ANCC Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
The Magnet Nurse of the Year Awards recognize the outstanding contributions of clinical nurses in Magnet® designated organizations by acknowledging clinical nurse contributions exemplifying excellence in leadership, innovation, and professional risk-taking in the context of each of the five Magnet® Model Components:
Transformational Leadership
Structural Empowerment
Exemplary Professional Practice
New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvements
Empirical Outcomes
2024 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Anita Rich, DNP, RN, CHFN, CDCES, CGNC
Emory Johns Creek Hospital
Dr. Anita Rich is the Heart Failure Coordinator & Diabetes Care and Education Specialist at Emory Johns Creek Hospital. She has had a significant and sustained impact on nursing in her own hospital and in developing countries. Dr. Rich played a pivotal role in establishing the hospital’s inpatient and outpatient heart failure (HF) services, including the development of an electronic dashboard to track the adoption of guideline-directed medication therapy (GDMT). Her leadership in increasing GDMT initiation contributed to a reduction in 30-day HF readmission rates, from 23.3% to 13.1% in just 18 months. Dr. Rich’s impact extends beyond her community through her nonprofit, Nurses Heart to Heart, which empowers nurses in war-torn and developing regions of the world. She has traveled to all Mongolian provinces to train and provide equipment for nurses, midwives, and health care workers in administering life-saving care. In Iraq she helped establish the Nursing and Midwifery Development Centre and has supported scholarships for women in Iraqi refugee camps to attend nursing school. Recently, she earned board certification as a Global Nurse Consultant through the International Council of Nurses (ICN), further affirming her commitment to advancing nursing practice on a global scale. The Transformational Leadership award is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.
Structural Empowerment: Katrina Brown, MSN, RN, CEN, SANE
Vanderbilt University Hospital
Katrina Brown is a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) and clinical nurse in the Emergency Department at Vanderbilt University Hospital. She has dedicated her career to transforming care for victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. As one of the first SANEs at Vanderbilt, Katrina led the establishment of a highly respected SANE Program, empowering clinical nurses to improve access to and quality of care for vulnerable populations in the community. Her efforts to uphold professional standards have shaped SANE training at Vanderbilt and across the broader community. Through her patient-centered approach, Katrina secured a Department of Justice grant to expand the program in certain regions of Tennessee. She is now working to launch Tennessee's first comprehensive Forensic Nurse Examiner program at Vanderbilt to improve patient outcomes. Recognized as a trusted forensic nursing expert, she is also collaborating with other agencies to develop local protocols for response to patients seeking care following sexual assault, intimate partner violence/strangulation, and human trafficking. Katrina's influence spans across disciplines, law enforcement, and communities to significantly change the care that victims of sexual assault receive at Vanderbilt and throughout the state.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Diane Scheb, MSN, RN, AP-PMN, PMGT-BC
Sarasota Memorial Health Care System
Diane Scheb is the Advanced Specialty Program Coordinator for the interprofessional Acute Pain Service (APS) at Sarasota Memorial Health Care System in Sarasota Florida. She has 28 years of experience in pain management, earning the reputation of being a leader in advancing innovation, professional risk-taking, and excellence in leadership at her organization. One of her most notable achievements was petitioning the Florida Board of Nursing to update the registered nurse (RN) scope of practice, allowing RNs to administer ketamine infusions to qualifying patients. During the height of the opioid crisis, Diane recognized the potential for low-dose ketamine to benefit opioid-tolerant patients by providing a safe and effective alternative for managing pain. This innovative approach has reduced opioid intake and improved care for patients suffering from neuropathic pain. To date, 38 patients have benefitted from this treatment, and her efforts have helped expand nursing practice in Florida. Diane’s unwavering compassion and dedication to improving care for patients with complex, multifaceted pain conditions demonstrates her outstanding commitment to the profession. The Exemplary Professional Practice award is sponsored by EBSCO.
New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvements: Kayla Witthoeft, BSN, RN, ONC, CPAN
Prisma Health Oconee Memorial
Kayla Witthoeft is a post-anesthesia and critical care nurse at Prisma Health Oconee Memorial in Seneca, South Carolina. An extraordinary clinical nurse, nursing educator, and published researcher, Kayla’s research accomplishments are impressive. Her dedication to post- anesthesia care has profoundly advanced surgical outcomes, particularly in vulnerable pediatric patients. Her innovative approach to addressing emergence delirium in pediatric patients led to a 42% reduction in pediatric anesthesia emergence delirium scores through a collaborative and interdisciplinary project, “Decreasing Emergence Delirium in Pediatric Surgical Patients with IV Dexmedetomidine.” Additionally, her leadership in the collaborative project “Preoperative warming: How and Why to Prevent Hypothermia in Peri-Anesthesia” reduced postoperative hypothermia by 50% and shivering rates by 300%. Recently, Kayla was invited to present her findings at the International Collaboration of Peri-Anesthesia Nurse Conference in Amsterdam, marking her as a global thought leader in pediatric surgical care improvement. The New Knowledge, Innovations and Improvements award is sponsored by Purdue University Global.
Empirical Outcomes: Leah Rawdon, DNP, APRN-CPNP
Akron Children’s Hospital
Dr. Leah Rawdon is the Lead Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Akron Children’s Hospital. She has served in roles from Nurse Tech to Float Pool Nurse to her current role as Lead Nurse Practitioner for the organization’s Hospital Medicine Group. She also spearheaded the development of the Hospital Medicine Advanced Practice Provider (APP) program, leading a team of over 16 nurse practitioners across two campuses. Under her leadership, APPs have expanded their scope of practice, including admitting and discharging patients, maximizing their impact. Her impressive contributions include creating a Short Stay Unit to improve hospital throughput, which successfully reduced both costs and length of stay for hospital medical patients. Dr. Rawdon’s innovative work on the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis pathway led to a significant reduction in patient length of stay, benefiting both patients and the hospital. Her dedication to advancing nursing practice through her numerous national and local presentations, involvement in research, and commitment to quality improvement, is extraordinary. Dr. Rawdon’s forward-thinking approach and focus on high-quality care continually empower her APP team to strive for excellence. The Empirical Outcomes award is sponsored by Dell and Intel.
2023 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Rachel McFadden, BA, BSN, RN, CEN
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Rachel McFadden is a clinical nurse at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) who inspires through her leadership style and connections within the local community she serves. She has more than a decade of experience advocating for people who suffer from substance use disorder (SUD) and experience volunteering to deploy and lead several community - based initiatives that address drug abuse and addiction. At HUP, she co-founded the Penn Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy (CAMP), co-created an interprofessional team to develop, pilot and publish numerous practice guidelines to improve care of patients with SUD, and launched the “Person First” initiative at HUP which educates clinicians and reduces stigma around substance use. Rachel also became a Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Bloomberg Fellow in Addiction and Overdose at HUP. Through her work, Rachel has single handedly influenced the transformation of organizational culture at HUP.
Structural Empowerment: Rachel Sabolish, MSN, RN, AGNP-C, ACHPN-BC
AdventHealth Porter
Rachel Sabolish is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) at AdventHealth Porter, Denver, Colorado who developed a groundbreaking innovative palliative care program during the COVID-19 pandemic. Leveraging her aptitude for interprofessional collaboration, she partnered with a team of physicians, achieving early APRN-led interaction with critically ill and rapidly declining patients without previously completed end-of-life decision making. The program’s patient outcomes have outperformed national statistics in establishing a decision-maker, changing goals of care, and transitioning to comfort care. This monumental effort required relationship building and trust to construct a model of care that empowered APRNs to practice at the top of their license and to deliver services that improved community understanding and patient/family peace-of-mind in end-of-life decision-making. Rachel is the perfect role model for APRNs aspiring to acute care advanced practice roles. Her achievements led her to win the 2022 Colorado State Nightingale Award in Innovation. Rachel has a sincere and deep passion for palliative care program strategic development and is a much sought-after expert to present on utilizing new palliative care service delivery paradigms at local, national and international professional engagements. Colleagues, peers and patients alike attest to Rachel’s positive impact on the lives of those she serves.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Kathy Trimble, MSN, RN, APRN, PNP-PC, CPHON Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital
Kathy Trimble is a seasoned Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) with more than 40 years of experience who truly embodies the nursing values of nursing professional practice. Her passion and dedication to some of the most vulnerable patients – children with complex care needs – led her to pioneer the Pediatric Hematology Oncology Program at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital (NMCDH) in Illinois. Kathy also played a pivotal role in leading a multi-disciplinary group at NMCDH focused on analyzing and enhancing quality and safe patient care. One of her efforts involved leading the implementation of an electronic chemotherapy ordering system that allows for a personalized treatment plan using evidence-based protocols. This dramatically improved safety events from more than 40 per year to fewer than five. Kathy committed herself to successfully educating every pediatric oncology nurse at NMCDH in providing chemotherapy while championing equal access to treatment opportunities for patients. In 2022, Kathy was awarded the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses for her exceptional nursing care. Colleagues and patients alike laud Kathy for her compassion, integrity, and wisdom. The Exemplary Professional Practice award is sponsored by EBSCO.
New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvements: Jennifer Burchett, BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN
Indiana University Health, Methodist, and University Hospitals
Jennifer Burchett is an exemplary clinical nurse at Indiana University Health, Methodist, and University Hospitals (IU Health) who prioritizes quality patient-centered care and supports a safe and healthy work environment for her colleagues. Her positive impact is seen and experienced both within the organization as well as within the community where she lives and works. Jennifer was the charge nurse in IU Health’s Emergency Medical Trauma Center (EMTC) during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, eagerly caring for the thousands of patients who made their way through EMTC. Jennifer saw firsthand the fear and effect of misinformation. Using Special Pathogens Unit training/knowledge, she supported her peers with COVID testing and assessment. During this time, Jennifer also volunteered during a 2021 Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) mass vaccination clinic that provided lifesaving vaccines to 117,660 individuals. Additionally, Jennifer supported her colleagues by leading active shooter training providing safety procedures and education among other resources, which resulted in a 105% increase in team member safety knowledge. Using inspiration from a Magnet Conference presentation, Jennifer also started a unit-level new nurse mentoring program to include guidance around work/life balance, professional development, and socialization. Additionally, Jennifer works at the Indy Motorsports in-field track hospital, during “racing” events and travels to various INDYCAR circuit speedways. She is driven by her commitment to ethical nursing practice at work and within her community.
Empirical Outcomes: Gladiz Martinez, MS, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CMSRN
UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital
Gladiz Martinez is a dynamic Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Transplant Center (TC). Gladiz has made a significant impact in the lives of the surrounding Hispanic community by removing barriers related to social determinants of health through the development of the Hispanic Kidney Transplant Program (HKTP). This program is reducing health care disparities in transplantation to develop a culturally competent program that would evolve with the specific needs of the Hispanic population and increase access to organ transplants. Some of her work includes increasing language-appropriate access, educational materials, a Spanish-language hotline, and conducting patient support groups such as bi-monthly meetings in Spanish for patients and families covering everything from fundraising, health insurance, transplant expectations, and live organ donation. Through these interventions, Gladiz developed a holistic approach to improving the outcomes of Spanish-speaking transplant patients. Through her efforts, 86 patients were transplanted because of this program, with increasing living donor interest in the community. Gladiz has changed the lives of the Hispanic patient population and is not slowing down. She plans to expand the program to include Liver Transplant patients. With Gladiz’ s leadership, the Hispanic population is supported to navigate a very complex system and ensure equal access to life-saving transplantation.
2022 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Geri Narsete-Prevo, MSN, RN-HROB, CEFM
Rush University Medical Center
Geri Narsete-Prevo is a senior nurse leader in the Labor and Delivery (L&D) Unit at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. For more than 40 years, she has educated and trained interdisciplinary teams to improve care and outcomes for L&D patients, sharing her expertise with hospitals throughout the Chicago area. Her most recent initiative focused on reducing and mitigating massive blood loss (obstetric hemorrhage) during childbirth. Narsete-Prevo developed comprehensive, interdisciplinary education, drills, and protocols to prepare every team member for these emergent situations. As a result, the medical center has seen no hemorrhage-related mortalities in L&D for more than six years, and a steady drop in transfers to the ICU, demonstrating sustained improvement. Narsete-Prevo is a dedicated mentor, preceptor, and educator, always willing to glove up to teach and help. During her career she has precepted more than 20 nursing students and mentored more than 50 new nurses, impacting every member of the L&D nursing team. The Transformational Leadership award is sponsored by Penn Medicine.
Structural Empowerment: Kimberly Elgin, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, PCCN, CMSRN
UVA Health
As leader of the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) team at UVA Health in Charlottesville, VA, Dr. Kimberly Elgin has worked to remove barriers and support top-of-license practice for advanced practice providers within and beyond UVA. She is recognized at the local, regional, and national levels for her efforts to optimize the role of CNS in health care organizations, improving outcomes for patients and families. Over the past two years, Dr. Elgin advocated for revision to Virginia state legislation which elevates CNS scope of practice in the Commonwealth. She leveraged subsequent regulatory amendments to better align UVA’s CNS practice with other advanced practice provider roles and revamp processes and structures that improve interprofessional collaboration. The UVA Health CNS team has led best-practice initiatives to reduce patient falls, pressure ulcers, and hospital-acquired infections.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Michele Santoro, BSN, RN
Yale New Haven Hospital
Michele Santoro is a clinical nurse in the Ambulatory Heart and Vascular Center at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH). Over the past decade, she has pioneered innovative practice changes to improve cardiac patient outcomes around the world. Recognizing an opportunity to improve outcomes for cardiac device patients, Santoro pioneered an evidence-based skin preparation and surgical site management process. Additionally, Santoro developed a cardiac monitoring database that found potentially life-threatening arrhythmias in 47% of enrolled patients. In 45% of these patients, medical and surgical treatments were found to be necessary and implemented. Later, she identified a gap in follow-up among patients with remote cardiac monitoring devices and collaborated with the interprofessional team and vendors to implement a multi-faceted monitoring, scheduling, and tracking system. The result was zero patients lost to follow up in one year compared to the previous year when 2,100 patients were lost to follow up. In 2020, Santoro made a sweeping patient safety catch with international ramifications, identifying a dangerous gap in device monitoring with an external vendor. Patients around the world had been disconnected from the external platform after a software update. The external vendor recognized her for exceptional collegial collaboration and partnership. The Exemplary Professional Practice award is sponsored by EBSCO.
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements: Andrew Greenway, MSN, RN, CCRN, ACCNS-AG
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
An exemplary researcher, innovator, and clinician/leader, Andrew Greenway is a clinical nurse specialist at the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. For almost four decades, he has championed patient care innovations that integrate evidence into practice. Collaborating with a team of NYP ICU nurses, a rapid critical care training program was created for non-ICU nurses that was instrumental in helping the hospital cope with the influx of severely ill patients during New York’s COVID-19 peak surge in 2020. Greenway’s original research as principal investigator to identify early risk factors for skin failure among COVID-19 patients has improved and personalized care interventions. To improve care for pediatric burn patients, Greenway has published on the emerging novel multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and, with a team of collaborators, he partnered in creating and validating a pediatric burn-specific injury early warning score tool. Greenway is currently leading an interprofessional partnership to find common ground among social workers, therapists, physicians, chaplains, and nursing to identify synergistic palliative nursing care and spiritual interventions for surgical intensive care unit patients, while expanding access to hospice care. The New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements award is sponsored by HealthStream.
Empirical Outcomes: Anne Dye, DNP, NP-C, CSC
OhioHealth Grant Medical Center
Dr. Anne Dye is the nurse practitioner for the Structural Heart Disease Clinic (SHDC) at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where her care coordination efforts have dramatically improved quality outcomes. Dr. Dye began the clinic with a physician partner in 2016, engaging hospital-wide teams to streamline pre-op testing for heart patients into a single day. She developed a frailty assessment that sends patients to a “prehab” program to improve functionality prior to surgery. Patients now recover faster with fewer complications. Her post-op follow-up model significantly reduced 90-day readmission rates for valvular heart disease patients and has since been replicated as a best practice across the OhioHealth system. In addition, length of stay, mortality, risk of permanent pacemaker, and other outcomes are among the best in the nation. SHDC’s success led to the creation of a separate Atrial Fibrillation (Afib) Clinic, which provides same-day evaluation and support for Afib patients, reducing unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations.
2021 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Tracy Morrison, MSQA, BSN, RN, FELSO
Miami Valley Hospital
A clinical nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton OH, Tracy Morrison has spent the last 22 years transforming the depth and breadth of clinical bedside nursing. Through autonomous practice and consultation, she and her colleagues have developed, evaluated, and shared best practices that reduce newborn mortality and morbidity associated with early birth. Morrison has forged interdisciplinary relationships not only at the local level, but also nationally and internationally, to improve quality outcomes in NICUs everywhere. In addition, she provides high-quality simulation education to new and experienced NICU nurses to prepare them to care for the most challenging and complex cases. Morrison fosters a culture of excellence and inspires others to follow her example to elevate bedside nursing and make a difference.
Structural Empowerment: Denise Abdoo, PhD, MSN, CPNP
Children’s Hospital of Colorado
Dr. Denise Abdoo is an international leader and mentor in the field of child abuse prevention. As a multilingual Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) on the Children’s Hospital of Colorado Child Protection Team, she has improved the identification and treatment of sexually exploited and assaulted children not only in Colorado but around the world. Her contributions to policy work and systems change are unprecedented. She built Colorado’s only pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program and recruited, educated, and mentored nurses for this specialized practice across the Mountain West region. Over five years, the program grew from treating 13 patients to treating 70. In addition, Dr. Abdoo developed web-based education to optimize opportunities for and mentorship of SANE-credentialed nurses at CHCO, CU College of Nursing, and in the community. She and her research team also validated a tool used in the pediatric emergency department (ED) to better screen high-risk adolescents for sexual exploitation. *Sponsored by PALL Corporation
Exemplary Professional Practice: Jennifer Moran, MS, RN, APRN-Rx, ACNP-BC, SCRN, CNRN
The Queen’s Medical Center
Jennifer Moran is the lead advanced practice registered nurse for the neuroscience acute care NP team and a stroke coordinator at The Queens Medical Center in Honolulu, HI. In collaboration with the hospital’s intensivists, she initiated round-the-clock neurocritical acute care NP coverage, which has significantly reduced door-to-needle time (the time between arrival at the hospital and the start of treatment) for stroke patients. Her initiatives also include integration of a virtual neurological consultation in the West Oahu ED, with a charge nurse identified as Stroke Code Leader, and a dedicated bed for stroke patients in the Punchbowl ED. Through Moran’s leadership, The Queen’s Medical Center was the first and only hospital system in Hawai'i to achieve Comprehensive Stroke Center certification from The Joint Commission, meeting rigorous standards for high-quality, lifesaving stroke care.
*Sponsored by EBSCO Health
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements: Christine Wetzel, DNP, MSN, RNC-NIC, IBCLC
Carle Foundation Hospital
A clinical nurse at the Carle Foundation Hospital NICU in Urbana, IL, Dr. Christine Wetzel designs and conducts research, evaluates nursing practices, and develops innovative tools that have improved the care of newborns in NICUs across the country. She led the creation of the NICU’s first evidence-based nursing risk awareness instrument for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a potentially deadly abdominal infection that can impact premature babies. The tool, later known as eNEC, increases early detection and fills a practice gap in neonatal nursing. Throughout her 28-year nursing career, Dr. Wetzel has been a passionate advocate of the importance of breast milk. She recently introduced the Evaluation of Mother’s Own Milk (eMOM) guide to help mothers and nurses assess breast milk production during the first month of a preterm infant’s life.
Empirical Outcomes: Ellen Harvey, DNP, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, TCRN, FCCM
Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital
Dr. Ellen Harvey is an advanced practice surgical nurse at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, VA, where she focuses on improving and advancing care for neurotrauma patients. When she noticed current EVD-related practice varied from evidence-based neuroscience guidelines could be contributing to higher infection rates among patients with external ventricular drains (EVD), Dr. Harvey assembled and led an interdisciplinary task force to create a new, evidence-based bundle of care. It includes use of strict asepsis, minimization of line manipulations, equipment standardization, and formal nursing education and competency validation. The result was an immediate and sustained drop in EVD infection rates from 24.7/1000 EVD device days to zero. In addition, this nurse-led, infection-free culture of safety is projected to save the hospital more than $700,000 in the first year alone.
2020 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Allison Reichhold, MSN, APRN, CPNP
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Allison Reichhold joined the Heart Failure, Heart Transplant Team at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in 2018. She rapidly identified the need for a position that most pediatric hospitals do not have – VAD coordinator. On her own initiative, Reichhold developed a comprehensive VAD education program to train the entire Cardiac Care Unit team on all devices and VAD patient care to include VAD education days, VAD SIMs, and competency checklists. Reichhold’s expertise, leadership, collaboration, and comprehensive approach has made a measurable impact. In three short years, Lurie Children’s VAD program has gone from implanting around five patients a year to supporting seven patients at once. Not only are more patients on VADs, but the types of VADs available doubled. Compared to a 33% national mortality rate for pediatric VAD patients, Lurie Children’s VAD team has had 100% survival and successful bridge to transplant. Reichhold expanded the outpatient VAD program to include sending the very first child in Illinois to school on a durable VAD.
*Sponsored by Ultimate Kronos Group
Structural Empowerment: Richard Ramos, MSN, RN, CNS, PNP, CPON, BMTCN
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
Richard Ramos is a Clinical Nurse IV on the hematology/oncology unit at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, in Stanford, California. A strong nursing leader and lifelong learner as an instructor and mentor, Ramos is a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner who serves on a variety of decision-making committees locally and abroad. Selected to co-lead a pilot program to facilitate a national certification course on chemotherapy handling and administration taught to Latin American nurses, Ramos helped to refine the Spanish translation in addition to piloting the course. Ramos has taught classes in Santiago, Chile and in Memphis, Tennessee. He has been recognized by APHON with an Instructor of the Year Award, acknowledging his work as a Chemotherapy/Biotherapy Instructor. His outstanding work teaching the Latin population is a clear demonstration of his belief in one of Packard Children’s strategic priorities: expanding outreach and providing extraordinary care in the community.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Roberta Kaplow, Ph.D., APRN-CCNS, AOCNS, CCRN
Emory University Hospital
Dr. Kaplow is a clinical nurse specialist in the Acute Respiratory ICU at Emory University Hospital (EUH) in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Kaplow has collaborated with colleagues to create new care delivery systems and protocols aimed at improving the outcomes of care for patients critically ill with COVID-19, while assuring clinician safety. Dr. Kaplow collaborated with EUH nurses to develop the Warm Zone Method (WZM) as a tactic to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) use and decrease time spent donning and doffing PPE. Using the WZM, gown use per acute care RN decreased by 13% and time spent donning and doffing PPE decreased an average of 58 minutes per 12-hour nursing shift. Her recent article in Critical Care Medicine regarding care of COVID-19 patients has gained worldwide attention. Dr. Kaplow's frequently cited article "The Value of Certification", has ignited a passion for certification in Emory’s Acute Respiratory ICU nurses, with over 52% achieving specialty certification. She has also made an international impact in guiding others to clinical excellence, by authoring or co-authoring nearly 30 other publications. *Sponsored by EBSCO Health
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements: Janice Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN
University of Chicago Medicine
Jan Colwell, from the University of Chicago Medicine (UCM), has been an Advanced Practice Nurse specializing in wound and ostomy skin care since 1978. She was instrumental in creating an independent APN-led clinic for ostomy care at the UCM. Colwell’s contributions have informed and influenced clinical practice for nurses and physicians not only at UCM, but across the globe. In 2018, Colwell and her co-investigators published the results of an international, multi-site, randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial to compare cost of care and associated patient satisfaction related to maintenance of healthy peri-stomal skin. Her noteworthy contributions toward creating knowledge include authoring 53 peer-reviewed articles, 8 chapters in physician/surgeon textbooks, 6 chapters in general nursing textbooks, creating the stoma curriculum for the American Society of Colorectal Surgeons, and co-editing the last four editions of the textbook used to educate WOC nurses on ostomy care. At the most recent WOCN Conference, Colwell shared a new model of care developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, describing how to innovatively conduct tele-health visits for ostomy patients. At a time when many clinics across the city were closed, UCM’s ostomy patients used this invaluable resource to access uninterrupted expert care.
Empirical Outcomes: Denise Williams, MS, MEd, BSN, AGNP-C, RN-BC
OhioHealth Grant Medical Center
Denise Williams is a Advanced Practice Nurse in the Ohio Health Grant Medical Center Transition to Outpatient Care clinic in Columbus, Ohio. Williams provides bridge care for patients who do not have a primary care physician to follow up with after their ED or inpatient stay. Her role is vital to the community because she often treats those who are uninsured or have other financial difficulties in addition to complex medical issues. Williams calls patients after their clinic visits to discuss their progress and learn about any new issues, which ensures that they have a strong understanding of their diagnosis and treatment plan. Williams also created a process for referrals from the ED to the Transition to Outpatient Care clinic, and partnered with inpatient providers to prioritize follow-up for patients with high-risk diagnoses, thereby reducing re-admissions. In the last year, remarkable outcomes have been achieved because of her work:
• Not one patient left the clinic without being seen
• 90% of patients did not return for an ED visit within 30 days
• aAnd 93% of patients did not require inpatient re-admission within 30 days
2019 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Melissa Fadipe, DNP, RN
Michael E. Debakey VA Medical Center
A nurse practitioner at Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Fadipe leads multiple initiatives to improve care for Veterans living with epilepsy. Her innovative “You Are Not Alone” program has helped remove the stigma associated with epilepsy, reduced emergency visits, and improved Veterans’ quality of life. At the Epilepsy Center of Excellence, she developed evidence-based care modules to guide her fellow nurses. Fadipe shares her expertise with Veterans Health Administration colleagues around the country, partnering with nurses, physicians, and clinicians to standardize epilepsy care and nursing practice.
Structural Empowerment: Caroline Schober-Flores, BSN, RN
Children’s Hospital Colorado
Schober-Flores is a clinical wound specialist at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, CO. Her groundbreaking work in the care of children with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) has improved wound healing outcomes for patients around the world. EB is a rare genetic disorder that causes fragile, blistering skin and requires lifelong, complex treatment. Schober-Flores developed and disseminated standards of practice that have transformed the delivery of safe and effective care, and continues to educate and advocate for better products and treatment methodologies.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Stephani Stancil, PhD, RN
Children’s Mercy Hospital
Dr. Stancil is a nurse practitioner at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO, where she serves as the sole provider in an innovative clinic that cares for disadvantaged teens. She integrates research, evidence-based practice and novel strategies to influence care delivery of adolescent medicine, and promote health and wellness with a holistic approach. Through her collaborative work with clinical pharmacology, Dr. Stancil led the implementation of pharmacogenomic testing in adolescent medicine, expanding clinical information to guide selection of the most effective treatments and improve patient outcomes.
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements: Christa Bedford-Mu, CNS, MSN, RN
UC Davis Children's Hospital
A neonatal clinical nurse specialist at UC Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento, Christa Bedford-Mu uses innovative telehealth interventions to support families in rural and underserved communities. She educates parents of complex infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), partners with rural pediatricians and health centers to ensure follow-up care, and leads the “video visit” program, providing families with impactful telemedicine services after NICU-to-home discharge. This intensive communication has improved outcomes for NICU families, including earlier discharge, reduced readmission rates, and higher parental and provider satisfaction.
Empirical Outcomes: Kristen Boettcher, BSN, RN
UC Health Poudre Valley Hospital
Boettcher is an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at UC Health Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, CO, where she developed standardized processes to dramatically improve care of marginalized patients going through alcohol withdrawal. In collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of physicians, pharmacists, and clinical nurse specialists, Boettcher created uniform treatment protocols that resulted in earlier patient transfer from the ICU, lower intubation rates, and a 40 percent decline in mortality. Her groundbreaking protocol is now being adopted across the entire UC Health system.
2018 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Elizabeth Batcher, BSN, RN, CEN
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla
An emergency department (ED) nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in La Jolla, CA, Batcher is a catalyst for change throughout the organization. In the ED, she implemented a training program to better care for patients with acute respiratory failure and worked with the sepsis team to establish an expedited treatment process that saves lives. As chair of the Clinical Mentor Committee, Batcher motivates staff at all levels to work together to improve the patient experience. She is a committed teacher and mentor who leads efforts to transition new nurses and ensure they succeed.
Structural Empowerment: Lindsay Norris, BSN, RN
University of Kansas Hospital
Norris is an oncology nurse at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City. She is also a cancer patient, who was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer at age 33. Her experience fundamentally changed her perspective of how nurses care for patients. During her treatment, she shared her thoughts in a blog post: "Dear Every Cancer Patient I Ever Took Care of, I'm Sorry. I Didn't Get It." Her riveting message quickly went viral and continues to inspire nurses around the world, with one million views and counting. Her outlook empowers nurses to think critically about their approach and cultivate a caring relationship with patients and families.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Yuki Asakura, PhD, RN, ACHPN, OCN, ACNS-BC
Parker Adventist Hospital
Dr. Asakura is a palliative care advanced practice nurse at Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, CO. She formed the hospital's first Palliative Care program to improve knowledge and awareness and collaborated with an interdisciplinary team to increase palliative care referral volume by 400%, well above the national benchmark. A well-known expert, respected leader, and mentor in the oncology and palliative care community, her mission is to educate clinicians, physicians, patients, and families around the globe. In her native Japan, she is a strong advocate for end-of-life care to minimize the suffering of people with advanced illness.
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements: Sandy Quigley, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC,
CWOCN
Boston Children's Hospital
A clinical specialist in Wound, Ostomy & Continence Care at Boston Children's Hospital, Quigley is a universally respected nurse leader in the assessment, prevention, and management of pediatric hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPI). Her innovative research identified evidence-based, nurse-led practice changes that fundamentally transformed care of HAPI in infants and children worldwide. Most recently, she worked with nursing colleagues to develop the Braden QD (D is for Device) scale to address pressure injuries from devices, a significant cause of injuries in pediatric patients. The Braden QD Scale was developed from data derived from a broad, diverse sample of hospitalized pediatric patients pre-term to 21 years old, including cardiac patients, and predicts both immobility and medical device-related pressure injuries. It provides acute care pediatric clinicians with one instrument to predict both immobility- and device-related pressure injuries across diverse age and clinical populations.
Empirical Outcomes: Jobic Ray Butao, BSN, RN, CCRN
Baptist Health West Kendall Baptist Hospital
Butao is a clinical nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) at West Kendall Baptist Hospital in Miami, where he chairs the ICU's Unit Based Practice Council. He has led collaborative efforts to decrease catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) to a sustained rate of zero, and implemented a program using a checklist to successfully prevent hospital-acquired conditions. Butao's interprofessional rounding initiative to monitor invasive-line patients has kept the ICU CAUTI- and CLABSI-free for 12 months. This exemplary practice is now in place throughout the hospital with the same impressive results and will be rolled out system-wide soon.
2017 Magnet Nurse of the Year Recipients
Transformational Leadership: Mary Dixon Still, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, ACNS, CCRN, FCCM
Emory University Hospital
Still was recognized for her leadership in sepsis mortality reduction, continuous renal replacement therapy, and a molecular absorbent recirculating system. Through research, persistence, and new technologies, she’s created various policies and protocols that have decreased mortality rates and shortened the average length of patients’ hospital stays.
Structural Empowerment: John F. Shepard, BSN, RN, CCRN
Indiana University Health–Methodist Hospital
Shepard has a reputation of advocating for patients and peers by endorsing a culture that promotes safe work practices. Recognizing the risk of his own professional burnout, Shepard implemented nursing mindfulness meditation sessions. These brief meditations focus on topics such as intention, compassion, and gratitude, and they’ve already demonstrated a positive impact on the hospital’s healthy work environment initiative. Since its inception, overall employee satisfaction has increased and nurses feel more connected with their patients and each other.
Exemplary Professional Practice: Susan Gold, BSN, RN, ACRN
University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics
Throughout the course of her career, Gold has made both a local and global impact. A 25-year veteran at the University of Wisconsin, Gold has been specializing in the HIV clinic for the past 8 years. Since 2003, Gold has traveled to Africa to treat HIV orphans and to educate caregivers. And she’s the first clinical nurse to ever be awarded both a Fulbright scholarship and a Nelson Mandela Fellowship.
New Knowledge, Innovations, and Improvements: Laurie McNichol, MSN, RN, CNS, GNP, CWOCN, CWON-AP, FAAN
Cone Health–Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital
In 2012, McNichol convened a consensus conference of 20 representatives from various nurse specialties to discuss their findings linking skin damage to medical adhesives. After recognizing this as a widespread issue, McNichol coined the term “medical adhesive–related skin injury” (MARSI). Defining MARSI has led to research into how adhesives perform and resulted in practice innovation to improve the patient experience. McNichol is published in nursing journals, is a coeditor of the Core Curriculum Wound Management textbook, has given presentations and keynote addresses across six continents, and was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Empirical Outcomes: Melanie Roberts, DNP, RN-BC, CNS, CCNS, CCRN
UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies
A pursuit to improve care quality and reduce mortality rates for postoperative cardiovascular patients led Dr. Roberts to initiate guidelines for cardiac surgery advanced life support (CALS). As a result of these guidelines, UCHealth reports that 100% of patients who had the CALS interventions and averted cardiac arrest survived. Dr. Roberts’ work also has resulted in a significant decrease in