On Wednesday, ajcjobs honored the 10 finalists and winners of its second annual Nursing Excellence Awards at a luncheon attended by friends, family and health care professionals.
Christina Woods (center) gets a hug from Sue Jordan, whose grandson Justin Jordan received exceptional care from Woods during an emergency visit to Egleston Hospital of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Karen Jordan-Allen (right), the teen's mother, nominated Woods and said that the nurse helped to give their family time to say goodbye to him before his death.
From a highly competitive field of 255 nominations, the judges selected Allison Ellison, Maxine Follmer, Traci MacDonald, Sharie McCune, Chris Nell-Dybdahl, Rebekah Rabinowitz, Quinetta Williams and the three top honorees, Stephanie Rollins, Connie Trent and Christina Woods.
The finalists represented various specialties, including hospital nursing, oncology nursing, hospice nursing, school nursing and the advanced practice role of nurse practitioner. They were nominated by patients and their families or by co-workers not only for their excellent skills but also for their compassion in going above and beyond the call of duty.
Karen Jordan-Allen, who nominated Woods, told of how her 18-year-old son's vital systems crashed while he was being ventilated at Egleston Hospital of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. An extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine was needed to save his life, but all were in use. Woods, who was off her shift, knew of one in a box and spent the night assembling it, stabilizing Justin Jordan, and caring for him and his family afterward.
Jordan's illness eventually took his life, but Woods' care "gave us two weeks to say our goodbyes," Jordan-Allen said. "I want to thank the AJC for giving us this wonderful opportunity to honor Christina."
Nurses consistently rank at the top of the Gallup Poll of the Honesty and Ethical Standards of Professions Survey, and Wednesday's event showed why. Nurses are among the most trusted professionals because their role is to be with patients, get the most from complex and ever-changing technology, explain difficult diagnoses, answer unasked questions and perceive unspoken fears.
Melissa Carter (right), co-host of the Bert Show on Q100, was the keynote speaker and is a survivor of a kidney transplant. "If it weren't for nurses, I wouldn't be standing here today," she said.
Everyone knows that nurses help patients get better, but they are also the "social support and patients' advocate — the unsung heroes on the front line of health care," said keynote speaker Melissa Carter, co-host of the Bert Show on Q100 radio. "If it weren't for nurses, I wouldn't be standing here today. You all deserve to be honored."
Diagnosed with kidney disease in 1997 at age 27, Carter underwent dialysis and a successful kidney transplant in 2002. She read entries from the journal of her illness — entries dotted with the names of nurses who prayed for her, held her hand during procedures, listened to her vent during dialysis, and, after a 12-hour clinic shift, attended a station party to wish her well before surgery.
"Nurses formed the bridge that carried me from death to life . . . and I am honored to be your patient," Carter said.
That bridge is in need of structural repair, as the nursing work force is aging and the number of patients is growing. The Health Resources and Services Administration predicts that the country will need an additional 800,000 nurses by 2020.
While applications to nursing schools are up, schools turn away five to 20 students for every one accepted because of the lack of nursing faculty and classroom space, noted David Bennett, chairman of the WellStar School of Nursing at Kennesaw State University.
Georgia is addressing the problem by funding new health-science buildings; creating satellite and online programs to train more nurses and nursing faculty; and fostering university/hospital partnerships to finance scholarships and get more nurses into the pipeline.