And the Winners Are…

At this May’s Annual Nursing Awards Program, four awards were presented to nurses at The Johns Hopkins Hospital by Karen Haller, PhD, RN, Vice President for Nursing and Patient Care Services.

The Shirley Sohmer Award for Research
Dennis W. Jones, MS, RN, Clinical Instructor at JHUSON

The Linda Arenth Award for Innovation in Service Excellence
Halsted 8-a medical unit

The Nursing Publication Award
Webra Price Douglas, PhD, CRNP, IBCLC and Beth C. Diehl-Svrjcek, MS, CRNP, CCRN CCM, LNCC

The Josie King Grant for Innovation in Public Safety
Mary Cooper, MS, RN; Diane Kurowski, RN,BC; Janice Knowles, RN, BC; Rachel Worthington, RN, BC; Marina Needham, PMHNP, BC; Lorraine Curbeam-Giles, Clinical Associate; Tiffany Lindsey, Clinical Associate; R. Sam McGee, Clinical Associate; Joyce Parks, RN, CNS, BC

Notable Nurses
The Johns Hopkins Hospital Safety Stars program honors staff members who take bold steps to protect patients. Through actions that are proactive, courageous, patient-centered, and beyond the call of duty, these nurse safety stars have prevented medical errors and identified hazards: Catherine Desai, RN; Jenny Helzer ’03, RN; Estrellita Laurel, RN; Robin Lewis, RN; Elizabeth A. Luna, RN; Ronaldo Santos, RN; Leisha Todd, RN; and Caroline Umana, RN.

Kathy DeRuggiero, MSN, RN has been named director of nursing for emergency medicine. A 20-year Hopkins veteran, she began her career as a staff nurse at what is now Johns Hopkins Bayview. In 2005, she moved to the East Baltimore campus to become assistant director of nursing for emergency medicine.

JoAnn Ioannou, MSN/MBA ’05, RN, has been named assistant director for medical nursing. Most recently, she was nurse manager for Osler 4. Currently enrolled in the doctor of nursing practice program, she received the Human Resources Presidential Leadership Award in 2007.

Renay Tyler, MSN ’05, ACNP, CNSN, RN, has been named assistant director of nursing for advanced practice in the Department of Surgery. Tyler, a 23-year Hopkins veteran, will be part of the surgical nursing leadership team assisting with the recruitment, development, and retention of nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

What’s in a name?
The COWs (computers on wheels) on the WICU (Weinberg ICU) now each have their own name. One resident only wants to use Lulu, seen here with Donna Prow (BoN ’01), nurse manager on the WICU, who dreamed up the scheme. Another staff member favors Ethel. Or was that F. A. Mignon? The devices, which look like a herd of tall-size shopping carts, come complete with picture IDs.