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The achievements of 48 nurses, from which eight winners were selected, were honored and cheered by about 200 attendees at NurseWeek’s fifth annual Mountain West Nursing Excellence Awards banquet Oct. 22 in Las Vegas.

Whether stars served as decorations on tablecloths or pins on lapels, they shone brightly at NurseWeek’s fifth annual Mountain West Nursing Excellence Awards banquet, “Starry, Starry Night.” But no stars shone brighter than the nurses who were honored Oct. 22 at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

About 200 attendees gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of 48 nurses, from which eight winners were selected in eight categories of achievement. Whether the 48 finalists worked at the bedside or were in charge of training other nurses or overseeing hospital operations, they all were recognized for one thing: traveling on a journey of distinction that has transformed others’ lives.

In delivering the keynote address, Karen Haase-Herrick, RN, MN, president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, described what a pleasure she had reading the stories of the Nursing Excellence finalists — and she is not a “sit around” person.

She said she enjoys learning of the new ways that nurses make a long-lasting impact on others’ lives and is struck by the many ways that nurses find to excel. However, she said, although each nurse embarks on a different journey, they all experience several “crucible events” throughout their lives.

She defined a crucible event as one that causes a person to pause and think about how to make a difference.

Haase-Herrick closed her speech with the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken,” which is about seeing two roads diverge and taking the road less traveled. She thanked the finalists for eyeing the crucible of the two roads and taking “the journey of excellence that has made a difference.”

Representatives from Catholic Healthcare West, the sponsor of the Lifetime Achievement Award — an honor separate from the eight category awards — expressed similar sentiments about the 48 finalists.

“The beauty of life is to give,” said Val Baciarelli, president of St. Rose Dominican Hospital’s Rose de Lima Campus in Henderson, Nev. “Each of you gives of yourself every day, and we all appreciate that.”

Patty White, RN, MS, chief operating officer at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, read a reflection about God working overtime on the sixth day when making nurses — people who can assist the injured and comfort the dying while also being able to work 12-hour shifts and lift three times their own weight. White thanked all nurses for “rising to the calling that is nursing.”

The finalists weren’t the only stars that night. Haase-Herrick received the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by White, Baciarelli, and Beth Ulrich, RN, EdD, CHE, senior vice president of professional services for Nursing Spectrum, which publishes NurseWeek.

Haase-Herrick, who was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army in 1970, spent 23 years working in the Army and developed its first written patient education booklet. Since 1997, she has been involved in activities across Oregon and Washington related to nursing, and is executive director of the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives. She is largely credited with the Oregon and Washington groups being able to function as one organization.

When Haase-Herrick was invited to say a few words, she described her own crucible event — when she was offered the opportunity to apply for medical school, but after watching what physicians did, she realized that their job was not for her and decided to stay in nursing.

She received a recognition plaque and a $2,500 donation in her name to be given to the nursing organization of her choice.

But more than recognizing individual achievements, the night was about celebrating nursing. In her closing remarks, Ulrich encouraged all of the nurses to recognize and celebrate the joys and achievements that can be found in nursing every day.

Advancing the Profession

Marty Enriquez, RN, MS
Vice President, Patient Care Services,
University Medical Center, Tucson, Ariz.

Ever since bandaging her pets and dolls as a child, Marty Enriquez planned on being a nurse. Asked why she didn’t become a doctor, she says, “I wanted to care for the whole patient, to be there all the time to make a difference in their care.” Under her direction, UMC has achieved a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1-to-4 and has become Arizona’s first and only Magnet hospital. Enriquez also inaugurated a middle school nursing camp, a high school patient care technician-training program, a four-week UMC internship for new nursing graduates, and a mentoring program between RNs at UMC and Pima Community College. She also implemented a continuing education program available to nurses in the Tucson area through the Nursing Education Institute.

Enriquez expressed surprise at winning this award. “Everyone was worthy,” she said. However, her nominator, Kathryn DiPierro, director of perioperative services at UMC, called her “a visionary for nursing.” Colleagues call her “a nurse’s nurse.”

Enriquez praised the support she has received for her ideas from her board of directors, CEO, and coworkers. “Most ideas in nursing are arrived at collaboratively,” she said, “a team working together. And many things we set out to do don’t have immediate rewards. They are investments for the future, to keep nursing moving and advancing as a profession.”

Clinical Care

Terri Kiernan, RN, BSN, CCRN, CNRN
Clinical Coordinator of Neurosciences,
St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Henderson, Nev.

The daughter of two psychiatric nurses, Terri Kiernan decided on neuroscience nursing when a potential employer told her, “We already know everything we need to know about the heart, but the brain is a mystery in so many ways, much more of a challenge.” Kiernan never looked back.

She designed and developed the unique neuroscience program at St. Rose and is the liaison between surgeons, nurses, even equipment vendors. She holds monthly meetings and inservice training for all staff to improve the safety, accuracy, and efficiency of patient care. She created modules and booklets to educate nurses regarding brain injuries and surgery. “And with over 140 nurses going through the program,” said her nominator, chief nursing officer Sandy Rush, “that’s a lot of sharing of her great clinical care skills and knowledge.”

Kiernan has brought guest speakers to her hospital, as well as given workshop lectures across the United States. She is a dedicated, “hands-on” nurse. Her coworkers say she has such a passion for nursing that she is “infectious.”

Kiernan returns the compliment. “They have allowed me to utilize my creativity and passion for neuroscience nursing and create a program that has not existed in the Henderson area. A nurse could not handpick a better organization to work for.”