(SEATTLE, Washington, December 10, 2008) – Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Susan Heath, who helped lead her hospital to elite national status, was honored as the March of Dimes 2008 Distinguished Nurse of the Year Thursday during the March of Dimes Sixth Annual Washington Nurse of the Year awards in Bellevue.

The distinguished Nurse of the Year award recognizes an exceptional RN whose contributions and accomplishments have had an extraordinary influence on the nursing profession in Western Washington.

Heath recently helped lead Seattle Children’s to Magnet status in September 2008.  Less than four percent of hospitals in the US have qualified for Magnet status and her hospital is only one of two hospitals with the designation in Washington. 

Magnet status is an award given by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC), an affiliate of the American Nurses Association, to hospitals where nursing delivers excellent patient outcomes, where nurses have a high level of job satisfaction, and where there is a low staff nurse turnover rate and appropriate grievance resolution.

Heath is also Assistant Dean of Clinical Nursing Practice for the University of Washington and has served in a leadership capacity with the Washington State Hospital Association, the Child Health Corporation of America, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the Northwest Seattle Chapter.

In addition to Heath, the following individuals were honored for their outstanding work in specific categories:

• Patient/Clinical Care: Tahallia (Holly) Snyder, Franciscan – St. Francis Hospital.  Snyder is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way.  She was singled out for her excellence and compassion in the delivery of care to her patients. She is also a member of a leadership team at the hospital that focuses on creating a working environment that promotes patient-focused excellence.

• Leadership: Shelly Pricco, Enumclaw Regional Hospital. As Director of Women and Infant Services for the past five years at Enumclaw Regional Hospital, Pricco fostered an environment where patients have true choices regarding their birth plans, with good outcomes for mom and baby and positive relationships with the physicians. She also served as the hospital’s Clinical Information Nurse.  Pricco, who lives in Enumclaw, is presently Director of Patient Care Services.

• Innovation/Creativity: Shevaun Rudkin-Clark, St. Joseph Hospital. Rudkin-Clark, a Bellingham resident, is the coordinator for the center for joint replacement at St. Joseph Hospital.  When the center opened she prepared the organizational structure and operations for the center in a very short timeframe. She has also created numerous creative patient programs to educate patients pre and post op, and facilitates a monthly performance improvement process team with all of the hospital’s departments.

• Education: Constance Hirnle, Virginia Mason.  When Hirnle saw a need to create better partnerships between nursing education and practice, she proposed, created and serves in a part time faculty role at the University of Washington School of Nursing and a part time position as an Education Specialist at Virginia Mason Medical Center.  Both of these roles allow her to support student nurses’ learning while providing understanding and coaching through practice issues students and new graduates experience.

• Research/Advancing the Profession: Dr. Liz Bridges, University of Washington Medical Center. Bridges, who is a published author for numerous studies and works to break down barriers that prevent nurses from engaging in research, started at UWMC as a Clinical Nurse Researcher. She began attending local practice councils where she helped the group identify a research question and design a data collection tool.  This research directly impacted patient outcomes and was accepted as a podium presentation at the Seattle Nursing Research Conference.  Bridges resides in the Fremont neighborhood.

• Advocacy for Patients: Irene Hansen-Peters, Overlake Hospital.  Hansen-Peters is a Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist at Overlake who has worked diligently with many physician groups and provided extensive education to the hospital’s Nursing and Pharmacy teams. She never misses an opportunity to advocate for elderly patients in order to ensure that they remain safe in all settings.  Hansen-Peters is a resident of Mercer Island.

• Community Service: Kiko Van Zandt, Seattle Children’s.  It is Van Zandt’s work outside Seattle Children’s that shows her dedication to the community.  She is the coach for the Shadow Seals, an adaptive swim team for kids and young adults.  She gives these men and women a freedom they cannot have on land.  She also recently traveled to China as assistant coach for the Paralympics swim team.  Van Zandt lives in Seattle’s Bryant neighborhood.

• Mentoring: Cheryl Griffin, Group Health. Griffin is the only registered nurse for the allergist department at Group Health, which helps care for the allergy needs of 284,000 patients.  She is the mentor for the nursing staff at the other Group Health allergy clinics in Bellevue, Tacoma and Olympia.  In 2003, she became the second Certified Asthma Education in the State of Washington.  Griffin was lauded for her leadership in immunotherapy, where she coordinates the efforts of over 100 nurses in 32 injection rooms across the state. 

• School Nurse: Patricia Giuffrida, Northshore School District. Giuffrida works at Kenmore Elementary in a high-need neighborhood that encompasses low-income housing and students who qualify as homeless.  She has become the liaison for many of her families, and each year organizes all the logistics and a school bus to take children to get new shoes. She is often found providing rides or arranging transportation for kids to get to and from school.  Giuffrida, who lives in Brier, is an advocate for families in her district including efforts to provide healthcare for her students.
 
• Rising Star: Erin San Angelo, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. San Angelo has worked on the cardiac telemetry unit since January 2008 and has distinguished herself as an outstanding member of the health care team, providing superior care to her patients and actively seeking to contribute to the betterment of the community, organization and team.  She advocates for her patients and is also a representative on the Education Council for Nursing Governance. She resides in Camano Island.

• New Generation: Raelynn Canell, Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Canell, who lives in Everett, continually seeks to expand her knowledge to be a successful nurse.  As a student nurse she attends medical conferences, participates in symposiums and many educational series enhancing her expertise in holistic patient care.  She is a Student Nurses Organization member and participates in Nurse Legislative Day and the Education Council for Nursing Governance at the hospital.  She is often found providing encouragement to fellow student nurses and is a natural leader among her peers.

• Perinatal/Pediatric: Jennifer Bielitzki, University of Washington Medical Center. Bielitzki, a resident of Edmonds and nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center for the past 20 years, is known for going above and beyond to serve her patients. She answers every question ensuring the healthiest pregnancy possible for all moms.  She works hard to prevent prematurity, ensuring patients have all of the necessary and timely information and education especially related to high risk pregnancies.
 
• 2008 Legend of Nursing: Madonna Reinke, a retired nurse who spent over 30 years serving patients at St. Joseph Hospital. Reinke was known for having a strong work ethic, and being compassionate, kind, and supportive with a great sense of humor. She was also known as a mentor who was dedicated to her patients and her job.  She wore many hats over her career -- charge nurse, labor and delivery nurse, special care nursery nurse and mother baby nurse.  She based her career on putting the patient first and paved the way in the labor and delivery unit for safe, evidence based, compassionate care to be the standard. 

The 2008 Nurse of the Year presenting sponsor is Premera Blue Cross. Other sponsors include:  Gold Sponsors Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, Swedish Medical Center and Seattle Children’s; Silver Sponsors Evenflo, Group Health, Harborview Medical Center and Virginia Mason Medical Center; community sponsors Evergreen Healthcare, King County Nurses Association, Overlake Hospital Medical Center, PeaceHealth-St Joseph Hospital, Providence St. Peter Hospital, and The Everett Clinic.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.