurses and radiology technologists to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

Robert Crawford, MD Vascular Surgery Attending

Darryn Potosky, MD Attending

Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit

Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology

He rounds on his patients and he involves nurses and solicits feedback from nurses if there are any issues with patient care.

It is not only for his smile and his pleasant demeanor that he is being nominated, but mostly for his desire to strive towards patient excellence and recognizing that nurses are his partners in that endeavor.

Philip Dittmar, MD Attending Medicine Telemetry, 13 East/West

Nurses always enjoy having Dr. Dittmar around because he communicates with nurses regarding the patient’s plan of care and how nursing is integrated in the patient’s safety and outcomes.

Victoria Giffi, MD Fellow Stoler Pavilion

Once in a while you meet a doctor, like Dr. Giffi, who shares in the learning experience to ensure the team understands the plan, to help them understand things better.

Nirav Shah, MD Attending Medical Intensive Care Unit

He encourages nurses to be an active part in physician rounds and listens earnestly to the concerns and thoughts of nurses.

Deborah Stein, MD Physician in Chief Shock Trauma Center

She is a great listener and values the opinions of her nursing colleagues. continued on page 38.

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P h y s i c i a n C oll e a g u e

Nominees for a Resident /Fellow

Adam Brenner, MD Resident

Leigh Ruth, MD Resident

Medical Care Intensive Care Unit

Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

All of the nurses appreciate his attention to his patients and his acknowledgment of the nurses themselves.

Dr. Ruth values the opinions of other disciplines, listens well and provides supportive evidence in diagnosis and treatment.

Kenneth Butler, DO, FACEP, FAAEM Fellow

Neil Sardesai, MD Resident

Adult Emergency Services

Orthopaedics Unit

He has an excellent rapport with the nursing staff and freely allows them to ask questions about patients or procedures.

He respects the nurses’ opinion and acknowledges the experience of the senior nurses.

Cyrus Hadadi, MD Resident University Health Center

His calm demeanor during even the most trying of circumstances helps others to aspire to his level of professionalism and compassion.

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R i s i n g S ta r Presented to a nurse with less than two years total experience who demonstrates exceptional promise to advance the practice of nursing though enthusiasm, commitment, passion, and innovation.

Award Recipient

Amanda Bohanan, RN Clinical Nurse II Stoler Pavilion

Amanda is one of our newest nurses in the Stoler Pavilion. Originally hired to assist with our newer physicians, Amanda soon saw that there was a greater need. She immediately jumped in to see if she could help. This was not going to be an easy task, which Amanda knew, but she was up for the challenge. Her optimism and willingness to help out in a time of need landed her in the position of running one of the busiest and most demanding clinics that we have in Stoler. Each day, Amanda came to work knowing the challenges that were ahead of her. A few tears have been shed along the way but she persevered. She knew what needed to be done and set about getting it accomplished.

Amanda has learned a totally new role as a nurse in taking a position here in Stoler. She has been successful in managing a high volume, ever demanding team.

Award Recipient

Ashley Burnham, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit

Ashely Burnham started in the CSICU as a nursing student and easily transitioned to the RN role.

She continues to seek out new knowledge and new learning opportunities. Ashley is a team player, always offering help to her colleagues with a positive attitude. She provides excellent patient care and enjoys teaching the patient, as well as the family. Ashley is already able to place the nervous families at ease with her calm demeanor and attention to detail. We are fortunate to have Ashley on our team and look forward to her continued growth in her nursing career.

Award Recipient

Natalie Elliott, RN Clinical Nurse I NeuroCare Acute Care Unit

She is a new nurse who started on our unit as a patient care technician. She is very organized and able to care for patients with various diagnoses. She uses critical thinking skills to plan care and to deal with the changing work environment. She maintains a sense of flexibility and adapts to change.

She is always ready to help others and, although limited in experience, her hard work and commitment make her a nurse you want to work with. She is highly motivated to learn new things and she is a real team player. Natalie is a safe and efficient practitioner and committed to serving her patients and family members. She is diligent in identifying and assessing patient and family needs. She plans appropriately and provides high quality care to our complex patient population. Natalie consistently gives her best to her patients and their families and is a true asset to the unit. She is always helpful and is never too busy to offer help to others when needed. continued on page 40.

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R i s i n g S ta r

Award Recipient

Kelly Flanagan, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Kelly is being recognized as an emerging leader; someone with a drive and passion for nursing and the pursuit of knowledge. While Kelly is relatively novice in terms of clinical experience, she has worked to advance herself professionally and has not shied away from challenging assignments and new learning opportunities. She continues to move along the continuum from novice to expert.

Kelly’s peers recognize she is growing in her understanding of neonatal care and is becoming a very solid, competent neonatal nurse. She has adjusted well in the role and has shown growth in her assessment skills and critical thinking. One experienced peer noted, “Kelly brings high energy, enthusiasm, and a positive attitude to the unit. She is fully competent in the care she provides our babies.” Kelly has volunteered on numerous occasions to share her enthusiasm and knowledge with nursing students for observation hours and perspective new hires for share days.

Award Recipient

Cory Helfrich, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I Medical Intensive Care Unit

Cory is a new graduate who came to the MICU in the summer of 2013. She brought with her a positive and energetic attitude that is truly infectious. She completed orientation and transitioned into her bedside practice. She is known for amazing compassionate care. She has had many challenging patients in the recent months. One patient spoke only Korean. Cory spent an enormous amount of time with the interpreter to understand the patient’s needs, desires and family situation.

She was able to report back to the team this information to help formulate a care plan for the patient. For another patient, who was also non-English speaking, she did a similar thing. For a patient’s family who was clearly overwhelmed with the situation, she spent a great deal of time educating the family on the Caring Bridge system. She did a demonstration, provided guidance, and helped them establish a reporting log for friends and family. She has done a presentation for the MICU Novice Nurse group on the topic of Integrative Therapy. Her passions are family involvement and communication, and music therapy.

Award Recipient

Andrew Histand, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Adult Psychiatry

Andrew joined the department of Behavioral Health after graduation from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. He has rapidly developed into one of the unit’s young clinical leaders.

Andrew frequently functions in the charge nurse role. His vigilance for detail and double checks have awarded him the “Investigator” title for the unit. Andrew is involved in several unit governance activities and is quickly becoming one of the “go to” people. He is involved with the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. He plans on sitting for his specialty certification this fall when he is eligible.

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R i s i n g S ta r

Award Recipient

Heather Lee, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit

Heather Lee has just marked her first year on the unit. She is very dedicated and she makes sure she covers all the bases needed for patient care. She reaches out to her peers and utilizes the resources available in providing safe care to her patients. She is unassuming and raises questions relating to patient care in making sure she is providing the safest care possible. As a new nurse, she is detail oriented; her documentation was audited by Point of Care and it showed that she covered all the required items in documenting a critical blood sugar result, including documenting the full name of the prescriber notified in the patient’s flow sheet. As a new nurse she got a “Good Catch Nomination” since she was able to catch a potential harm of a patient. She is a member of the Quality and Safety Committee of the unit and attends their meetings regularly. She also regularly attends unit monthly staff meetings and contributes as needed. Heather is currently working with her peers on both C5E and C6W on their EBP project to improve mobility on the units.

Award Recipient

Mariana Ortigosa, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II STC Operating Room

Mariana Ortigosa has only been an RN for a year and a half, but she practices in a very mature, positive manner. She had done the consortium in the General OR and during her rotation in the Trauma OR exhibited a calm professionalism that we strive for in our new staff. When a position became available, she applied for it and, after an interview, has become a welcome member of our staff. Mariana works with a high level of accuracy and professionalism. Mariana is self-directed and takes any assignment without complaint. As an added benefit for the unit, she is flexible with her schedule, consistently operates as a team player, practicing civility in all her encounters with fellow staff. She has a calming effect with her patients and their families, and she is a strong patient advocate. Another benefit to the unit is her fluency in Spanish. She also exemplifies a reassuring quality in her humility as a new nurse.

Award Recipient

Leila Sicilia, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Mother/Baby Unit

Leila Sicilia has worked on the inpatient Perinatal/GYN unit and the Nursery for about one and a half years. A student at the University of Maryland, School of Nursing, Leila was a student resident in Labor and Delivery and then a clinical scholar on the inpatient Perinatal/GYN unit.

Leila’s critical thinking skills have evolved tremendously over the past year and a half. She uses evidence-based practice in her daily care. Leila is very thorough and a true patient advocate. Her professionalism and positive attitude add to her excellence in nursing. Leila has also volunteered to be a preceptor to a clinical scholar this spring semester. With her experiences just last year, Leila enthusiastically agreed to precept. The experience has been very positive and we look forward to having her practicum student become a new graduate nurse upon passing her NCLEX exam. continued on page 42.

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R i s i n g S ta r

Award Recipient

Coty Smootz, MSN, RN Clinical Nurse II STC Outpatient Pavilion

Coty joined the STC outpatient team in August of last year. She came to us with her graduate degree in education and nursing leadership and has demonstrated her passion and commitment to the advancement of patient education, staff development, and patient care. Over the last seven months, she has taken the lead on the implementation and care coordination program for our patients discharged on anticoagulation that do not meet criteria for follow-up by a PCP or AC clinic. In the development of this program, she has worked collaboratively with the AC clinic, risk management, providers, and nursing. She has also worked to ensure the entire clinical team has been trained on all aspects of the process from referral, education, ordering, and documentation. She has demonstrated her care and compassion for this patient population through her careful oversight of their care. Coty has also taken an active role in the training and integration of medical assistants into our practice. This new role has required the collaboration of the medical assistants, providers, and nursing staff to create a model that is safe and efficient.

Coty has demonstrated her leadership ability by successfully working with all specialties during this transition. Coty continues to look for areas to grow professionally. She is currently working towards submitting her SCNI application in April.

Nominees

Jalisa Beck, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I

Allison Branchaw, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I

NeuroCare Intermediate Care Unit

Orthopaedics Unit

Jalisa is a very strong, independent nurse, yet is always the first person to offer assistance to other RNs & PCTs.

Allison is not only becoming an excellent nurse but, in addition, she is excelling in her professional responsibilities.

Kiersten Bonsall, BSN, RNC Clinical Nurse I

Magyn El-Sayed, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Labor & Delivery

Adult Psychiatry

Kiersten willingly accepts patient assignments and takes on the challenge of any patient given to her.

Magyn has been very active in unit operations by auditing charts, developing social activities, and participating as a hands-on aggression management instructor.

Amanda Borradaile, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II General Operating Room

Amanda is always professional in her interactions with others, and seeks guidance from appropriate resources as needed.

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Jessica Farace, BSN, RN, PCCN Senior Clinical Nurse I Multi Trauma Intermediate Care - 6

She is known as the quiet leader as she has a very calm way of approaching situations.

R i s i n g S ta r

Jazmine Jordan, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I

Amanda Salsbury, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I

Medicine Telemetry, 10 East

Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit

Jazmine consistently maintains and exemplifies a unique professional posture when interacting with her co-workers and patients.

Amanda is great with her patients, has good bedside manners, and is always advocating for her patients.

Lauren Mackenzie, RN Clinical Nurse I

Shanelle Smith, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Intermediate Care Unit

Geriatric Psychiatry Unit

Lauren is constantly looking to improve practice to better serve the neurology population.

Shanelle has a good understanding of psychiatry and skillfully interacts with her patients and families.

Megan McCullen, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Neuro Trauma Intermediate Care

Megan has taken the initiative to become involved on the unit and has taken a pivotal role in improving hand washing compliance through education and by holding others accountable.

Lauren Miller, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Adult Emergency Services

Lauren is a team player on the unit, helping other nurses when the need arises, and helping to balance the care of the challenging patient.

Jessica Milone, MS, RN Clinical Nurse II Adult Psychiatry

Gabriela Tirado, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I Medicine Telemetry, 13 East/West

Despite increasing acuity and clinical challenges, Gabriela consistently maintains an unwaveringly positive demeanor that equally uplifts her patients and colleagues.

Chiemerie Uche, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Medical Intermediate Care Unit

He is very compassionate and competent in his care of his patients.

COHORT 6, SURGICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

She has volunteered to assist with the falls reduction initiative and is one of the falls champions for the unit.

Amanda Pfaff, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I STC Acute Care

Amanda has made safety and quality her passion and consistently shares and promotes the Shock Trauma Quality Council’s proposed performance improvement projects.

Courtney Crane, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Matt Marengi, MS, RN Clinical Nurse II James Schissler, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Kristin Zywusko, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

At the bedside, these nurses are seen demonstrating exceptional promise to advance the practice of nursing through their thirst for knowledge, extreme flexibility of assignments, and being team players.

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S p e c i a l F r i e n d of N u r s i n g Presented in recognition of the unique abilities of an individual who collaborates with Nursing toward the goal of excellence in patient care.

Award Recipient

Sharan Lee Bidle, MS, BSN, RN Nurse Recruiter Human Resources

Sharan Lee Bidle partners with the STC managers and critical care managers in the recruitment and selection of RN candidates. She understands the population we serve and strategically applies that knowledge in the recruitment and hiring of the best candidates. She is always available to answer questions and it is not uncommon to get an email from Sharan in the wee hours of the morning or even while on vacation. Sharan is always polite, calm, and extremely helpful. She is articulate, engaging, and exudes enthusiasm when speaking to candidates about positions at the Medical Center. She successfully spearheaded the recruitment and hiring of RNs for multiple unit expansions as well as the implementation of the CCRU, allowing these units to open on schedule.

Sharan is a valued leader amongst nurse recruiters in the country. She is committed and dedicated to meeting the needs of the organization and models a commitment to excellence.

Award Recipient

Samuel Gurmu, BA AV Technician Clinical Engineering

Sami has become invaluable to so many of us over the past year or so. He is a multi-talented person who is there for anyone who needs him. His focus on customer service is unparalleled. He is happy, hardworking, and one of the smartest people that we know! He has taken on so much that influences nursing and our patients’ satisfaction. He puts many miles on his shoes each and every day. He runs from the auditorium, to the boardroom, to physician offices, to patient rooms without even a hitch in his step. He helps numerous people fine-tune presentations, practice their presentation skills, capture their speaking on film, and set up meetings remotely. His talent for understanding technology and what people need is uncanny – at least from many of us who know so little! He helps our patients by making sure that their televisions work, and that the On-Demand system is available and working correctly. He helped the On-Demand sub-group in immeasurable ways by listening to what we wanted, and making sure it all went well from a technical point of view.

Nominees

Alicia Abad Project Manager

Lorine Andersen Administrative Coordinator

Facilities

NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

The charge nurses on the unit always look forward to walking rounds with Alicia to focus on continued environmental improvements.

Lorine is able to provide a collaborative and comprehensive approach to supporting the department as a whole because of her thorough knowledge of the Neurocritical Care departmental practices, procedures and operations.

Marty Ahlstrom, MS, BSN, RN Case Manager Case Management

Marty is proactive with physicians and, at the same time, she makes sure the discharge summaries are completed so as not to hold or delay the discharge or patient transfers to another facility.

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S p e c i a l F r i e n d of N u r s i n g

Jamie Buchheit Documentation Liaison

Meghann Mulherin, LCSW Social Worker

FormFast MC, Health Information Management

Adult Emergency Services

Jaime Buchheit’s role is critical in insuring that all of our Patient Care Services staff have access to the most up-to-date medical record forms in FormFast to document the care of their patients.

Meghann makes routine rounds in the AED. She is proactive and anticipates the patient’s needs.

Laura Collins Project Assistant

Perioperative Services

Bonnie Parks Payroll Personnel

She collaborates with all of the departmental managers to resolve issues, going above and beyond the call of duty.

Project Development

Laura is always prompt in her responses to requests and is able to utilize all her available resources to meet deadlines.

Diana Vaughan, LCSW-C Clinical Social Worker II

Malka Isbee, MS, CCC-SLP Speech Language Pathologist

Medical Intensive Care Unit

Diana is a passionate supporter of everyone with whom she works.

Malka is always willing to assist the nursing staff beyond just fulfilling her duties as an SLP.

Jason Jenkins, BS, CNMT, PET, NCT, CT Nuclear Medicine Technologist Nuclear Medicine

He is very kind to the patients and explains the test procedure and helps to keep the patient calm during the test.

Sara Lattanzia Operations Analyst Information Technology

Sara takes the time to really understand workflow, answer questions, share her expertise, and keep lines of communication open long after the ‘go live’ team is gone.

Richie Stever, LEED AP Project Manager

Terry Williams, LEED AP Project Manager

Facilities

Facilities

This is presented in recognition and appreciation of Richie and Terry’s unique abilities to collaborate and coordinate with nursing in a respectful, open, and cheerful manner on two special projects.

Caroline Little Housekeeper Housekeeping

Carolyn puts the patients’ and staff ’s needs above her own.

Megan McGowan, OT Occupational Therapist Geriatric Psychiatry

Megan’s patients all think highly of her and respond positively when asked about their therapy groups.

Frances Grissom, BSN, RN Trauma Survivor Network Coordinator

Katherine Ordonio, BSN, RN Trauma Survivor Network Coordinator

Shock Trauma Center

Shock Trauma Center

While medical and nursing staff focus on the physical recovery of trauma patients, Katherine and Frances, through the programs that they have developed, concentrate on patients’ mind, body, and soul.

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U n i v e r s i t y of M a r y l a n d S c ho ol of N u r s i n g C oll e a g u e Presented to a faculty member who exemplifies excellence as a mentor and educator.

Award Recipient

Megan Lynn, PhD, MBA, RN, FNE-A Assistant Professor UMSON, OSAH

NOMINATION 1

Through UMNursing, Megan has been integral to the development and success of the improvements to the onboarding for the Clinical Scholar Program. Working closely with Clinical Practice and Professional Development (CPPD), changes were made to the onboarding practicum process to ensure a successful transition for UMSON BSN scholars. This required Megan to provide additional visits to the scholars during practicum and to cohort the identified BSN scholars into one group which she taught.

As the adult health clinical coordinator, Megan works closely with CPPD in identifying and mentoring our clinical instructors for UMSON. She assists in identifying units that will provide the optimal learning environment for the students completing their clinical rotations and practicums at UMMC. Megan is a wonderful partner and resource in blending the needs from both the school and the hospital perspective epitomizing the role of excellence in mentoring and educating. The students are extremely fortunate to have a professor who not only academically challenges them, but has a strong, current clinical background for translation to practice.�

NOMINATION 2

We are proud that one of our AED colleagues, who can frequently be seen running charge or doing bedside care, is also an Assistant Professor at UM School of Nursing. Megan is a nursing instructor who plays various roles in the AED: charge nurse; triage nurse; clinician; and instructor. She is a consummate professional and an outstanding clinician. Megan role models superior knowledge and skills as a charge nurse or, when in the role of nursing instructor, expertly leads staff to manage the diversity of complex patients that present to our busy ED. Her outstanding proficiency and organizational skills contribute to patient flow, enhancing ED throughput. She demonstrates high level critical thinking skills and pays meticulous attention to details, while placing an emphasis on patient, staff, and unit safety. Her approach to patient care is broad as she also considers other important aspects, such as social needs and legal implications.

She works collaboratively with other nurses, physicians, case managers, ancillary services, and support staff to provide excellent patient care.

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NURSING EXCELLENCE AWA R D S 2 0 1 4

L i v i n g E x c e ll e n c e A wa r d s The Living Excellence award is for those nurses who exemplify excellence in their practice and the care of their patients. There are individuals on every unit, in every diagnostic/procedure area, in every ambulatory setting, who provide clinical practice support at University of Maryland Medical Center that stand out and should be recognized for what they do every day. This award is presented in recognition of excellence in service through compassion, respect, integrity, and professionalism in the delivery of care to patients and families. They are role models whose actions further enhance the profession of nursing every day.

Kelli Alderman, BSN, RN Nursing Coordinator

Erica Binnie, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Patient Placement Center

Pediatric GI Practice

Kelli effectively collaborates with physicians, peers, and unit staff to maintain effective communication and patient flow.

Erica embodies relationship based care by really connecting with patients and families – she has great follow through and manages the complexity associated with the patients and families with grace and confidence.

Suzanne Alton, BSN, RNC-OB Senior Clinical Nurse II Labor and Delivery

Suzanne is definitely working with the OB team to educate, motivate, and improve patient outcomes.

Nicole Anthony, BSN, RN, CCRN, CCTC Senior Clinical Nurse II

Jerrilynn Boone, RN Clinical Nurse II Multi Trauma Critical Care

She is an excellent patient advocate and our families have nothing but praise to give about the care she provides to their loved ones.

Transplant Intermediate Care Unit

She has contributed to every positive change on the unit, sometimes leading, sometimes working in tandem with multiple disciplines, and often functioning as the solo driver of an event that needed fast action.

Nyattu Barrow, RN Clinical Nurse II Medical Intermediate Care Unit

She is a resource for her peers but additionally, she brings a quiet authority which receives respect from those with whom she works.

Mary Grace Beltran, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Medicine Telemetry Unit, 11 East

Mary Grace serves as a “walking” resource to her peers and has a way about her that makes both the novice and seasoned nurses feel a sense of comfort when she is on the unit.

Kremena Bikov, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Barbara Bosah, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Surgical Intermediate Care Unit

Her energy and enthusiasm around hand hygiene in the SIMC/SPCU really got the entire team engaged and changed the culture on the unit.

Josephine Brumit, DNP, RN, NE-BC Clinical Practice Coordinator Quality & Safety

Josephine shows initiative, thinks of potential solutions, and works with practitioners to incorporate ideas and plans into practice.

Marla Bryant, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Surgical Acute Care Unit

She always provides constructive feedback and never belittles anyone for making an error, using that as a teachable moment. continued on page 48.

NeuroCare Intensive Care Unit

Kremena is known to be soft spoken, calm, and in control no matter how stressful or urgent the situation becomes in the ICU. NURSING EXCELLENCE AWA R D S 2 0 1 4

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L i v i n g E x c e ll e n c e A wa r d s

Megan Burris, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Donna Ciurlino, BSN, RN, CCRN, CPAN Clinical Nurse II

Pediatric Surgery Center

Endoscopy

The acuity of our patient population often requires a nurse who is able to adapt to and perform under pressure and Megan has repeatedly proven that she excels in such situations.

She is a valuable asset to GI ENDO due to her unwavering dedication to her patients and her desire to go “the extra mile� to take care of each and every one of them.

Tracey Bursk, BSN, RN, CPAN Clinical Nurse II

Cheryl Cline, MSN, CRNA Nurse Anesthetist

Post Anesthesia Care Unit

STC Operating Room

She is able to adjust and perform under pressure, be creative when necessary, and de-escalate a situation with humor.

Her clinical abilities are top notch; she is highly skilled, a critical thinker, a true collaborator, and the ultimate patient advocate.

Elisabeth Cahill, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Karen Cossentino, MS, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse II

NeuroCare Intermediate Care Unit

Cardiac Care Unit

She is frequently mentioned in the comment section of the Patient/Family Satisfaction Survey for providing outstanding, caring, and individualized care.

While providing patient care, she is able to maintain a calm, kind demeanor even during the busiest of times.

Visitacion Casal-Calingacion, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Vascular Surgery Progressive Care Unit

She never wavers to address any issue or concern with anyone when it involves the patient.

Allison Carew, MS, RN, CEN Clinical Nurse II STC Acute Care

She consistently pushes the envelope in all aspects of patient care and is dedicated to improving not only the clinical nurse sensitive quality indicators but also patient and staff satisfaction.

Christina (Jenny) Chaney, BSN, RN, IBCLC Clinical Nurse II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Her peers all recognize her expertise, noting she role models a high level of clinical competence and serves as a clinical resource for new and lessexperienced nurses.

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Nora Din, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Prep and Recovery Unit

Her caring, calming, and compassionate demeanor comes through to her patients while she provides valuable knowledge and support in a meaningful way.

Rachael Edgin, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II STC Hyperbaric Chamber

Rachel has been a role model when it comes to working collaboratively with all disciplines for the improvement of patient care.

Allison Enterline, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Nursing PCA Service

Her goal is to deliver the best care possible, to educate staff on best practice, and to seek out areas for improvement.

L i v i n g E x c e ll e n c e A wa r d s

Zelda Falck, MS, RN-BC Senior Clinical Nurse II

Maureen Hanold, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Psychiatric Emergency Services

Interventional Radiology

She never assumes all the credit for successful PES initiatives but, instead, highlights each colleagues creativity, ideas, and contribution for all the projects.

She is known as our “chief ” on the unit, and leads her peers through example and positive reinforcement.

Mary Fieden, RN Clinical Nurse II Bone Marrow Transplant Unit

The depth of a patient’s suffering from complications after an allogeneic transplant for acute leukemia was profound and Mary was present to help her throughout her experience.

Suzanna Fitzpatrick, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner

Juanita Hardy, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Orthopaedics Unit

She has worked tirelessly with the staff to create an atmosphere where everyone feels that their contribution is appreciated.

Kirsten Head, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Medical Intensive Care Unit

Transplant Surgery

She is very focused on safe ways to move patients in a high acuity environment.

Suzanna constantly acts as a champion for achieving enhanced customer service and creating a culture of accountability for improvement.

Lisa Heiland, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

Rebekah Friedrich, BSN, RN, CCRN Clinical Nurse II Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Her compassion for teaching is evidenced by her ability to educate at the UMMC CCRN review class and identifying unit specific practice education needs.

Lisa partnered with a local pediatric hospital to design and host a Pediatric Palliative Care Conference for pediatric staff including nurses, social workers, and child life specialists.

Mary Helen Hoff, RN Clinical Nurse II STC Post Anesthesia Care Unit

Kristy Gorman, MS, RN, OCN Clinical Practice and Education Specialist Clinical Practice and Professional Development

She has become the “go to” resource for the Maryland Statewide collaborative for the new graduate residency program which reflects the standing of UMMC as a leader in innovation and best practice.

Lindsey Gray, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Geriatric Psychiatry

She has developed an accomplished style of interaction with her psychiatric patients whose diagnoses include multiple medical issues that require a demonstrated experience for managing.

Mary Helen consistently receives excellent evaluations from her orientees, but also consistently seeks feedback about her own practice.

Ravynn Joe, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Medicine Telemetry Unit, 10 East

She consistently demonstrates the desire to excel, capture and master the overall unit educational initiatives and challenges with resolve.

Nicole Johnson-Nesmith, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Radiation Oncology

She is always supportive of changes within the clinic which will benefit the overall organization and clinic. continued on page 50.

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L i v i n g E x c e ll e n c e A wa r d s

Maureen Jones, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Sara Klug, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Pediatric Infusion and Testing Center

Multi Trauma Intermediate Care – 6

Maureen has really excelled this year in both unit based initiatives and at a division and departmental level with her work as an EPIC superuser, magnet champion and as a member of the professional advancement committee.

She is a strong bedside nurse who played a pivotal role for our night shift in preparation for CMS, as well as educating the staff on CMS policy and standards.

Juanita Jones-Maddox, RN Clinical Nurse II Surgical & Endoscopy Unit

eCare

She is highly regarded by her peers, and is always willing to go the extra mile for her patients, co-workers, and the unit.

Since we began in April of 2013, Chris has been a dominate figure in the formation of the UMMC tele-ICU nurse, stepping up and creating our Nursing Expectations that quickly established him as a leader within this fledgling unit.

Sara Joshua, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Amanda Larsen, BSN, RN

NeuroCare Acute Care Unit

She manages emergency situations on our unit in a calm manner, always stepping in to offer her expertise and help.

April Karczmarek, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit

Trauma Resuscitation Unit

Amanda took the lead in demonstrating the benefits of Life image – a medical image sharing exchange system that allows hospitals to “share” images across the spectrum – by meeting with the TRU nurses, explaining the benefits to the patients, and agreeing to train the nurses on using the system.

She is a wealth of information for all of our new hire RNs and is always willing to precept both permanent staff and temporary staff.

Louis Lee, BSN, RN, CCRN, CEN Senior Clinical Nurse I

Jennifer Kearney, RN, RBC-OB Clinical Nurse II

His analytical approach to leadership, coupled with his immense respect for patients, families, and staff, makes him an impressive leader to watch.

Center for Advanced Fetal Care

Jennifer has done an enormous amount of work this year putting structure around the referral process and care coordination for high risk patients in the congenital heart population.

Johnathan Klaus, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Electrophysiology Lab

He has actively participated in research, not only collecting the data, but designing nursing research to answer questions on the post–op care of the EP patients.

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Christopher Kolokythas, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I

NURSING EXCELLENCE AWA R D S 2 0 1 4

Critical Care Resuscitation Unit

Karen Leebaw-Staib, MS, RN Clinical Nurse II Surgery Subspecialties Clinic

When staff and resources are not available, Karen knows how to navigate the team forward.

Erin Lock, MS, CRNP Nurse Practitioner STC Orthopaedics

With her leadership skills and dynamic personality she has provided the foundation to embrace the EPIC learning process.

L i v i n g E x c e ll e n c e A wa r d s

Ayo Mandi, MS, CRNP, CCNS, CCRN, CMC-CSC, PCCN, CEN Nurse Practitioner

Katie Naughton, BSN, RN, CCRN Nurse Informatacist

Advanced Heart Failure Service

Katie has been a tremendous asset to our team, the project, and the Epic Portfolio build.

Since his arrival on the team, he has managed to maintain his reputation for working in clinically challenging environments while embedding himself into the fabric of an existing team.

Clinical Informatics and the EPIC Project

Jasmine Noronha, BSN, RN, CPN Clinical Nurse II Pediatric Progressive Care Unit

Janis Marcella, BSN, RN, OCN Clinical Nurse II Digestive Health Center

Janis keeps herself trained and informed with best practice to resolve any clinical challenges.

Jennifer Meyer, BSN, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Neuro Trauma Critical Care

She inspires passion for nursing in others and is concerned for the next generation of nurses.

Jordan Mullaney, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II STC Outpatient Pavilion

She identified that nursing could be more pro-active in identifying and referring patients to the Trauma Survivors Network (TSN).

Andrea Muth, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Cardiac Progressive Care Unit

After identifying lapses in our orientation process, Andrea has recently revamped our nursing unit orientation plan and coordinates with the SCN team to oversee the transition for our new hires.

Jennifer Myers, RN Clinical Nurse II Adult Psychiatry Unit

Adept at prioritizing, she frequently takes charge and is seemingly unflappable in the face of the many situations that occur in psychiatry on a daily basis.

Jasmine is a strong advocate for her patients and works well with the multi-disciplinary team to ensure her patients’ needs are being met.

M. Tracey Penaloza, BSN, RN, CNOR Senior Clinical Nurse I General Operating Room

She does incredible work in helping to get the operating rooms started on time which aligns with the OR initiative for “On Time First Case Starts.”

Mary Perry, BSN, RN, CAPA Senior Clinical Nurse II Ambulatory Surgical Care Unit

She is professional and energetic in her leadership role and she is accountable and meets her assigned deadlines consistently.

Andrea Powell, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Supplemental Staffing

Ms. Powell’s work ethnic and clinical practice is one that is admired by all, and should be replicated.

Tammy Russo-McCourt, BSN, RN, CCRN Senior Clinical Nurse I Neuro Trauma Intermediate Care

She holds peers accountable for practice and pushes them to learn and grow professionally on every shift.

Chad Schrier, BSN, RN, CEN Senior Clinical Nurse I Adult Emergency Services

Through his collaboration with the physicians and his outstanding relationship with EMS, he has helped to break down communication barriers. continued on page 52.

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L i v i n g E x c e ll e n c e A wa r d s

Lindsey Sheldon, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Cara Sullivan, RN Clinical Nurse II

Medicine Telemetry Unit, 13 East/West

Mother/Baby Unit

She is capable of even the most difficult assignments, leaving every patient feeling like they are her only one.

Cara is an excellent resource for both the RNs and nursing assistants in the unit.

Krishna Siota, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse I Hematology and Oncology Unit

When the unit is short staffed or the acuity is high, Krishna is always willing to help out not only for the good of the patients, but her colleagues as well.

Joe Tignall, RN Clinical Nurse II STC Operating Room

Joe loves doing neurosurgical cases and has become an expert resource for other staff members.

Cathy Wilkes, BSW, RN, CCRN, EMT-B Clinical Nurse II Maryland Express Care

Marlyn Solomon, MSN, RN Clinical Nurse II

Cathy regularly brings her manager suggestions for making improvements as well as potential projects.

Child Psychiatry Unit

She engages with families on multiple levels and is a critical liaison between them and the physicians and social workers.

Stephanie Spence, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Multi Trauma Intermediate Care – 5

Stephanie is one of the unit’s “seasoned” nurses and has a good relationship with all members of the health care team.

Kimberly Stago, MS, RN, CNL Senior Clinical Nurse I Cardiac Surgery Step-down Unit

Kim is a certified clinical nurse leader who is organizing the unit-based councils and leading the unit’s professional development council.

Teddi Stern, MS, RN Clinical Nurse II Pediatric Emergency Department

She often discovers processes that are not effective and offers ideas for improvement.

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Donna Wooditch, BSN, MBA, RN Senior Clinical Nurse I Women’s Center

With health care delivery ever changing, Donna has led the way through the implementation of the EPIC and kept an open mind as we move forward, looking at creative ways to enhance faculty coverage and still deliver optimal patient care.

Sherry Zawodniak, BSN, RN Clinical Nurse II Stoler Pavilion

Sherry is very dedicated to her patients, staying late (quite often) if necessary to “see things through” and make sure everyone is stable, patients and co-workers alike.

2014

Nursing Excellence Awards

Produced and Edited by: Cyndy Ronald, BA, Manager School of Nursing Partnership Programs Clinical Practice and Professional Development Nelia Zhuravel, BS, Project Specialist Clinical Practice and Professional Development Susan Carey, MS, Lead, Operations Clinical Practice and Professional Development Designed by: Maureen Lindler, Moxie Design, Towson, MD

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