Newswise — (September 2020 - Baltimore, MD) -- Six Mercy Medical Center nurses have been recognized as among “the best of the best” in the region by Baltimore magazine’s 6th annual “Excellence in Nursing Awards” survey, September 2020 issue.
The survey attracted hundreds of nominations covering 18 different specialties over a 9-month period. Nominations were reviewed by a panel of nurse advisors who helped determine the winners. From Mercy, the following nurses were recognized:
Educator:
Kimberly Kline, MSN, RN, OCN, Nurse Educator
Mercy Medical Centers for Clinical Excellence
Emergency Nursing:
Kristin Woodard, RN, CNII
Intensive Care:
Sarah Edsinger, Registered Nurse
Mercy Critical Care Unit
Medical Surgical Nursing:
Gisella Alvarez, Lead Charge Nurse, Mercy Post-Surgical Specialty Unit
Orthopedics:
Colbie Oden, Registered Nurse
Pediatrics Neonatal:
Kelly Shanahan, Registered Nurse, NICU
The magazine “solicited nominations from peers, supervisors, and patients of registered nurses, both in and out of hospitals, who represent the finest in their field.”
“Mercy has a long tradition of providing top nursing care to patients. It is very gratifying to see Mercy nurses honored for their outstanding contributions and commitment to excellence in nursing practice,” said Kimberly Schwenk, MSN, RN, Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer at Mercy. “Kimberly, Kristin, Sarah, Gisella, Colbie and Kelly are all skilled and talented nurses, and this recognition reflects their ongoing contributions to the nursing profession.”
“We are thrilled to see our nurses recognized for their efforts,” said Susan Finlayson, DNP, RN, Senior Vice President of Operations for Mercy Medical Center. “Our nurses are noted for their expertise, leadership and compassionate care, and we are proud to celebrate their achievement.”
Mercy is noted for delivering high quality nursing care, earning the coveted Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center®. The Magnet Recognition Program® recognizes the top health care organizations in the nation for providing nursing excellence.
Mercy first joined the Magnet community in 2011 as one of 378 out of nearly 6,000 U.S. healthcare organizations.
Mercy holds a number of nursing awards and accreditations, including being a Gold Level hospital for the Beacon Award of Excellence (American Association of Critical Care Nurses), named “Best Hospital in Maryland for Nurses” (Nurse.org), one of the 30 “Most Nurse-Friendly Hospitals” (TopRNtoBSN.com), and accredited by the Forum for Shared Governance, recognizing “Mercy’s commitment to nurse involvement in making decisions that impact clinical practice, quality improvement and professional development.”
In addition, Mercy has nearly 250 nurses nationally certified in specialty care areas such as critical care, oncology, orthopedics, OR and inpatient obstetrics. These certifications provide our nurses the advanced knowledge and skills needed to best care directly for patients coming to Mercy for specific specialty treatments.
Founded in 1874 by the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Medical Center is a university-affiliated hospital with a national reputation for women’s health care. For more information about Mercy, visit www.mdmercy.com and MDMercyMedia on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.
PHOTO: Mercy Medical Center’s six nurse award winners, left to right: Kristin Woodard, Kimberly Kline, Kelly Shanahan, Colbie Oden, Sarah Edsinger and Gisella Alvarez, accompanied on the far right side by Kimberly Schwenk, a vice president and chief nursing officer at Mercy Medical Center.
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