It’s hard to contain the celebration of nursing to just one week at Texas Children’s. Every day there are inspirational stories that demonstrate how our nurses go above and beyond to advance patient care and enhance patient experience and outcomes.
Besides the exceptional, around-the-clock care they provide our patients, one distinct attribute that patient families admire the most about our nurses – their compassion.
Their endless compassion, comfort and support can be seen and felt across the entire organization. A nurse clutching the hands of a parent who just received tough news about their child. A nurse standing by the patient’s bedside whose family can’t be there during treatments. A nurse exchanging family time during holidays and weekends to spend time with families in the hospital. A nurse calming a mother’s fear as she prepares to give birth to her first child. As you can see, nurses leave a lasting impression on every patient and they are at the core of the experience patients have while in our care.
As we saluted nurses across the country, from May 6 to May 12, Texas Children’s celebrated our amazing team of more than 3,000 nurses. This video spotlight celebrates our nurses’ successes, accomplishments and the daily contributions they make to our patients and families at Texas Children’s.
Nurses Week activities
The theme for Nurses Week this year was Culture of Safety: It Begins with You. Texas Children’s Nursing Retention Council organized several activities that centered on health and wellness to remind our nurses how important it is to take care of themselves so they can provide the best and safest care to their patients.
Activities included educational presentations, Bike to Work Day, blessing of the hands, a Fiesta Friday bar and photo booth, massages, yoga, a healthy cooking demo and cake deliveries.
On May 10, Nursing leadership hosted the Nursing Excellence Awards luncheon honoring eight recipients for their commitment to improving nursing care and patient outcomes.
The award honorees included:
- Staff Nurse of the year: Leah Garza
- Preceptor of the year: Evelyn Barren
- Rookie of the year: Amy Aaronson
- Certified nurse of the year: Christopher Sturrock
- Leader of the year: Amanda Wollam
- Teams of the Year: Central Line Maintenance and Hygiene
- APRN of the year: Colleen Brand
- Friend of Nursing: Dr. Kevin Roy
View a photo gallery below of the awards luncheon and other activities.
The Houston Chronicle Salute to Nurses included Ann Demny from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Saeed Yacouby from Anesthesiology who were 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, 23 Texas Children’s nurses were recognized as being among the top 150 in the Greater Houston area.
Lindsay Broom
Lisa Davenport
Sheranda Fesler
Holly Gregersen
Stephanie Gruner
Diana Harter
Amy Hemingway
Kellie Kainer
Jason McMullen
Leilani Mijares
Mary Beth Murphy
Gigi Neidinger
Tanya Nelson
Jacqueline Newton
Jonathan Rangel
Guillermo Reyes
Leslie Santos
Aleida Stark
Lois Tracy
Sharon Wahl
Becky White
Amanda Wollam
Pamela Zimmerman
To learn more about Nursing at Texas Children’s, click here to view By the Numbers.
