St. Louis Magazine's Excellence in Nursing Awards

SLM's Excellence in Nursing Awards Presentation Video from St. Louis Magazine on Vimeo.

[Video above is from the inaugural Excellence in Nursing Awards Reception which was held April 22, 2010 at the Palladium Saint Louis - check out the Party Pics.]

They are the unsung heroes of healthcare. Spend any amount of time at a medical facility—an extended stay in a hospital, a visit to a nursing home, a trip to the pediatrician—and you realize doctors aren’t the only ones to offer invaluable care. So to acknowledge the tireless work and heartfelt dedication of St. Louis’ finest healthcare professionals, we launched SLM’s inaugural Excellence in Nursing Awards.

This being the contest’s first year, we weren’t sure what to expect—that is, until a wave of nominations poured in, with more than 160 candidates in all. (Nurses and hospitals, of course, could not pay to be included.) Patients, colleagues, and doctors shared emotional stories about how these nurses have changed lives. From there, our prestigious selection committee—comprising Diane Twedell, nurse administrator of education and development at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; Dr. Jeanne Floyd, executive director of the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Washington, D.C.; Jill Kliethermes, CEO of the Missouri Nurses Association; and Anne Heine, clinical instructor at the University of Missouri–Columbia’s Sinclair School of Nursing—chose the finalists. The result? Twenty winners across 16 categories.

While we’d like to honor even more nurses in these pages, space simply doesn’t permit it. So we encourage you to do one better: Make sure to say “Thank you” the next time you visit the hospital or doctor’s office.

Jane Miller

Leadership

Taking a lackluster digestive-diseases program and turning it into a nationally recognized center—helping create one of the country’s largest endoscopy facilities in a little more than two years—has been just one part of Jane Miller’s work. Her patients also appreciate her compassion and support. She once rode along with a patient who was confused about how to exit the parking lot, and then hiked back to work. She’s found food and shelter for patients’ families when they needed it, and she refuses to leave a patient’s side during a procedure until the next nurse arrives. Beyond that, the endoscopy manager at Missouri Baptist Medical Center leads a nationwide research initiative on patient outcomes. “If the need is there,” she says, “the need is there.”

Marci Bailey

Cardiovascular 

Even in casual conversation, Marci Bailey is ready to help—it’s virtually part of her DNA. So it wasn’t surprising when she spent months corresponding with a Belgian man with an irregular heartbeat—as well as with his doctors—about his surgery. Despite the language barrier, the man felt comfortable with Bailey, a clinical research specialist in cardiothoracic surgery, by the time he arrived at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. After the patient recuperated, Bailey arranged his return trip and coordinated care with his Belgian physicians. “This is just one of many examples of Ms. Bailey’s talents,” notes Dr. Ralph J. Damiano Jr., chief of cardiac surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Mary Ann Lavin

Educator

Mary Ann Lavin recognized early on that doctors don’t make all of the important diagnoses; with their empathy and hands-on care, nurses also were adept at discovering factors that affected patients’ recovery. So in 1973, Lavin and a colleague took the bold step of organizing the first nurse diagnosis conference. Since that gathering, 41 states have recognized nursing diagnosis as a crucial component of patient treatment. Most recently, Lavin—a nurse practitioner and associate professor at Saint Louis University—became director of clinical services at Casa de Salud, which cares for immigrants without insurance and provides them with professionals who can help them navigate the healthcare system. “I love the challenge of helping people achieve a higher level of wellness,” says Lavin.

Mary Wood

Pediatrics (Tie)

When an ailing toddler was readmitted to St. Louis Children’s Hospital at 3 a.m., Mary Wood drove back to work and stayed with the young patient and her family. “A child’s fiercest advocate” is how Dr. Angela Sharkey, an associate professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, describes Wood. The pediatric cardiology nurse has dropped off supplies at patients’ homes, followed up with families on weekends, and once accompanied a fatally ill child home to Brazil—even though she hates flying. “Just one small thing can make a huge impact on someone’s life,” says Wood.

Lila Kertz

Pediatrics (Tie)

Through her early work in a public health clinic, Lila Kertz found her niche in treating underserved children. “I feel I relate to all types of people—underinsured and insured people both,” she says. “But I always knew I wanted to do pediatrics.” In her current position at the Washington University pediatric asthma center, she coordinates many facets of care. “I work with an asthma coach who is a layperson assigned to families who are considered at-risk,” Kertz says. “I also work hand-in-hand with those patients and try to get them in when they need to be seen.” She sees more than 1,400 patients each year, mostly children with severe, persistent, or life-threatening asthma. Her work in the clinic ensures her patients receive the specialty care they need.

Scott Gilbert

School

Scott Gilbert coaches baseball, teaches freshman health, organizes health fairs, and attends every home game at St. Louis University High School to provide medical assistance. In 2002, he created a student-nurse program with Chamberlain College of Nursing. And the job doesn’t end when the school bell rings—he often visits students and staff at hospitals and follows up with injured athletes from other schools. Oh, and did we mention that he oversees the well-being of SLUH’s 1,000 students and 100 staff members? Thankfully, Gilbert believes being busy is a good thing. As he says, “Sometimes you just have to go with the flow and see where the day takes you.”

Janne Burch

General Practice

Janne Burch’s job is rarely easy. As a nurse for Preferred Family Healthcare, she oversees the well-being of 24 adolescents at a St. Charles treatment center for drug-addicted, Medicaid-eligible teens. She ensures clients receive their medication and make it to doctor appointments, and provides crucial support during a trying time. When a 15-year-old mother’s baby was born with serious birth defects, for instance, Burch spent time at the hospital with the young woman, explaining in simple terms the baby’s prognosis. Over the course of six weeks, she visited the hospital with her client each week and explained what it would take to care for the baby. “People usually do not give kids like ours a break,” notes Jean Sokora, program director at Preferred Family Healthcare. “She finds something good in all our kids… She goes out of her way daily to be sure each client has a deep sense that someone does care about them and has their best interest at heart.”

Debbie Bast

Hospice, Home Health & Palliative Care

Bringing a slot machine to St. Anthony’s de Greeff Hospice House might seem like an unconventional nursing method. But to Debbie Bast, it seemed appropriate when a dying patient kept requesting one last trip to the casino. As a nurse with more than 35 years of experience, Bast has discovered that the small things make a difference. When she noticed weak patients struggling to drink from the hospital’s standard cups and straws, she ravaged nearby stores to find a type of sippy cup that required far less effort. When she heard self-aware patients express concerns about their hygiene, she bought air fresheners and incontinence products. When colleagues fret about their workloads, she says, “Don’t worry. We’ll get it done. We’re an awesome team.” The one-time intensive-care unit nurse knew she wanted to enter the field after she spent time at a children’s hospital when she was 8. “Some people wander through different professions until they find their calling,” she says. “I found mine early on, and I guess I was lucky in that respect.”

Susan Hays

Oncology

Hope sometimes comes in the simplest of forms. After years of working in oncology, Susan Hays understands this lesson all too well. “We have a celebration bell that patients ring at the end of treatments or therapies,” explains the nurse practitioner at Siteman Cancer Center. Of course, not all patients make it to the end of their treatments. Before a woman with metastatic pancreatic cancer was transferred to hospice care, for instance, she expressed disappointment that she’d never rung the bell. One day, Hays showed up on the patient’s doorstep, surprising her with a little bell. With tears in her eyes, the woman thanked Hays. “To me, that’s what makes nursing so wonderful,” Hays says. “That kind of stuff—the simple stuff—is what’s most important. When we lose sight of that, then we really should stop being nurses.”

Jill Malen

Internal Medicine

No one expected the young man to live. He had a severe brain injury from a fall and had been on a ventilator for months when Jill Malen first saw him. He suffered unexplained daily spasms, fever, and a rapid heartbeat. Malen—a clinical nurse specialist in St. John’s Mercy Medical Center’s pulmonary division—dug into his records, talked extensively with his family, and prowled the Internet for answers. Eventually, she found them. With a new drug regimen, the young man’s spasms ceased, he was weaned off of his ventilator, and he eventually entered physical therapy. Months later, Malen learned that the young patient had enrolled in college. “I was elated,” she says. “I just have a genuine desire to help people and give them hope. Once they see a light at the end of the tunnel, it makes all the difference.”

Sharon Pulver

Neurology

Sharon Pulver noticed the gift-shop employee’s husband dragging one foot. When the man was diagnosed with a stroke shortly thereafter, Pulver decided to share her knowledge, launching an online program to teach every SSM St. Joseph Health Center employee about the signs and symptoms of a stroke. Then she took her efforts a step further, championing the establishment of a primary stroke center, where she recently watched as a once-paralyzed stroke victim walked out of the hospital after only three days. Now she’s pressing for every SSM Health Care hospital in St. Louis to become stroke-accredited. When she’s not serving as stroke coordinator, she often presents a “stroke signs and symptoms” program to churches, civic groups, and even other medical organizations. “The most rewarding thing is walking into a patient’s room to do stroke education and hearing someone say, ‘I know you. You came into my church and talked about stroke prevention, and that’s why I came here,’” says Pulver. “That makes it all worthwhile.”

Nancy Brames

Surgery (Tie)

Rarely do you see managers roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty. But for Nancy Brames, it’s common practice. She coordinates the surgical-services fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the training program for new nursing graduates. Since accepting the role two years ago, she’s increased hands-on student training by adding skill stations and welcoming participant feedback. And while working with patients is no longer her primary job, Brames still finds ways to help; she recalls recently escorting a frantic mother and daughter through the labyrinthine hospital to a physician’s office. “I don’t get to do hands-on clinical so much anymore,” she says, “so when I get a chance to do that, I enjoy it.”

Carrie Wilson

Surgery (Tie)

When a girl arrived at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after being crushed by machinery, her family was obviously distraught. To Carrie Wilson, a pediatric nurse practitioner in the hospital’s surgery department, caring for the critically ill child also meant caring for the family. She spent hours of extra time with the girl’s family members and looking after the patient’s wounds. Long after the child was discharged, Wilson stayed in touch and became a close advisor on follow-up treatment. “The family feels like Carrie walks on water,” notes Dr. Brad Warner, surgeon-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “This is but one of countless examples where families feel similarly touched by Carrie.”

Susan Hoffstetter

Women’s Health

While hand-holding and tears are a regular part of her day, Susan Hoffstetter also educates medical students about how to recognize patients who’ve endured domestic or sexual abuse. “When I was working on my dissertation, I looked at how we prepare physicians to deal with domestic violence,” explains the nurse practitioner. Apart from teaching such vital topics at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Hoffstetter also co-founded the SLUCare Vulvar and Vaginal Disorders Specialty Center, a clinic that treats a range of symptoms in women, many of whom have gone untreated for months or years. “I want to make more of an impact on women’s healthcare in our country,” she says.

Paula Meyer

Intensive Care (Tie)

Paula Meyer encountered her first burn victim while working as a paramedic several years ago—and the experience was personal. One snowy evening, Meyer and her partner responded to a call about people trapped in a burning vehicle. Upon reaching the scene, Meyer discovered the victim was a high-school friend of her husband’s. The victim’s wounds were severe enough to warrant an airlift, but the snow’s intensity prevented transport. Out of options, Meyer sat and comforted her husband’s friend, doing her best to ease his mind until his final moments. “After you have something so traumatic happen, it either makes you not want to deal with that situation again, or it draws you to it,” Meyer says. “I was one of the lucky ones that thought, ‘If I can get through this, I can do this for anyone.’” The result: Meyer now dedicates her time to patients in the Burn Center at St. John’s Mercy Medical Center and assists with a burn-education outreach program she helped create.

Paula Mantia

Intensive Care (Tie)

Gaining the trust of patients can be challenging, but after more than 35 years in nursing, Paula Mantia has learned to approach every situation with an open mind. An advanced practice nurse in Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s intensive-care unit, Mantia once assisted a confused and agitated patient who required restraint. To gain the woman’s trust and to afford her some freedom, Mantia began a bargaining process that ended up lasting an entire day. “We made a deal that if I untied her one hand and if I came in to check on her in 5 minutes and she did okay, then we would untie her other hand,” she said. “She trusted me more and more and actually became a more pleasant patient to take care of… I made a difference by approaching her in an open-minded fashion. You can go in angry or you can slow down and see what a patient’s issue is.”

Sandra Miederhoff

Emergency Medicine (Tie)

The difficult work of interviewing, treating, and collecting evidence from sexual-assault victims falls squarely on the shoulders of Sandra Miederhoff. As an emergency-room nurse at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West, Miederhoff is the first person called upon if the victim is an adolescent. Soon she’ll be only the second nurse in Missouri certified to work with child victims. Her work is crucial, because it guarantees that patients don’t have to relive the trauma of assault by retelling their stories to multiple investigators. In fact, Miederhoff’s training is so extensive that she faces perpetrators in court and often is instrumental in getting convictions. Today, procedures she developed as part of a task force are being adopted statewide.

Debbie Throne

Emergency Medicine (Tie)

For 14 years, Debbie Throne has driven an hour from Staunton, Ill., to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, where she serves as an emergency-department staff nurse. A day in the E.R. entails challenging IV attempts, complicated medication drips, and caring for four or five young patients at once. Throne’s also in continual communication with worried parents, updating them on the plan of care. “Every time a child comes into the E.R., they’re scared to death,” she says. “I make it my job to put them at ease. That I’ve made a child a little bit more comfortable, just for a few moments—that’s why I go to work every day.”

                                                                                                                          Pictured: Debbie Throne

Kathy Blanke

Orthopedics

For the past 18 years, Dr. Lawrence Lenke—a senior orthopedic spinal surgeon and endowed professor at Washington University—has relied on Kathy Blanke. She coordinates nearly every aspect of his pediatric service: preoperative preparation, postoperative care, myriad tests, MRIs, and more. “I am reminded daily by my colleagues, in their expressions of jealousy, of how fortunate I am to have Kathy Blanke working with me,” notes Dr. Lenke. A nurse clinician and spine nurse specialist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Blanke spends hours with patients and their families. “Spine surgery is complicated,” she says. “If you can answer their questions, they won’t be afraid.” Last fall, she spent countless hours with an 8-year-old girl from out of town with a deformed spine. “Kathy became like an extended family member,” recalls Dr. Lenke. “She is the consummate clinical nurse who defines the words ‘compassionate’ and ‘caring.’”

Pam Kras

Long-Term Care

The relief on patients’ faces—that’s what allows Pam Kras to press past unsightly lacerations and unpleasant smells to treat others’ wounds. “Some people would say, ‘A wound-care specialist? I would hate that,’” says the nurse practitioner at Delmar Gardens, where she provides aid to nursing-home residents. “But I guess it’s all in what you learn to love.” Kras chose her specialty because of the patient interaction it entails. With her own mother, Sandy Green, as her certified nursing assistant, Kras often feels as if she becomes patients’ surrogate family member. When a 95-year-old female patient was dying recently, Kras offered support to the woman’s husband, helping the man say goodbye and cope with the loss. Parting with such long-time patients can be difficult, but it makes the job meaningful to Kras. “I would choose nursing again no matter what, through all the struggles,” she says, “because it has made me the person I am.”

By Shera Dalin, Kendra Henry, Jarrett Medlin, and Michelle | Edited by Jarrett Medlin