Rhonda Scott, Ph.D., chief nursing officer and senior vice president of patient care services for Grady Health System, has been appointed to a four-year term on the National Advisory Council on Education and Practice. She was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt.
The council advises and makes recommendations to Leavitt and Congress regarding nursing education and practice.
During her 23-year nursing career, Scott has been an administrator, a clinical nurse specialist, a consultant, an educator, a researcher, an author and an entrepreneur. She is a member of several professional nursing associations and has served as president of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists.
A FINE FELLOWSHIP: John Summerville, RN, MN, an assistant professor in the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing at Mercer University, is one of 12 educators in Georgia selected to participate in the Governor's Teaching Fellows Program this summer. Faculty members are selected based on excellence in teaching, interest in continuing to improve instruction and ability to have an impact on their home campuses.
The program was established in 1995 by former Gov. Zell Miller to provide Georgia's higher education faculty with expanded opportunities to develop teaching skills. Summerville will attend a two-week symposium at the University of Georgia that will include instruction, faculty development activities and independent study.
DMC HONORS: DeKalb Medical Center in Decatur recently named Barbara Kleynen, RN, as its leader of the year for 2007. A graduate of Georgia Perimeter College, Kleynen has worked at DeKalb Medical Center for 24 years.
Kleynen, patient care services project coordinator, was nominated and selected by her peers.
Beth Birmingham, an occupational therapist for 13 years, was recognized as employee of the year for 2007. Birmingham was recently certified as a hand therapist, with special training for carpal tunnel syndrome and other hand-related injuries.
SUPPLY-CHAIN EXCELLENCE: Susanne Touchtone, RN, MSA, CNOR, director of supply chain management at MCG Health in Augusta, has earned the certified materials and resource professional designation, presented by the American Hospital Association Certification Center.
The certification distinguishes someone as among the elite in health care materials management.
THREE-TIME WINNER: For the third time in four years, MCG Health System in Augusta was named to the Community Value Index Top 100 hospitals list. The annual list, published in Cleverley & Associates' State of the Hospital Industry 2007 edition, identifies hospitals in terms of value to the community, which is defined by financial strength, reinvestment, cost of care and pricing.
MCG Health System was the only Georgia hospital in the top 100 this year.
CERTIFICATION CELEBRATION: Piedmont Hospital recently became the only hospital to earn four disease-specific program certifications from The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Piedmont holds disease-specific certification for its stroke, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and orthopedic joint-replacement programs.
The distinction is earned through extensive on-site evaluations by a team of Joint Commission reviewers every two years.
Piedmont Hospital was also named a recipient of the 2007 Distinguished Hospital Award for Patient Safety for the second year by HealthGrades, a health care ratings company.
CANCER CENTER ACCOLADES: The Commission on Cancer, an affiliate of the American College of Surgeons, has recognized Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville, Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville and Memorial Health System in Savannah with CoC Outstanding Achievement Awards. The Georgia facilities were among 30 U.S. programs to receive the awards this year, placing them in the top 6 percent of those surveyed.
Established in 2004, the CoC Outstanding Achievement Award is designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing high-quality care to cancer patients.
— Do you have any news briefs for Pulse? If so, send an e-mail to pulseeditor@ajc.com.