Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University conferred bachelor's of science degrees to 56 nursing graduates on May 3.

Three graduates were recognized for outstanding achievement during the ceremony.

Kimberly Brooke Roe of Hampton won the Davison-McKie-Newton Award for outstanding scholarship and clinical work in the BSN program. Angela Ashby Hawthorne of Atlanta won the Davison-McKie-Newton Award for the RN-BSN program. Pamela Jeannene Loundy of Stone Mountain was named Nursing Student of the Year.

Associate professor Rebecca L. Shabo, Ph.D. won the Distinguished Faculty of the Year award.

Libby V. Morris, Ph.D., director of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia, delivered the commencement address.

NEW CRITICAL-CARE DIRECTOR: Piedmont Newnan Hospital has named Betsy Jackson director of critical care services. She will be responsible for the hospital's 12-bed intensive care unit and 21-bed progressive care unit.

"Betsy has been a valued staff member of the Piedmont Newnan family for more than 15 years," said Peggie Lawson, vice president of patient care services. "With her expertise and experience, we are delighted to have Betsy lead our critical care services department."

NIEB TO LEAD CENTER: Piedmont Healthcare and Mercer University in Atlanta have appointed Sharon L. Nieb the new executive director of the Center for Health and Learning.

In 2005 the institutions established the center to provide solutions to challenges in health care delivery, education and research.

"Nieb brings tremendous expertise and experience to this new position," said Richard Swindle, Ph.D., senior vice president of Mercer University, Atlanta. "Her extensive background in program development, grant coordination, operational management and strategic planning will move the Center for Health and Learning forward effectively and efficiently."

Nieb has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Jane Fonda Center at Emory University School of Medicine and Memorial Hospital of South Bend, Ind.

LIVER-TRANSPLANT INNOVATION: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has acquired a new Habib electrosurgical device to split livers for pediatric transplant patients.

Dr. Thomas Heffron, who directs the liver transplant program at Children's, was the first surgeon in Georgia to perform a pediatric split-liver transplant and has already used the new technology.

The device stems blood loss that occurs during liver-transplant surgery and shortens the surgery time — sometimes by more than two hours — because of the preciseness of the blades.

Heffron has performed more than 140 living-donor transplants. Using the bisection technique to remove a left lobe from a living donor, the liver is able to be split. It regenerates to its previous size within a few weeks. The new technology will enlarge the donor pool and allow more children to get transplants sooner.

"Splitting the liver using the Habib knife is just one more innovation in the quickly evolving field of liver transplantation, which is getting better for children," Heffron said. "We are hopeful that we will soon advance to the point where nobody in the United States will die while waiting on the liver-transplant list."

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