2013 nurses excellence

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The Messenger/Fort Dodge, Iowa Sunday, May 5, 2013 3Dwww.messengernews.net

NURSINGExcellence

PaM KENNELLNominated by: Jill Duffy, RN, BC

I nominate Pam Kennell, RN, BC, for the2013 Nursing Excellence Award.

Pam is a registered nurse with over 30 yearsof caring and educating individuals in and outof the hospital setting. She has touched thelives of those from the newborn to the veryold. She has cared for mothers and newborns,patients in the hospital and patients in theirhomes, watched over the hospital and staffthrough nights when the rest of the world wassleeping, cared for people in emergencies andthose recovering from addiction. She current-ly is making an impact on the lives of peoplewith chronic pain.

Pam takes the extra initiative in all her in-teractions. The initials BC after her name in-dicate that she is board certified in pain man-agement by the American Nursing Credential-ing Center. This is not a requirement for herposition. It is a self-initiated validation ofknowledge in a nursing specialty achieved bytaking an examination developed by expertsin the field. Pam is a member of a select groupof nurses in the unique specialty of pain man-agement nursing.

Pam places the needs of a person withchronic pain at the front of every patient in-teraction. It is not only the physical needs thatshe very competently attends to; it is4 also thevision of improving the patient’s current situ-ation. Working with other members of thehealth care team, Pam is able to offer plans forimproving or maintaining function in people

who may not see an end to discomfort in theirlives. Pam offers hope.

One of Pam’s greatest skills is listening andreally hearing what the patient issaying. Working with anyone who has achronic illness can be very challenging.Words that are spoken may not be what aremeant yet Pam is able to find the questionsand meaning hidden in the emotions voiced.She gives each person her undivided attentioneven though there may be ten other things go-ing through her mind that need to be attendedto. The ability to fully focus on one personmakes a good nurse a great nurse.

Pam is a mentor and teacher to the othernurses and staff that she works with. Shefreely shares her knowledge and expertise toprovide the best care every time for every pa-tient. She is a sounding board for her cowork-ers and offers invaluable suggestions. Shemay start out as a coworker/unit manager butnine times out of ten, she ends up a friend.

In addition to Pam’s lifelong dedication tonursing, she has raised five children. Twodaughters - Stacy and Kim are registered nurs-es; her other two, Angie and Jenny work inpatient care, and son Jonny married an ultra-sound technician. Not many families are ableto show such passion from a parent beinghanded down through their children.

I am going to end with a quote by inspira-tional speaker and nurse Rawsi Williams. “Todo what nobody else will do, a way that no-body else can do, in spite of all we go through;is to be a Nurse.” Thank you Pam Kennell, forbeing “just” a nurse!

2013 Winner

2400 6th Avenue North • Fort Dodge, Iowa 515-576-1138 www.marianhome.com

We dedicate this week to all the hardworking and invaluable

healthcare professionals at the Marian Home.

National Nurses Week May 6-12, 2013

Pam Kennell, who was chosen as this year’s Nursing Excellence Award winner, displays her award.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen

By EMILIE

NELSON -JENSON [email protected]

In her 41-year career,Nursing Excellence Awardwinner Pam Kennell hasspent time in multiple spe-cialties, and she’s not doneyet.

“I just always knew Iwas going to be a nurse,”said Kennell, who has beenwith Trinity Regional Med-ical Center for more than30 years.

“I’ve been in just aboutevery facet of nursing pos-sible,” she said.

After graduating withher licensed practical nurs-ing degree from Iowa Cen-tral Community College in1972, Kennell went towork on the medical/surgi-cal floor at Iowa LutheranHospital in Des Moines forabout 10 months before re-turning to Iowa Central tocomplete the registerednursing program and be-

come an RN. “Back then it was mostly

the LPN’s job to pass med-ications,” she said. “I waspassing meds for 54 pa-tients on the floor.”

Upon returning to FortDodge, Kennell worked asa nurse in the IntensiveCare Unit at TRMC andgraduated with an RN de-gree in 1974.

After her time workingin ICU, Kennell workedwith high-risk patients inlabor and delivery at theUniversity of Iowa Hospi-tals and Clinics and was aclinical nurse specialist su-pervisor there for two yearsin obstetrics.

In 1980, Kennell re-

turned to her hometown,Gowrie, and to TRMCwhere she was an obstetricsnurse for five years andmanaged the special carenursery for two years.

Following her obstetricscareer, she joined the nurs-ing staff in the emergencyroom for five years and was

a house supervisor for fiveyears before going to workin the Home Health/Hos-pice department until 1999when she went to work inoutpatient surgery.

She has also traveled toNicaragua on six medicalmission trips.

For the past 10 years,

Kennell has been with theTrinity Pain ManagementCenter where she is depart-ment manager.

With vast experience innumerous departments,Kennell said she still has agoal of experiencing otherareas of nursing.

“I have been interestedin parish and travel nursingand hope to experiencethose at some point,” shesaid.

“I have had the luxury ofhaving a variety of experi-ences in 40 years; somepeople find one area theylike and that’s their nursinglife. Sometimes you feelyou have met your goal ofexpertise in an area.”

Nursing Excellence winner has varied background“I just always knew I would be a nurse.

I’ve been in just about every facet of

nursing possible.”—Pam Kennell

2013 Nursing Excellence Winner

Kennell’s background

includes multiple areas

NURSINGExcellence4E Sunday, May 5, 2013 The Messenger/Fort Dodge, Iowa www.messengernews.net

nursing. She has enhancedthe nursing communitythrough her outstandingwork and serves as a posi-tive role model for myself aswell as many other employ-ee and patient personnel inthe healthcare industry. Forthe above accomplishmentsand dedication exuberated, Iask for the selection com-mittee to strongly considerAmanda Kuchenreuther asthe 2013 Annual NursingExcellence Award recipient.

valerie a.WuBBen

nominated by:Wade Wubben

It may seem odd that Inominate my wife, ValerieWubben, but I do so withgood reason. In March of2008 our daughter Courtneywas diagnosed with type 1diabetes. Our worldchanged drastically that dayand many challenges andfears were put in front of us.I sit here these years laterand see how Val has takenthis challenge of type 1 dia-betes in our family and hasbeen the one who has helpedit to become something thatwe deal with on a normalbasis. She gets up in themiddle of every night tocheck Courtney’s blood sug-ar. Anytime Courtney is sickit is Val who deals with theramifications in regards toCourtney’s sugars. My lifehas been touched by thisnurse because I havewatched her help a little girl,her daughter; take some-thing like type 1 diabetesand move on to life a verynormal life. She has helpedteach Courtney disciplineand has also provided her acomfort level that moneycould not buy. Perhaps sheis better suited for mother ofthe year- but as a nurse- herexpertise, love, and care forpatients- even her own fam-ily- are second to none.

BicKFord entire StaFFnominated by:

Allie Berger

When I received the nomi-nation form for a nurse whohas touched my life and thelives of our Bickford resi-dents, I began to panic! Howcould I possibly pick justone! For those of you whohave visited our Bickfordhome, I’m sure you can re-late to my dilemma! Thisprompted me to nominateall of our Bickford familymembers (nursing staff).Weare so blessed to have excel-lent, compassionate, andknowledgeable Bickfordfamily members.

Let me briefly share someexamples of their excel-lence. I have often noticedthem giving a resident or aresident’s family member ahug when they’re having arough day! They on a dailybasis patiently help our resi-dents with daily tasks, in away that doesn’t make theresidents feel self conscious.They often find ways tobrighten our resident’s day!For instance one of our resi-dents loves Johnny Cash!Knowing this a Bickfordfamily member purchasedher a Johnny Cash T-shirt! Ittotally made our resident’sday, and brought a hugesmile to her face!

When it comes to compas-sion our family membershave more than I everthought was possible! Sincewe are a smaller assisted liv-ing, we are a very close“family”. This being said,when a resident passes ormoves it deeply affects ourfamily members! If a resi-dent moves our familymembers go visit them! Onefamily member took a previ-ous resident some goofysocks! Those socks totallybrightened her day! Whenthis resident passed shewore her heart coveredsocks to heaven!

Another example is whenour Bickford family mem-bers come in on a weekendto move a resident into ourBickford home!There havemany occasionswhen I havewitnessed ourBickford familymembers carry-ing in furniture.One such occa-sion sticks outin my mind! Aresident of oursmoved in on aweekend! At8pm on a Sun-day night ourregistered nurse coordinatorstepped up in a major way!Our newest resident was inmajor pain! Most pharma-cies aren’t open at 8pm on aSunday night! She took theinitiative to call a pharma-cist at home to request hishelp! He promptly went tohis pharmacy and broughtthe needed medication outto our Bickford home! Thisact of compassion broughtextreme comfort to our resi-dent and his family!

Many times resident’sfamily members don’t livein the Fort Dodge area so weessentially are their familyin good times and bad! OurBickford family membersare the ones who make themlaugh one moment, and areby their bedside in the next!I hope this brief nominationgives you a look into ourBickford home and the“Awesome” care our familymembers provide for ourresidents and their families!

JeSSica Baileynominated by:

Jenny Condon

In the years I have workedwith Jessica Bailey, she hasdemonstrated professional-ism and expertise in her careof patients every day. She isthorough and knowledge-able with the critically ill

patients she cares for. Sherespects patient’s privacyand goes above and beyondeach day to stand up for the

rights of herpatients.She followsthe rules andstandards setfor our pa-tients andencouragesothers to dothe same.She alwayshas a posi-tive attitudeat work.She hasstepped up

to the plate to take on extraresponsibility when neededand makes herself availableto work on special projects.She has taken a leadershiprole with a nursing gover-nance council and workswith evidenced based prac-tice projects that lead to im-proved patient care. She isrecognized for being thor-ough and intelligent as sheworks as a preceptor fornursing students and newnurses. She stands up forwhat she believes and al-ways advocates of her pa-tients and families. Jessdemonstrates compassionand competence and is acredit to the profession ofnursing every day.

marie KauFmannominated by:Christina Fevold

As a newnurse Isoon foundthat MarieKaufmanis a nursethat letsyou knowthat shewill takecharge andlet youknow howshe feelsthings

should be done when she iscaring for her patients. Yes,she does take charge, butshe is a compassionate,hardworking women with awealth of knowledge andexpertise from years of ex-perience, who I am honoredto have not only as acoworker, but as a friend.I love to hear her reminisce

about how it was when shestarted compared to howhealthcare has evolved.Whenever I need-ed advice on whatto do with a pa-tient, or how toaddress issues Ihave come acrossin the workplace,Marie has alwaysoffered a support-ive, nonjudgmen-tal, professionalopinion and evena shoulder to cryon when I lost apatient. Patientswhom I have taken care ofafter Marie often make pos-itive comments about Mariethe next day. She sets a highstandard to match! In doingquality improvement proj-ects and audits, Marie isthorough, complete andtakes the time to go aboveand beyond to have the ac-curate information and hearthe patient’s story. I am thenurse I am today because ofthe informal mentoringMarie has provided me. Asan advocate for patients andher peers, Marie alwaysdemonstrates empathy to-

ward others,keeping the pa-tient as a priority.I think others in-cluding Marie’spatients, wouldagree that Marieis the kind ofnurse we wouldlike to care for us.

Bev Wildenominated by:

Val Wubben

Bev Wilde is one of themost outstanding nurses Ihave ever met. I’ve workedwith Bev for 10 years andhave seen her show kind-ness, concern and compas-sion to her patients time andtime again. Eighteen yearago, while a student nurse, Iobserved Bev and was im-

pressedwith howshe caredfor her pa-tients.Bev dis-tinguishedherselffrom othernurseswith herdiligence,and thetime andeffort she

put into the care of her pa-tients. Bev is now ourcharge nurse for Cardiacand Pulmonary Rehab.Whether she is assisting pa-tients in regard to their med-ications, appointments, ex-ercising them or teachingthem about heart disease,Bev is always giving herbest to her patients. She is awonderful nurse, but also anoutstanding teacher and en-courager at heart. She liftsup her patients with herwords, actions and the kind-ness she shows them. Shehelps patients ENJOY exer-cise, by making rehab a funplace to be! In addition toher qualities as a nurse, Bevis respected and loved bythe staff of Cardiac and Pul-monary Rehab. I count it aprivilege to work alongsideBev and learn from her. Sheis committed to her patients,our department and our hos-pital.

The Messenger/Fort Dodge, Iowa Sunday, May 5, 2013 5Ewww.messengernews.net

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RUNNER-UPSaraH HanSen-Spellmeyer

nominated by:Patty Brown

My dad was a strong Ger-man man, a Christian, full ofwisdom and insight that heused whileraising hisfamily. Dadwas a hardworkingfarmer until hereached his80’s when hebegan to showsigns of de-mentia.It was so hard

to watch theman who hadbeen a rock inthe life of our family; theone we looked to forstrength, sought counsel inmaking big life decisions,who stayed by his familiesside in sickness, in sorrowand would pray withstrength and belief, becomeweak, fragile, and in need ofcare. A time finally camewhen a decision had to bemade to put dad into a carefacility. At such a difficulttime God still had things un-der control. This is whenwe met our angel.Dad was assigned a room

and given nurses who would

be in charge of his care.One of those nurses wasSarah. From the start Sarahwas kind and compassionateto my dad even when hisstrong German ways wouldcome out. Sarah not onlyshowed kindness throughher responsibilities of caringfor dad but also extended

them to ourentire familywhether visit-ing or keepingin touch byphone.Not only didSarah displaykindness tomy dad but al-so demon-strated knowl-edge in deal-ing with hisdementia and

helped our family by com-municating to us what hismedical needs were andhow to best deal with them. Many years passed. I visit-

ed dad daily, now doing forhim what he had done forme over the course of mylife. I held his hand, fedhim, and prayed for him,just as his example hadtaught me.Unexpectedly, I had an ac-

cident and broke my shoul-der. During this time I couldnot go and have my dailyvisits with dad. We tried tokeep from telling him whathad happened due to his

worrying but as the days andweeks passed and his agita-tion in not seeing me esca-lated, Sarah finally told himwhat had happened. While at home recuperat-

ing who should come to mydoor but Sarah and dad.Sarah had taken her day off,a busy mother, to bring dadfor a visit. Sara went aboveand beyond the call of dutythat day, displaying the ex-cellent qualities of a truecaregiver. She was de-signed to care for others andwithout thought puts othersneeds above her own. Sheblessed my spirits as I layrecovering from injury andit reassured dad to see that Iwas going to be ok. Beforethey left dad belted out abeautiful prayer. Sara and Iboth sat in amazement as wewatched his faith comethrough, somethingAlzheimer’s could not rob.Dad spent the last eight

years of his life with Saragently and tenderly caringfor him; a blessing he wasmostly unaware of. Yourimpact on my father’s lifenever went unnoticed. I amforever grateful for youSarah Spellmeyer.Nominated by:

FaitHnominated by:

Jacke Anderson

This nurse is the

best.....I’ve seen Dr. Secorfor many years and reallyhave always loved hernurse....Faith took over forDiane whom we sadly lostcouple of yrs ago...Faithstepped in and took rightover.. Dr Secor is a veryvery busy Dr. their patientsare very important to them,and it shows....you don’tleave that office with unan-swered questions or con-cerns.......anytime I’ve hadan emergency I have calledleft a message and Faith isright back to me....sheworks long hours and everyminute counts to her....herpatients are #1...and itshows........

amandaKucHen-

reutHernominated by:

Jessica Nees

Trinity Regional MedicalCenter—Telemetry FloorLying ill, 24-hours a day in

a hospital bed just hopingsomeone would enter ourfour, white-walled room tohelp us recover. Around theclock, shift after shift, ournurses walk in with a smile,whether it be 4:00 AM or11:00 PM, always attentiveand willing to fetch whatev-er we need, regardless of theheavy workload and unfin-ished tasks weighing ontheir shoulders. After our

time of medical care, weleave the hospital, tell themthank you, and (in manycases) never see these indi-viduals again. Fortunately,nurses are greatly appreciat-ed in the workplace by alarge majority of their pa-tients, but I believe theirpersonal accomplishmentsoften go unrecognized.Luckily, I have had thepleasure of knowing an ex-ceptional nurse in the stateof Iowa who is not only mo-tivated and dedicated to hercurrent professional nursingcareer, but also strives tosucceed above and beyondeducationally. For her vastaccomplishments, I wouldlike to nominate AmandaKuchenreuther for The Mes-senger 2013 Nursing Excel-lence Award. Since theyoung age of sixteen,Amanda has touched livesthrough her strong commit-ment to a career in thehealthcare field. With herfirst job at a rural Iowanlong-term care facility, shepossessed an outstandingability to tend to residents’needs in addition to con-necting with each residenton a personal level at thenursing facility. Years laterfollowing in her footsteps asa certified nursing assistantat the same facility, I contin-ued to hear about her per-sonal character and hard-working nature from both

residents and co-employees.Subsequent to my threeyears of working at the fa-cility, it was evident thatAmanda had made a signifi-cant impact on those at thelong-term care facility andshe was highly adored by allwho had a chance to meet orwork alongside her. Post at-taining her Registered Nurs-ing Degree, Amanda ob-tained a RN position in theTrinity Regional MedicalCenter Telemetry Depart-ment in Fort Dodge, Iowa.Also being an employee ofthe facility, I continuallywitnessed her exceptionalpatient-care skills and themanner in which she tendedto each of her patients. Dur-ing her five-plus year careerat TRMC, she has formedmeaningful relationships aswell as served as a positiverole model for many of herpast/current patients and co-employees. Additionally toher full-time RN position,Amanda has committed anoutstanding effort to en-hance her professional andeducational career. May 18,2013, Amanda will success-fully complete her three-year Nurse Practitioner pro-gram at Briar Cliff Universi-ty. Embarking on this newphase of her professionalhealthcare career, Amandais deserving of this honor asshe has fully exhibited hercommitment to the field of

723 1st Avenue South • Fort Dodge, IA 50501 • (515) 573-4107

Many thanks to our dedicated nursing staff. Whatever the task at hand, we can always count on you to provide our patients with the best of

care. We value your commitment and look forward to working with you for years to come!

Margaret Woodruff

Not pictured are Tami Birdsell and Marsha Royster.

June Weiss

Julie Howell

Kit Anderson

Dawn Gehlhausen

Melissa Grell

Webster County

Public Health Nurses!

THANK YOU

Tricia Nichols

Jamie Brown

Jen Wuebker

Thank You Iowa Nurses Association for judging the

nominations for this years Nursing Excellence Award

Diane Anderson Fort Dodge Becky Lewis Cedar Rapids Diane Smith Akron Jann Ricklefs Gilmore City Lisa Caffery Davenport Linda Opheim Fort Dodge Peggy Murphy Galena, IL Brian Cooley Council Bluffs, IA

The Panel of judges were:

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420 Kenyon Road

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We appreciate you and we’re sending out thanks to all the dedicated nurses in the area. We value your commitment to caring for others! These Sponsors Proudly

Salute Our Nurses!

2013 NOMINEES

Working on behalf of the 44,000 registered nurses in Iowa, the Iowa Nurses Association should clearl y be your professional organization of choice. Impending changes is our industry will happen TO you or on BEHALF of you. You decide. The Iowa Nurses Association is working hard to make sure all nurses have the opportunity to be a part of what should be a promising future. We must be a stronger, unite d voice for our patients and our profession.

The Iowa Nurses Association advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, projecting a positive view of nursing, significant governmental advocacy and promoting saf e, evidence-based nursing practices. We need you to be a member of this organization, especially at thi s critical period of time.

Please visit our website, www.iowanurses.org, to become a member today.

“The mission of the Iowa Nurses Association is to connect, support and advocate for

Iowa nurses and nursing practice.”

Sarah Hansen-Spellmeyer

Jessica Bailey

marie Kaufman

Bev Wilde