MEET THE REGIONAL WINNERS - Gannett Healthcare Group

MEET THE REGIONAL WINNERS
Winner profiles by Janice Petrella Lynch, RN, MSN • Photos by David Hartig Photography
Nurse.com prides itself on recognizing the accomplishments of nurses of excellence at its GEM (Giving Excellence
Meaning) award programs. Held in cities throughout the
U.S., these celebrations honor exceptional nurses from all
specialties and practice settings, and each culminates in
the naming of six regional winners in six categories. The
regional winners move on to compete in the GEM national
nurse of the year program.
“Our nursing excellence GEM Awards program shines
brightly once again as we salute our 2014 regional winners,”
said Eileen Williamson, RN, MSN, senior vice president and
chief nurse executive. “Nominated and selected by their
colleagues, they truly epitomize nursing at its best. We are
honored to present them with our prestigious GEM awards
and privileged to recognize them publicly for their many
contributions to nursing and healthcare.”
This year’s regional GEM program was held June 27 at
the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City.
Nurse.com is pleased to introduce you to the 2014
Nurse.com GEM regional award winners.
Spread the word about your regional winners on Twitter!
Join in the ongoing conversation by mentioning
@Nurse_com and #GEMawards.
HOW ARE WINNERS CHOSEN?
1
NOMINATE
Nurses submit nominations of nurses and
their professional roles
and contribut ions,
including examples
that demonstrate the
nominees’ excellence in
one of six categories.
2
SELECT
Finalist nominations
are blinded and sent
to a panel of judges
comprised of nurse
leaders. Each winner
is determined by the
ratings of those blinded
nominations.
3
HONOR
The six regional winners
are celebrated at the
GEM Awards and will
move on to the national
phase of the Nurse.com
Nursing Excellence
Awards Program.
4 NATIONAL
NURSE OF THE YEAR
In the latter part of the year, Nurse.
com will honor a national Nurse of
the Year in each of the six categories.
Who will they be? Read about
the Nurse of the Year winners at
Nurse.com/NursingExcellence.
National sponsor
For more on the GEM Awards program, visit Nurse.com/Nursing-Excellence.
Winners
2014 California
Teri Armour-Burton
Sandra Pieschel
Linda E. West-Conforti
#GEMawards
2014 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards
Donna J. Beckman
Linda W. Ritter
Bernice L. Coleman
For more on the GEM Awards program, visit Nurse.com/Nursing-Excellence.
“It was enough to be
considered among this
group, much less to be
chosen as the winner.”
“Nurses advocate for their
patients, who, in their
opinion, have unmet needs
and would benefit from some
aspect of palliative care.”
Bernice L. Coleman, RN
Linda W. Ritter, RN
ADVANCING & LEADING THE PROFESSION
CLINICAL NURSING, INPATIENT
Bernice L. Coleman,
Linda W. Ritter, RN, CPON
“I am honored, humbled and excited to receive this prestigious GEM award,” Coleman said after receiving the
Nurse.com regional award in the category of Advancing
and Leading the Profession.
“As I listened to the highlights of others who were nominated within my category, it was enough to be considered
among this group, much less to be chosen as the winner.”
Coleman’s roles as clinician and scientist have provided
a rare skill mix and opportunities for others to integrate
basic science research questions with clinical practice and
community education, according to her nominator, who
praised Coleman’s work as embodying the concept of bench
to bedside and beyond.
Someone who has made outstanding national and international contributions, Coleman’s pioneering work in
pharmacogenetics for heart patients and in the future of
genetically tailored medication prescriptions has influenced
both heart transplantation and pharmacogenetics.
With all that she has accomplished, she is grateful to those
who have guided her during her nursing career.
She is grateful to her first professional mentor who was
the clinical nurse specialist in the CTICU at Yale New Haven
Hospital and full-time faculty at the Yale School of Nursing.
“Her example of clinical competence, scientific curiosity,
and principled ethics provided me with the vision and inspiration so vital to my own development,” Coleman said.
She has deep admiration for the CNO at Cedars Sinai
who “possesses the embodiment of excellence of nursing
at its highest levels.”
Coleman is pleased that her clinical, service and research
work in transplantation has stayed the course and focused
on patient outcomes. “It has provided me with a platform
to encourage nurses and the profession to reinvent our role
in light of new research findings as we strive to practice to
the top of our licenses.”
But she still sees there is much work to be done. “We
are in the infancy of genetics and immunology translational
science,” she said. “It is my goal through research to accelerate the discovery of new knowledge. I want to support the
effort to integrate the latest evidence-based understanding
into the daily nursing practice of patient care.”
Realizing she struggled for the “right words” to say to the
mother of a dying child or listened to the moans of a child
with inadequate pain control, Ritter was inspired to begin
her professional journey in palliative care. She wanted to
see what other nurses were thinking and feeling, and as a
result of a 64-question survey tool she developed, Ritter
learned she wasn’t alone.
She discovered that 63 out of 63 nurses felt they were
inadequately prepared to care for patients at end-of-life and
would like more education about palliative care.
For Ritter, winning the Nurse.com award in the category of Clinical Nursing, Inpatient validated the hours
she spent with others on the palliative care committee in
supportive and educational endeavors, such as creating
retreat rooms, planning two-day conferences and current
events programs, revising policies and coordinating multidisciplinary meetings.
She is proud the team has awarded the Starfish Award to
more than 100 individuals, recognizing them for providing
excellence and compassion at end-of-life. The awardees have
been nurses, APNs, nurse aides, interpreters, physicians,
members of pain, palliative care and hospitalist services,
individuals from housekeeping, respiratory therapists, child
life specialists and social workers. “Without exception, they
have all been honored and humbled to accept the award in
the name of the patients they cared for,” Ritter said.
Ritter said also she is humbled and exhilarated to receive
the GEM award. “The award garners excitement and recognition that can help the 1 North Palliative Care Initiative
Committee as we move forward with plans for the future.”
Said to possess the unique combination of being a visionary and an innovative doer, Ritter knows how to inspire,
collaborate and overcome obstacles. In addition to providing
superb patient care, she serves as a charge nurse for either
the pediatric oncology unit or the pediatric stem cell unit.
She is respected by her colleagues for her expertise, clinical
skills, critical thinking and compassion.
Because of the positive and successful interventions initiated
on her unit, other units have implemented or are interested
in implementing the practice changes as well. Ritter helped
raise the bar for providing excellence in pediatric patient care,
and as a direct result of her efforts, improved the delivery of
palliative care throughout the hospital.
RN, PhD, ACNP-BC,
FAHA, FAAN
Nurse scientist, nurse practitioner
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
Clinical nurse IV, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Palo Alto, Calif.
For more on the GEM Awards program,
#GEMawards
“I have been so fortunate
to have worked with some
wonderful bosses and
colleagues who mentored
and coached me.”
Sandra Pieschel, RN
Donna J. Beckman, RN
EDUCATION & MENTORSHIP
Sandra Pieschel,
RN-CDE, MPA, BSW
Diabetes educator, Valley Presbyterian Hospital, Van Nuys, Calif.
In 1983, Sister Rachela Silvestri, RN, DC, asked Pieschel
to serve as the diabetes educator while she went on a
yearlong sabbatical. Until then, Pieschel had been a critical care nurse and one of the early pioneers in cardiac
rehabilitation.
“Sister reassured me that I already used the chronic care
model to manage blood pressure, weight, physical activity,
stress and smoking cessation, and she was confident the
handouts on glucose management were just one more
parameter to apply,” Pieschel said.
Pieschel was terrified, but her husband told her, “You
never say no to a nun.”
The complementary cospecialty of diabetes education
with cardiovascular nursing was and continues to be an
asset to her nursing practice.
She said receiving the Nurse.com nursing excellence
award in the category of Education and Mentorship for
doing what she loves is “much-appreciated validation of
my professional contributions and an unexpected bonus.”
“My hope is that the GEM Award heightens acceptance
of the art and science of diabetes education,” said Pieschel,
who is called a “beacon of hope” in the world of inpatient
diabetes management. “It will continue to motivate me
to improve glucose management and processes that help
patients in the community.”
In her practice, Pieschel focuses on helping staff understand the multiple needs of patients with diabetes.
Admired for her ability to empower staff to provide safe
quality care, she has offered comprehensive education to
facility nurses and ensured understanding of changes in
insulin management, organizational protocols and medication administration.
Collaborating with dietary, laboratory, pharmacy and IT,
she has developed care and clinical processes, learning
modules, clinical documentation screens, order sets, assessment forms and discharge flow sheets, and because of her
encouragement and support, patient care and outcomes
have improved significantly.
She’s guided every day by valuable lessons a CNO she
admires taught her: You don’t have to be perfect to be
excellent; bring your best self forward; always strive to
up the mood.
visit Nurse.com/Nursing-Excellence.
HOME, COMMUNITY & AMBULATORY CARE
Donna J. Beckman,
RN, BSN
Credentialed School Nurse, Coordinator of health services,
special education, San Joaquin County Office of Education,
Stockton, Calif.
Beckman has spent her life and career trying to be the
“best nurse and supervisor possible,” but always has
downplayed her accomplishments and hard work.
“This GEM Award makes me feel so proud, first of all, to
be a nurse,” said Beckman, who was selected as a Nurse.
com regional winner in the category of Home, Community
and Ambulatory Care. “And now I feel, ‘Wow, I do work
hard, and it is so wonderful to be acknowledged.’
“I am very humbled to be in the company of the other
winners. My great sadness is that my mother, diagnosed 14
years ago with Alzheimer’s disease, will never know of this
wonderful gift I have received.” She credits her mother for
making her feel as though she could accomplish anything,
and, as a result, from a young age Beckman wasn’t afraid
of tackling difficult things.
She also credits some of her colleagues and supervisors
who helped her during her 31 years in nursing.
“I have been so fortunate to have worked with some
wonderful bosses and colleagues who mentored and
coached me,” she said. “By observing them and working
collaboratively, I have been offered many wonderful opportunities to try new and different things.” She is most proud of the nursing care she has given in
the quiet moments no one can see — sitting with dying
patients, holding their hand and praying over their passing,
working with families through difficult times and supporting
them and caring for dying patients at home.
“Now I am so proud to be working with families of special
needs students,” Beckman said. “I tell my staff that our
students’ families have 24/7 jobs that have no breaks and
never end, and if we can make the time their children are
at school a little easier and go out of our way to provide
the best nursing care, then maybe we have made their
families’ lives a little easier.”
Besides the care and case management she provides
to more than 350 special education students and their
families, she collaborates with a local dentist to perform
oral health screenings for developmentally disabled kindergarten students and provides CPR education to teaching
and instructional assistant staff. 2014 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards
“My hope is that the GEM
Award heightens acceptance
of the art and science of
diabetes education.”
“The whole experience seems
surreal to me; I am shocked,
proud and honored to be
recognized by other nursing
professionals.”
“I have seen firsthand the
miracles that have occurred
through the hearts and
hands of nurses.”
Linda E. West-Conforti, RN
Teri Armour-Burton, RN
PATIENT & STAFF MANAGEMENT
VOLUNTEERISM & SERVICE
Teri Armour-Burton, RN, BSN, MSN, MBA,
Linda E. West-Conforti, RN
“The whole experience seems surreal to me; I am shocked,
proud and honored to be recognized by other nursing
professionals,” Amour-Burton, said upon receiving the
Nurse.com GEM Award in the category of Patient and
Staff Management.
She has accomplished much during her career, including
publishing in Critical Care Nurse on hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and completing her first year in a PhD program.
She is the manager of the only Beacon PCU unit in Sharp
HealthCare, the only designated Gold Beacon PCU in the
Western Hemisphere in 2014 and the only Beacon awarded
PCU in the U.S. this past year.
Armour-Burton has been a key contributor to numerous
systemwide committees and projects. Most recently, she
served as a member of the Sharp system policy and procedure committee and has worked with the group to approve
32 policies and procedures and implement 12 new policies.
But what makes her feel most proud is how she has
inspired her nursing staff to return to school and pursue
advanced degrees. At least 25% are enrolled in nursing
programs to further their education. Described as a proactive manager and an outstanding
leader, Armour-Burton has earned the admiration of her
colleagues for her dedication to achieve positive patient
outcomes and streamline nursing care processes.
Armour-Burton said winning the Nurse.com regional
GEM Award validated her efforts and provides her with
the motivation to keep pushing forward with her nursing
career goals.
Armour-Burton credits her mother, an educator, for giving
her the drive, determination and initiative.
“My mother was pretty much a single parent of six and
never ever gave in to obstacles or barriers,” Armour-Burton
said. “It was because of her that I was able to work three
jobs while completing my graduate degrees. She instilled
in me the will to be all that I can be.”
She also is grateful that she had the opportunity to work
with her director at Sharp, who encourages and recognizes
excellence and supports Armour-Burton to be “her best.”
Armour-Burton plans to complete her PhD and use it to
educate future nurses.
Seven years ago, West-Conforti created Angels In Waiting,
a nonprofit organization that gives RNs who are skilled neonatal and pediatric intensive care nurses the opportunity
to work at home and care for medically fragile foster care
infants and children.
The organization helps to facilitate moving these infants
and children from hospitals, institutions, group homes and
poorly supported foster homes into private residences and
under the care of experienced RNs and LPNs, who serve
as their nurse foster parent providers under the Early and
Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment programs.
West-Conforti is proud of resurrecting the dormant, federally funded program now known as the EPSDT program,
created in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
“I also am honored to be selected by my nursing colleagues and be spotlighted by Nurse.com for this GEM
Award in the category of Volunteerism and Service,” said
West-Conforti, who is pleased that nurses will learn about
the program.
West-Conforti has been a NICU and PICU nurse for more
than 25 years. She has watched her dream unfold, and now
has more than 50 nurses who have joined Angels in Waiting.
Certified as a foster parent for medically fragile children
and an independent nurse provider with the state, she has
cared for micro-preemie babies who present special needs
and challenges as well as children with multiple defects and
health conditions.
Because of her dedication and commitment, many of
the children are in healthy, permanent homes and well on
their way to a more promising future, said her nominator.
And there’s more to what she has accomplished.
Last winter, she created Bill AB1133 in California that
became state law on Jan. 1. It gives “preferential consideration” to nurses under the EPSDT-supplemental nursing
program, when considering the placement of a medically
fragile, foster care infant, child or youth.
“I would like to duplicate this bill in every state and implement the nurse-foster provider program nationwide,”
West-Conforti said.
She said Angels in Waiting has just moved into the final
round for potential funding to help implement the program
throughout California. •
CNML, NE-BC
Nurse manager, Sharp Grossmont Hospital, La Mesa, Calif.
Registered nurse, Kaiser Permanente, Blue Jay, Calif.
#GEMawards
LOIS CAPPS, RN, BSN, MA
2014 Winner of the Diane F. Cooper
Lifetime Achievement Award
By Janice Petrella Lynch, RN, MSN
U.S. Rep Lois Capps (DCalif.), RN, BSN, MA, was
honored with the 2014 Diane
F. Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award for “a career of
the most distinguished and
meaningful kind within the
nursing profession,” said
Eileen P. Williamson, RN,
MSN, Nurse.com senior
vice president and CNE, at
the Nursing Excellence GEM
Awards event June 27 in Universal City, Calif.
“I am honored to receive
this award from Nurse.com,
which provides a wonderful
service by supporting the
nursing profession. Being
recognized by my nursing peers in this way is particularly
meaningful. While I’m sorry I wasn’t able to attend this event,
I thank Nurse.com and applaud all those who were recognized and nominated for their hard work and achievements
in nursing,” said Capps, via video to more than 300 nurses,
family members and friends in attendance.
Cedars-Sinai is the generous sponsor of the annual award,
and Linda Burns Bolton, RN, PhD, FAAN, vice president,
nursing and CNO, was on stage with Williamson and Ray
Riordan, Nurse.com executive vice president, sales and
marketing, who explained the historical significance of
the award bestowed upon a notable nurse leader for
almost two decades. The award includes a $5,000 nursing
scholarship given to the California Student Nurses Association this year. Patricia McFarland, RN, MSN, FAAN, CEO,
Association of California Nurse Leaders, and Matthew
Grayson, president, CNSA, accepted the scholarship on
behalf of the CNSA.
“It is a privilege to honor Congresswoman Capps for her
outstanding lifetime of work in nursing and the healthcare
of our nation. Her commitment to helping others, to education and to moving the nursing profession forward make
her a most worthy recipient of the 2014 Nurse.com Diane
F. Cooper Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Williamson.
Capps has been a resident of Santa Barbara for more than
50 years and a member of Congress for 16 years, representing
California’s 24th Congressional District. She always is strongly
committed to bettering the lives of others by improving
health and healthcare, schools and the environment. As a
legislator, she worked diligently and successfully helped pass
legislation on myriad issues that kept her at the forefront of
important health-related efforts.
Capps is working on an amendment to support military
moms; introducing a bill to help military retirees and their
families; demanding action from insurance companies to
improve physician networks; and introducing legislation to
increase women’s access to maternity healthcare.
During her 20-year tenure as a nurse and public health
advocate for the Santa Barbara School District, thousands
of children and families benefited from her care, education
and leadership. •
Janice Petrella Lynch, RN, MSN, is nurse editor/nurse executive.
ABOUT THE DIANE F. COOPER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The Diane F. Cooper Lifetime
Achievement Award is given to
nurses who have contributed to
nurses and nursing throughout
their careers and reflect the commitment, enthusiasm and advocacy for the profession that Diane
Cooper exemplified.
Cooper, the nurse who inspired the
award, was known and respected
throughout the nursing community
in the clinical and academic arena.
As a critical care nurse, Cooper’s
25-year career took her from bedside
nursing at Cook County Hospital in
Chicago to clinical and educator positions at UCLA Medical Center in
Los Angeles and finally to the role of
undergraduate dean of admissions
at the UCLA School of Nursing.
Cooper passed away in 1995, but
her spirit lives on through this
award. She was the driving force
in the creation of NurseWeek, now
known as Nurse.com.
As part of the award, a $2,500 donation is made in the name of the
recipient to the nursing organization of his or her choice.
For more on the GEM Awards program, visit Nurse.com/Nursing-Excellence.
2014 Nurse.com Nursing Excellence GEM Awards
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER

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