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Emory Healthcare’s Marilyn Margolis was awarded the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Hospital Association at the Hospital Heroes luncheon in December. Margolis, who for more than 30 years at Emory has cared for patients, taught students and developed patient safety and nurse retention models, is the chief nursing officer and vice president of patient services and operations at Emory Johns Creek Hospital.
Margolis, RN, began her career at Emory in 1982. Before being promoted to her current position in 2011, she served as a staff leader in the coronary care unit at Emory University Hospital, unit director of the Emory University Hospital Emergency Department, director of nursing for Emory Healthcare’s Emergency Services, director of nursing for neurosciences at Emory University Hospital and director of nursing operations at Emory University Hospital.
“I have worked with Marilyn for over 15 years and what strikes me is her remarkable heart. She truly cares about people: her peers, colleagues, patients, families and friends,” said Dr. Douglas Lowery-North, vice chair for Emory’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “As she has grown through the ranks, she has not waivered on this being her true north and this is what inspires others to be better and to want to be a part of her team. She continues to impress me with her unending enthusiasm, incredible work ethic and unremitting commitment to excellence. Marilyn is truly a shining star in the Emory network.”
She also served as a team leader and champion for University HealthSystem Consortium implementation for best practices, which resulted in systemwide improvements and recognition by UHC.
Training grant: The Elton John AIDS Foundation has awarded the School of Public Health at Georgia State University a $50,000 grant to support training of ex-offenders to work with high-risk populations affected by HIV/AIDS.
As a result, neighborhoods in metro Atlanta will be better able to provide vital care to those populations that are hard to reach and ex-offenders will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful employment.
The six-month pilot program will lead to the training of a dozen peer guides and ultimately to jobs in local health clinics, AIDS service organizations, community-based organizations and research institutions.
“Traditionally, HIV screening is performed at clinical sites or at venues that are deemed places of potential risk,” said Donna Smith, a faculty member at the School of Public Health, who is leading the project. “Peer guides trained through this program will provide education, testing and linkage to care outside of clinical settings.”
The program will consist of a supervised internship as well as 10 four-hour training modules designed to enhance peer guides’ ability to help HIV-positive persons navigate social and medical services and provide HIV testing, counseling and education in high-risk communities. The intensive training period will be followed by a 10-week internship at a local AIDS service organization.
Research partnership: Northside Hospital's blood and marrow transplant program is the only program in Georgia, and just one of 10 in the country, selected to participate in the Blood Cancer Research Partnership established by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The partnership is a network of sites for clinical trial testing of innovative blood cancer therapies in community oncology settings across the country. The effort brings clinical trials closer to where patients live and helps address one of the primary bottlenecks in the development of new cancer therapies: the need for more patients to take part in trials.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute believes the collaboration between community oncologists and Dana-Farber physicians will accelerate the advancement and expansion of access to clinical trials for blood cancer patients being treated at community sites. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has invested $1,050,000 in the three-year project.
“Northside is honored to be a part of such a distinguished group of transplant centers, who are united in their commitment to improving the outcomes for patients with life-threatening blood disorders” said Asad Bashey, M.D., Ph.D., medical director, BMT research program at Northside Hospital.
Excellence in nursing: Seven Emory nurses received top honors at the 2013 Nurse of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Georgia Chapter of the March of Dimes in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. More than 800 nurses were nominated from across the state.
Through the awards, the March of Dimes recognizes nurses who demonstrate exceptional patient care, compassion and service. Whether serving as a health care provider, educator, researcher or chapter volunteer/advisor, these nurses were cited for playing a critical role in improving the health of Georgia’s residents.
Emory nurses were awarded in the following categories:
Debbie Gunter, RN, Emory University Hospital (Hospice/Home Health/Palliative Care).
Roberta Kaplow, Ph.D., RN, Emory University Hospital (Oncology).
Mylinh Yun, RN, Emory University Hospital (Rising Star).
Mary Zellinger, RN, Emory University Hospital (Advanced Practice).
Mary Gullatte, Ph.D., RN, Emory University Hospital Midtown (Administration).
Angela Amar, Ph.D., RN, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (Behavioral Health).
Tami Thomas, Ph.D., RN, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing (Informatics, Research and Evidence-Based Practice).
