Leadership - May 2019
The Leadership category recognizes those in nursing management, which includes directors, nurse managers, associate nurse managers, shift managers, project and program managers, administrative officers, shift managers, and other leaders.
This year’s honorees are:
- Melissa Dinsmore, MSN, RN, CCNS
- Annette Drake, MS, RN, CRRN, CBIS
- Amanda Farley, BSN, RN, CCRN
- Amy Grady, BSN, RN
- Amanda (Kate) Hagner, BSN, RN, ACM
- Sheila Hawley MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CRNI, WCC, OMS
- Jennifer Long, BSN, RN
- Jill Ruchty, BSN, RN
- Sara Strickland, MBA, RN, RN-BC
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Melissa Dinsmore, MSN, RN, CCNS
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Annette Drake, MS, RN, CRRN, CBIS
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Amanda Farley, BSN, RN, CCRN
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Amy Grady, BSN, RN
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Amanda (Kate) Hagner, BSN, RN, ACM
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Sheila Hawley, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CRNI, WCC, OMS
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Jennifer Long, BSN, RN
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Jill Ruchty, BSN, RN
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Sara Strickland, MBA, RN, RN-BC
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This Orthopedic APRN developed a plan at Atrium on how to incorporate the orthopedic bundling and proper patient flow for hip and knee patients. Melissa works closely with the case managers and the physicians to ensure the patients on 4 North and 4 South are receiving best practice care. The nursing staff often comment how much of an asset she is. They appreciate her expertise. She often helps them troubleshoot while expanding the clinical nurses’ knowledge. She helps them to critically think through difficult situations and inspires the nurses to reach higher levels of thinking. She has been an integral part of the Sepsis Crisis Committee. She goes above and beyond to make sure the nursing staff have what they need and is involved with every patient on her unit in some form. She teaches the Orthopedic Joint classes for AMC and is integral in preventing readmissions. She is an important part of the team and deserves to be acknowledged for her hard work and for keeping patients at the center of all she does.
Annette deserves to be recognized for being a Mighty Mo Magnet Maker! Over the past several years, she has helped Premier Health to achieve Magnet system status. This has not been an easy venture, with numerous twists and detours along the way. She worked so hard and did it all with dignity, grace, and exemplifying RICE and HEART even when she was exhausted. Long hours, many evenings, and weekends were given to prepare and complete the best document for ANCC, as well as preparation for MOCK site visits, and the ANCC official evaluation in November. Her focus since Day 1 of the Magnet journey has been that we ARE Magnet nurses and designation is validation of that truth. And this journey makes a HUGE POSITIVE difference for our nurses, our patients and the entire system. Through the deadlines, projects, meetings, and work groups, I never observed her turn away anyone who had a need; compassion, patience, listening and keeping promises prevailed throughout the Magnet journey, no matter how tough it became. She brings incredible depth to what it means to be “Premier Proud” and that spirit is evident in every aspect of her life.
We are fortunate that Amanda chose to transition to our unit when Good Samaritan Hospital closed. She came to a new unit and was willing to be a team leader in a high-acuity ICU. She displays our core values of respect, integrity, compassion and excellence through every interaction, every time. She is an exceptional team leader who leads by example. There was a day when we had a very high volume of surgeries along with a large volume of very acutely ill patients. Amanda led the unit in a calm, pleasant manner. She is positive and capable of clearly communicating our needs to other leaders and staff while being pulled in many directions. Amanda ensures that our patients and families receive the best care by always having the focus on their needs. This nurse is really a standout leader who demonstrates a daily practice of Premier Health’s mission.
Amy has done excellent work in her role as she transitioned from Good Samaritan Hospital to Miami Valley Hospital North. She helped organize everything that the case manager would need at Miami Valley Hospital North to make her role successful. She has used humor to make the bumps in the road seem not so bad. Census has been higher than expected and she has taken on the challenge of seeing all patients at the Miami Valley Hospital North campus with a positive attitude. She calls with questions and works hard to make sure all of her patients have their needs met prior to discharge. I am happy that she made this transition smoothly and ensured that there were no hiccups in providing patients with what they need. I appreciate her leadership and innovation.
Kate has done an excellent job in boosting the morale among the team by implementing multiple Premier Proud initiatives, ensuring the staff understand their importance within day-to-day operations, and bringing in a great sense of humor. She works very closely with our providers to help take care of last-minute appointment requests and has played an important role in creating access for our patients. She has excellent service recovery skills, isn’t afraid to work the front line, and has high expectations for all of her staff. This clinical practice manager treats each employee and patient with the utmost respect. Since she has been in this role, our clinic has changed dramatically because of her leadership skills. Kate, you’re one of the reasons why I get up and feel like coming to work on a daily basis because of your positivity. You rock!
Sheila is an APRN who developed and manages the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program at Atrium Medical Center. The program has been so successful that other Premier Health facilities have adopted it. Sheila is a wealth of knowledge and helps all who ask for help. She brings new nurses into her office and provides them with in-depth wound and pressure ulcer education. She goes out of her way for every patient, every time. The physicians completely rely on her expertise to assess, evaluate, and develop a treatment plan for their patients, and to treat their patients’ wounds and ostomies. Physicians often ask for her expert opinion about proper treatments for their patients. Patients who have had the pleasure of being treated by Sheila ask for her by name. She goes above and beyond to help in Atrium’s wound clinic by covering for the physicians. She has a heart of gold and deserves to be acknowledged for how hard she works and contributes to Premier Health’s mission. We are fortunate to be blessed by her presence and learn so much from her about how to be a caring nurse.
Jennifer is a creative leader who consistently thinks out-of-the-box to ensure our staff are engaged. You may see her running the halls in a Minion costume or pushing a hot chocolate bar cart to show the staff she’ll do anything to bring joy to their jobs and let them know she appreciates the great care they provide to our patients. She’s often the brains behind new, fun ideas to increase our quality indicators, or behind a friendly competition to increase our hand-washing compliance. This past Christmas, a patient shared with her that this was her first Christmas without her loved one and was a little depressed about it. After Jennifer rounded, she went down to the gift shop and purchased a lighted Christmas tree for the patient, just to brighten up her day. Jennifer is never more than a phone call away when I need help. One night, when we had an unexpected power outage, I called her on her drive home and explained what was going on. She did not want to leave me alone so she drove back to work after getting home – a 45-minute drive.
Jill stepped into a leadership role within the past year and has soared as a team leader of a very busy and challenging cardiac telemetry unit. This was naturally the next step in her career as Jill is a born leader. Jill is a very motivated individual and strives to be the best she can be and motivates her team to do the same. She remains calm and level-headed under pressure. She makes decisions based on the best interests of the patients and her team, keeping safety at the forefront. Jill is very involved in initiatives and projects that improve patient care and safety and peer engagement. Her presence alone ensures that everything is going to be just fine. She is such an asset to our team and we are so lucky to be graced with her presence.
Sara approaches each day with enthusiasm and positivity, and is a bundle of energy. Staff say she is a big reason why they love working in Rehab. Sara treats staff like family and is deeply committed to their individual success, both professionally and personally. She consistently sends encouraging cards and texts, demonstrating her value of staff. She maintains focus on the positive impacts of upcoming changes in communication with staff and is a strong advocate for us. Sara cares for staff as if we were family, maintaining a balance of focus on care for employees and care for patients. She recognizes opportunities to invest in and develop others that are both aligned with professional goals and will ultimately lead to their professional success. Although focused on staff, she never wavers from patients’ priorities, utilizing opportunities encountered in daily huddles to coach and mentor others, and checking to ensure correct interventions are in place and followed through with to ensure each patient will be equipped to self-manage in a home environment. Sara is deserving of this recognition because of her demonstration of commitment to people; both the people we are caring for and the people being led.<<Back to Premier Nursing News - May 2019
