It’s hard to contain the celebration of nursing at a place like Texas Children’s to just one week. Every day there is a story of a nurse who’s going above and beyond to impact patient care, experience and outcomes. A nurse who is holding the hands of a parent who’s received tough news about their child. A nurse who’s by the bedside of a patient whose own family can’t be there during treatments. A nurse who leaves behind his own family on holidays and weekends to be with families in the hospital. A nurse who calms the fears of a mom-to-be as she prepares to give birth to her first child. Nurses leave a lasting impression on every patient and they’re at the core of the experience patients have while in our care.
Each year, as the nation celebrates nurses across the country, Texas Children’s takes a moment to join in and praise the hard work being done across our own community by the Texas Children’s family nurses.
This year’s Nurses Week celebrations included town halls held by Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Lori Armstrong, poster presentations, cookie deliveries, blessing of the hands, a webinar, an education fair, a Fiesta Bar Friday and massages.
Nurses highlighted this week for their dedication to nursing include Nursing Excellence Award winners and Houston Chronicle Salute to Nurses honorees. The nine Nursing Excellence Award Recipients included:
Staff Nurse of the year: Natalie McBain
Preceptor of the year: Lauren Mayer
Rookie of the year: Megan Riordan
Certified nurse of the year: Shannon Frost
Leader of the year: Tarra Kerr
Teams of the Year: Texas Children’s Health Plan – Nurse Family Partnership Program and Texas Children’s System Hospital Acquired Pressure Ulcer Skin Champions
APRN of the year: Jessica Geer
Friend of Nursing: Hasti Taghi
Click here to view the photo gallery of the luncheon
Perhaps the most special moment of the Nursing Excellence award luncheon came as a surprise for Armstrong. The nursing leadership team presented the chief nursing office with a plaque recognizing a new award named in Armstrong’s honor. The Lori Armstrong Patient Experience Award will be given to one worthy nurse annually beginning next year as an acknowledgment of Armstrong’s own dedication to patient experience.
The Houston Chronicle Salute to Nurses included Vicki Wiest from the Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics and Donna Daigle Tinsley from Texas Children’s Cancer Center who were both among the top 10 award recipients.
Click here for more on the Houston Chronicle Salute to Nurses honorees
In addition to the two nurses honored in the top 10, 20 other Texas Children’s nurses were recognized as being among the top 150 in the Greater Houston area.
Heidi Aghajani
Denise Allen
Toronda Baker
Emily Garrie
Chelci Gray
Melody Hellsten
Joy Hesselgrave
Amy Jeppesen
Patsy Jones
Michael Jordan
Melanie Knapp
Erica McMillian
Joellan Mullen
Jada Randall
Melissa Silvera
Tammy Stanford
Katharine Tittle
Amy Turner
Elizabeth Wuestner
Nicole Zola