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The 16 nurses who receive the 2022 Circle of Excellence award from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) are noted for their solution-oriented approaches to challenges, including reducing healthcare-associated infection rates, improving the work environment, and helping their organizations and communities respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Criteria used to evaluate Circle of Excellence award candidates include relentless promotion of patient-driven excellence; strong communication skills; true collaboration; effective decision-making; meaningful recognition of others; ability to transform thinking, structures and processes; and ability to address challenges and remove barriers to excellent patient care and achieve visible results through leadership.
“During these challenging times, these healthcare professionals demonstrate an exceptional commitment to achieving excellent outcomes in the care of acutely and critically ill patients and their families,” said AACN President Beth Wathen. “The Circle of Excellence recipients are truly Rooted in Strength, charting a path toward a more equitable future in healthcare, one in which nurses are valued as the leaders they are. Their efforts ensure that every patient gets the excellent care they deserve and every nurse has the skills they need to provide that care.”
Recipients of the 2022 AACN Circle of Excellence award (in alphabetical order):
- Jennifer Bierbaum, director of nursing practice innovation, MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center, Clinton
- Patricia Blissitt, neuroscience clinical nurse specialist, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle
- Maria Cielo Borrinaga, clinical nurse leader, VHA North Texas Dallas Medical Center
- Chantal Branco, director, patient care services, medical-surgical ICU, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, Pennsylvania
- Turkeisha "Keisha" Brown, patient services manager III, UNC Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Stacy Caster, director, cath lab/endoscopy, Houston Methodist West Hospital
- Stephanie Chmielewski, clinical nurse III, UC San Diego Health
- Debra Farrell, clinical nurse IV, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina
- Joni Minor, unit director, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Evalyne, Mwangi, staff nurse, ChristianaCare, Newark, Delaware
- Heather Pena, strategic services associate, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina
- Tasha Rose, patient services manager III, UNC Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Mary Sendin, clinical nurse specialist, Orlando Health, Florida
- Denae Sims, director of critical care services, Odessa Regional Medical Center, Texas
- Olena Svetlov, critical care clinical nurse specialist, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles
- Ben Valente, staff nurse, Durham VA Health Care System, North Carolina
AACN’s Circle of Excellence award aligns with the association’s mission to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution.
They will be recognized during AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI), Houston, May 16-18.
Highly regarded for its responsiveness to current trends in the nursing profession and the environments where nurses work, the award is supported by grants from Elsevier and Dale Medical.
About the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition: Established in 1974, AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI) represents the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Bedside nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners attend NTI.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 50 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world's largest specialty nursing organization, with more than 130,000 members and over 200 chapters in the United States.
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, 27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme
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