Fourteen members of the Atlanta Association of Health Care Recruiters (AAHCR) were honored at the second annual ajcjobs 2012 Outstanding Recruiters Awards on June 5. About 75 people attended the Olympic-themed event at Cox Enterprises headquarters, which marked National Healthcare Recruiters Recognition Day.
The top honorees were Taylor Day of Northeast Georgia Health System and Kara Morgan and Stephanie Sawtell of Tanner Health System.
Day, who was nominated by Lee Alexander and Jamila Leavell, was cited for doing an exemplary job as the organization’s only nurse recruiter.
“Taylor is perhaps one of the most dedicated recruiters I have ever seen. She works nights, weekends whatever it takes to get the job done,” Alexander said.
“She goes above and beyond the call of duty, and makes herself available, even if it means doing a phone interview while driving down the highway headed to the airport for a nursing job fair,” Leavell added.
Morgan and Sawtell were nominated by Vette Carr, who emphasized their dedication and versatility.
“These two ladies are outstanding recruiters who go above and beyond to make applicants feel special, even if employment is not offered to them,” Carr said.
The other nominees were Amanda Byrne, Megan Lewis, Melissa Madden and Allison Green of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Stephanie Walton from Northside Hospital; Heather Belcher from WellStar Health System; and Sharon Rogers, Carol McDermott, Lisa Lohr, Almeta Collins and Heather McCranie from DeKalb Medical.
AAHCR, the Atlanta chapter of the National Association for Health Care Recruitment, is a network with a mission of providing leadership and support to area health care recruitment through advocacy, education, networking and professional development.
On board: The American Nurses Foundation has appointed Tim Porter-O'Grady to its Board of Trustees. The ANF is the charitable and philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association.
Porter-O’Grady, Dm, EdD, ScD(h), FAAN, has been involved in health care for more than 40 years and has held roles from staff nurse to senior executive in various health care settings. He is senior partner of Tim Porter-O’Grady Associates, a health care consulting firm in Atlanta.
As associate professor and leadership scholar at Arizona State University’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation, he has co-led the implementation of the new masters, Ph.D. and DNP tracks in health innovation.
Best in show: M. "Missy" Angeline Pratt, assistant vice president of perioperative services at Georgia Health Sciences Medical Center in Augusta, was named CSRA Nurse of the Year at the 2012 Nursing Showcase hosted by the CSRA chapter of the Georgia Nurses Association.
Pratt was cited for being a skilled mentor, educator and nurse. She also received the Nurse Administrator of the Year award at the banquet.
Pratt supervises 20 operating rooms, two women’s operating rooms, perfusion services, anesthesia services, postanesthesia care units, same day services, endoscopy, central sterile reprocessing and OR purchasing/materials.
Margaret Johnson, senior staff nurse in adult perioperative services, was named Nurse Educator/Researcher of the Year. Sue Andrews, perianesthesia manager, was awarded Nurse Manager of the Year.
Twelve more GHS nurses received Spirit of Nursing awards for reflecting a positive image of the profession and serving as role models and mentors to other nurses. They are Brenda Pitt, Emergency Department; Dieredre Grzeskiewicz, Emergency Department; Sarah Cartwright, Adult Perioperative Services; Debra Marranci, Adult Perioperative Services; Neva Harrsion, Medical Office Building; Tod Schnetzler, Medical Office Building; Susan Gurley, Children’s Medical Center; Leesa Mary Hancock, Children’s Medical Center; Pamela Gardner, Patient Care Services; Rochelle Hunt-Kahn, Patient Care Services; Kathryn Mathis, Patient Care Services; and Kelli Holder, Patient Care Services.
The Georgia Association of PeriAnesthesia Nurses also recognized Mariamma John, a nurse at GHS Medical Center, with a Spirit of Nursing award.
Nurse of the year: Sarah Bentley, a North Fulton Hospital Daisy award in November, recently was named the Roswell hospital's nurse of the year. Bentley, who works in North Fulton's medical telemetry unit, was overwhelmed at a ceremony before co-workers.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” the fifth-year nurse said. “Where else can you wear pajamas to work?”
Telemedicine network grant: Emory University has received a $10.7 million federal health care award to build a telemedicine network for intensive care units in North Georgia. The effort aims to improve critical care for patients in rural and underserved areas by combining specialty training for nurse practitioners and physician assistants with telemedicine services. The award is one of 26 nationwide made possible by the health care law that aims to reduce health spending by $254 million during the next three years, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Dean becomes VP: Dr. Hewitt W. (Ted) Matthews has been named senior vice president for health sciences at Mercer University, effective July 1. Matthews will continue to serve as dean of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
The appointment coincides with the establishment of an academic health center at Mercer that will be composed of the School of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing. The Mercer Board of Trustees approved the formation of the Mercer Health Sciences Center, which became operational July 1, and the establishment of the College of Health Professions, which will become Mercer’s 12th academic unit on July 1, 2013.
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