Inside Duke Medicine

Meet winners of the 2009 Friends of Nursing Awards

This year 36 nurses will receive the Friends of Nursing Award at a gala on Nov. 7.

Larry Waddell Alston, MLPN
Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice, LPN
"With a daily clinic volume of 200 patients, the surgery oncology clinic lends itself to a very busy and demanding atmosphere. No matter what demands the day brings, Larry takes the lead in setting priorities, such as ushering in the use of our computerized documentation system, managing diverse patient populations with ease, and orienting new employees. He is a huge asset to our department."
- a colleague

Debra W. Areford, BSN, RN, CN IV
DRH Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Debra is an extremely knowledgeable nurse who practices and exemplifies these qualities in her care. She is a leader who teaches BLS, ACLS, and PALS to our staff. She is also a leader in our professional peri-operative professional organizations and has been a key in improving our patient satisfaction scores."
- her manager

Pamela Bowman, BSN, RN, OCN
Wilma Minniear Award for Excellence in Nursing Mentorship
"Pam is one of the few staff on the unit who is qualified to teach and validate another registered nurse’s competency on intraperitoneal chemotherapy. This is a challenging patient population because the volume is small. Pam has worked tirelessly troubleshooting infusion issues, working with other departments, such as vascular radiology and outpatient treatment area, to provide the best care for these patients."
- a colleague

Kelly Boyles, RN
Hill-Rom Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Words do not adequately express the way Kelly makes everyone feel at ease. She knows how and when to update families to keep them calm and how she makes everyone she works with feel supported and important. She uses her problem-solving skills each day in the operating room to alleviate delays, alert the doctor if there is an issue that needs prompt attention, and to help coworkers. "
- a colleague

Erica Jenelle Brewington, RN, CN II
DRH Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Erica always goes the extra mile with both patients and colleagues. When a patient lacked tooth paste, Erica did not leave the unit until it was found. She has a gorgeous smile and has a way of making any rough shift better. She presented a creative poster to our staff on SBAR communication, which improved teamwork. Erica is a very special nurse."
- a colleague

Judie Bringhurst, BSN, RN, CIC
Award for Excellence in Nursing Education
"For the past three years, Judie has been the voice of Infection Control & Prevention in Ambulatory Care. She has lead the way for clinics to become compliant with community, Joint Commission and Duke standards. She assessed current practices, took steps to address the most critical needs first, and developed a policy and competency checklist. She constantly teaches the staff the importance of infection control by telling them it’s simply “the right thing to do” for their patients and their families."
- a colleague

Cynthia J. Camille, MSN, RN, CPNP, FNP
Watson Family Award for Excellence in Patient/Family Education
"Cindy established an independent clinic knows as the ABCD (Achieving Bladder Control at Duke). Her unique patience and detail-orientation allow her to dig into the complex medical, developmental and social intricacies of each individual child/family to find effective solutions for daytime and nighttime bladder control disorders. So respected is she, that I will encounter families that ask for “Dr. Cindy Camille.”"
- a physician

Emily Z. Carter, BSN, RN
Hill-Rom Wound Care Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Emily continuously reads and keeps up to date on all aspects of her clinical practice in cardia electrophysiology, enabling her to come up with solutions or alternatives to standard measures for treating extremely complicated problems. In addition, she is able to identify side effects related to medications that even her supervising physician overlooks."
- a colleague

Jayne V. Cash, BSN, RN, CPON
Nurse Researcher Mentor Award
"Nothing is too difficult, time-consuming or challenging for Jayne when it comes to helping her patients and their families. A six-year-old patient from India traveled to the U.S. for a transplant. His family wanted to take him to Disney World for a few days before he was admitted to the transplant unit. With two days notice, Jayne helped arrange a Make-A-Wish trip so the patient could realize his dream before undergoing transplant. When I asked her how she managed to pull this off on such short notice, she replied with a big smile: “It was a lot of paperwork, but we got it done!"
- a colleague

Joni Danjczek, RN
DRH Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"It is simply a joy to work beside Joni. She conducts daily customer service and patient safety rounds for our patients. Her gentle touch soothes a patient who is worried about the results of their latest diagnostic test. She comforts another patient as they endure a terminal illness. Our physicians and interdisciplinary team members respect her opinion and enjoy working with her. Above all, she cares."
- a colleague

Nichole M. Diacumski, BSN, RN, CCRN, CN III
Ernestine Davis Cole Award for Excellence in MICU/CCU Nursing
"Nichole went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic with her BSN group. When she realized that HIV clinic and people of Dominican Republic were less fortunate, she arranged for donations of medical items and gently used scrubs. This shows not only her resourcefulness, but her compassion for those who are less fortunate."
- a colleague

Bonnie Albright Dickerson, BSN, RN, CN III
Hill-Rom Wound Care Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"When Bonnie is in charge of our CCU, staff knows that there is no situation that she cannot facilitate or problem solved. She has led the unit in quality campaigns and presented the data at Magnet conferences. She is a constant source of clinical information and is often teaching new and experienced staff. "
- a colleague

Mary Edgley, RN
DCHC Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"The Critical Care Unit was without a resource book for policy, and then one day one appeared. Mary created the most comprehensive book that any nurse in our unit could ask for. Another opportunity arose in caring for open-heart patients. Mary decided a comprehensive cart, with stocked supplies would improve care, and created one. The quiet strength of this woman embodies the true spirit of nursing."
- her manager

Anne Fitzgerald, RN
Terry L. Johnson Award for Excellence in Pediatric Nursing
"When our son was diagnosed with cancer at the age of two, our world changed forever. We had to battle a scary disease in a strange place with lots of unfamiliar places. Within weeks, however, the “Rainbow Day” nurses became our rays of sunshine. There was one in particular that became our rock, one we could trust implicitly and, more importantly, one our son considered his partner in crime."
- a patient’s mother

Frances Mariea Page Gregory, MBA, RN
Mary Ann & Robert H. Peter Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"I had a quick question about my peripherally inserted central catheter line dressing so I dropped by the clinic thinking the matter would only take a few moments to resolve. This process was more involved than I had anticipated, but Mariea persevered with the IV team to get the PICC placed. She monitored me closely, always explaining what was happening and assuring me that everything would be fine. The day after my procedure I was pleasantly surprise to get a phone call to make sure I was okay. While the entire two day process of fixing my PICC could have been a debacle, Mariea made it more than bearable.”
- a colleague

Sharon Y. Grooms, BSN, RN, LCCE
Award for Excellence in Women’s Health Nursing
"Sharon’s commitment to patient care, her connections to the community, and her deep knowledge of women’s health embody the very best of Duke nursing and make a difference in the lives of the patients we serve."
- a colleague

Laurie Hannigan, RN, CN III
Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing
"Laurie always finds a way to help co-workers, patients and family members. An elderly patient had two elderly visitors one night. When they were finished with their visit, they realized that they didn’t remember exactly where they had parked their car. There was no shuttle running that night, so Laurie escorted them in a wheelchair to Duke South parking deck, walked around until they found their car, and made sure they left the building safely."
- a colleague

Monica C. Harper, BSN, RN
Award for Excellence in Nursing Leadership
"Monica is a leader with a great heart and always tries to do the right thing for the right reason. She has the ability to pull a team together and tackle difficult problems, including difficult patients. She responds to complaints, concerns and praises with the same even temperament. Monica is a real team player and I am glad she is on my team."
- a physician

Kim Hemingway, RN, CN II
Nan and Hugh Cullman Heart Center Award for Excellence in Nursing
"There was a dying patient that didn’t have any friends or family at the bedside. When Kim realized that there was no one to accompany the patient on her journey to the end of life, she spent the day positioning the patient, performing mouth care and physical care even while caring for other patients. Because of the compassion she showed to this patient, we believe the patient had the most comfortable and pleasant death possible. This is the epitome of how nursing should be represented."
- several coworkers

Leigh Howard, MSN, RN, NP-C
Edward and Florence O’Keefe Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing Practice
"Leigh has taken a leadership role in our clinical group by developing clear protocols for patient scheduling and triage. For example, she developed a protocol by which our group communicates with community physicians referring patients to Duke, thereby strengthening our ties to the community. She has worked with new faculty to build their clinic models and ensure a streamlined transition and consistent patient care."
- a colleague

Judy-Anne King, BSN, RN
DRH Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"I want you to know how much we appreciate the help we got from Judy in caring for a patient with dialysis. It was unusual for our unit to have a patient with this need, and Judy was the utmost expert and professional in teaching both the patient and the nurses. She needs to be commended for her commitment to this hospital, but mostly for the patients."
- a nurse on a sister unit

Kenneth J. King, BSN, RN, CN IV
Award for Excellence in Critical Care Nursing
"Ken worked in ICU for several years, but then left to work in another unit. Wow, we found out how important he was to the team when he was no longer there. Before leaving, Ken had established himself as a leader, devising new ways to improve efficiencies, such as restructuring supply system reorganizing physical layout of the unit and altering workflow patterns. Since returning, he has improved communication between doctors and nurses by developing a new paradigm for online communication. Talk about innovative…this is an idea that will take off in the computerized world of tomorrow."
 - a colleague

Amy M. Kramer, RN, CN II
Drew Award for Excellence in Hospice Nursing Practice
"Amy exemplifies the qualities of a great nurse. She has outstanding customer service, the respect of her co-workers and a dedication to providing the highest quality of care to her patients. A patient’s relative wrote the following letter: Thanks are not enough for someone who fought this battle with us daily. You are the best; you made us laugh, gave us sound advice and amazing care. We had the good time we had the past several months due to the fact that your work is more than a job to you. You care and it shows. It was a great comfort. I remain forever grateful."
- a colleague

Deborah LaBelle-Scarfo, BSN, RN
Norma L. Harris Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Debbie coordinates the Annual Epilepsy Symposium at Duke, including finding funding for the program, identifying speakers and conducting contract negotiations. This symposium educates patients and families about epilepsy. These patients are so grateful for the information that is shared there; I saw hope on the face of many people who were struggling to find educational resources."
 - a colleague

Cynthia Lopez, BSN, RN, CN II
Ernestine Davis Cole Award for Excellence in MICU/CCU Nursing
"One night the hospital was on Intensive Care Unit divert with no beds open. Throughout the night there were three Rapid Response Teams that MICU responded to and an admission from an outside hospital. These events took most of the night to resolve, including moving patients to their appropriate level of care. Cindy’s expertise, knowledge and ability to collaborate and coordinate, made all the difference in what could have easily become an unmanageable night.”
- a colleague

Rhonda M. Lovelace, BSN, RN
DCHC Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Rhonda is a transformational leader. In just two short years this manager has taken a unit with high turnover and poor morale, to a unit with zero staff openings, great patient and staff satisfaction, and the highest teamwork scores. She is hands-on, visible, approachable, and loved by the staff and physicians and patients. Rhonda rocks!"
- a DRH physician

Sherry Malthouse-Dufore, BSN, RN
Evelyn Morgan Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing
"We first met Sherry when my wife was referred to Dr. Brian Brigman at Duke. It was during that first examination that we noticed that Sherry was very talented. During the following years, my wife had three major operations and 13 minor surgeries. Sherry would visit us in the room to comfort my wife and bring gifts to cheer her up. After she passed away, Sherry attended her memorial services in Raleigh. This type of dedication is well above the call of duty or any expectations."
- a patient’s husband

Sevda Mirza, RN, CN II
DRH Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Sevda was key in leading several unit initiatives including “no IV beeping on our unit” and the “buddy system” to greatly improve the teamwork of the units. She promoted our flu vaccine campaign, which helped our unit be 100 percent compliant with vaccinations. Patients love her and her colleagues hold her in highest esteem."
- Director of Medical Service Line

Ashley Neville, BSN, RN, CGRN, CN IV
DRH Medical Staff Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Ashley researched and created a hospital-wide policy for the use of sedation with sleep apnea patients. She developed a data collection tool and has improved safety with patient care. She has been promoted to expert, CN IV level and continues to lead improvements in patient processes."
- her manager

Gina Barry Oldham, RN, CN II
Nan and Hugh Cullman Heart Center Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"Gina epitomizes all the wonderful qualities of what an outstanding nurse should be. She provides outstanding patient care with a caring and compassionate attitude. She excels in recognizing her staff, sending e-mails to the managers as well as to the employee. Her drive to recognize staff has resulted in a ‘thank you’ board where staff can now publicly thank each other. Gina works quietly behind the scenes to promote high quality patient care and a dynamic working environment."
- a colleague

Catherine Simmons, MSN, RN, NNP
Inez “Turk” James Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
 "Cathy has been a role model for nursing as long as I can remember. This past year she educated the entire staff on how to provide neuro-developmental care of neonates on our unit. This campaign will greatly impact our tiny babies for the rest of their lives. It will increase their ability to easily transition from state to state; increase the quality of sleep which promotes growth and healing; decreases damage to their hearing; and promotes bonding with the families. The benefits to babies and families go on and on."
- a colleague

Ann White, MSN, RN, CCNS, CEN, CPEN
Award for Excellence in Emergency Trauma/Nursing
"Ann exemplifies continuous quality improvement in the Emergency Department (ED), leading and supporting creative initiatives to improve venous access alternatives, care of the pregnant patient delivering in the ED, and the ability of new interns to navigate the ED. She is an enthusiastic collaborator, working with those whose patient population often begins in the ED, including helping to develop a process to ensure dysphagia screening of stroke patients in ED and an education and patient management plan for patient with Ventricular Assist Devices who present to the ED. In addition to sharing her expertise with staff throughout the institution, Ann demonstrates incredible commitment to advancing knowledge in all ED professionals. She publishes and presents at national meetings regularly, and mentors RNs in their clinical ladder projects and novice writing and presenting efforts."
- a colleague

Brenda M. Wilcox, BSN, RN, OCN
Maddocks Award for Excellence in Medical Surgical Nursing
"When Brenda discovered that our clinic did not have a policy for oral chemotherapy, she took the initiative to gather information and formulate a policy for our patients. Once the policy is approved, floor nurses in the hospital will be able to use this policy to teach their patients. She spent her own time away from work writing the policy and home instructions for patients to use."               - a colleague

Gerda Williams, RN, CN III
Janet H. Clapp Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"In September 2008, I underwent extensive back surgery for severe back problems and a compressed nerve. Gerda was the nurse assigned to me during my stay. I could see the concern she had for me. She would explain the process of my recovery, step by step. Compassion is the best word to explain her actions. I have always been a physically strong person, but at this time I felt almost helpless and not in control of my physical well-being. I am not a very emotional person, but when I think of this nurse and the care she provided, it brings tears to my eyes. I will probably never write another letter like this in my life so I write this to let you know what a valuable nurse you have. In my career I have been around nurses and doctors. I have seen some good and some average. This nurse is the best I have ever encountered."
- a patient

Cary Wright, Jr., RN, CN II
Heart Center Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Nursing in Recognition of Mary Ann Peter
"I feel safe knowing Cary has now become a charge nurse. He has made many sound decisions regarding patient safety and care. A couple of times this warranted transferring patients into the Critical Care Unit. Having worked night weekends for the past 11 years, I know that if anything is going to happen, it will most likely happen at night. Cary is like an angel watching over us, checking with staff to make sure they know he is there to help."
- a colleague

Heather Wright, RN, CN III
DRH Auxiliary Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice
"An excellent preceptor and nurse, Heather recently educated our staff on “kangaroo care” for babies. She advocates for all families, often helping and encouraging exhausted moms with breast-feeding. She led the unit in changing its delivery model of care to improve patient outcomes. Heather is a consummate team player, always willing to help patients and her peers."
- a colleague