LUFKIN, TEXAS (May 15, 2018)… Florence Nightingale is famously remembered as the founder of modern nursing. She sparked worldwide health care reform in the late 1800s with her tireless dedication to the sickest of patients. During National Nurses Week, celebrated May 6-12, CHI St. Luke’s Health-Memorial Lufkin and Memorial Specialty Hospital recognized three of its nurses who exemplify dedication, caring, competence, self-sacrifice, strength, passion, leadership, and a servant’s heart with the inaugural Florence Nightingale Award.
The recipients were chosen based on peer nominations.
Matt Clark, RN, the clinical nurse award recipient, works in the Lufkin Emergency Department as a Charge Nurse. His co-workers agree that Matt leads by example, according to several nomination letters he received.
“He is a joy to work with and makes each day run as smoothly as possible while keeping patient satisfaction high with the best possible care,” one nomination stated.
“Matt exemplifies servant leadership.”
“Matt is one of the most dedicated nurses I know. Matt takes great pride in his work and devotes himself to make sure all patients are taken care of and his crew has what they need.”
Mary Bannon, RN, the non-clinical nurse award recipient, is the Director of Clinical Informatics which is a hospital department that combines nursing with information systems to create, acquire, store and process meaningful data that is used for patient care.
“Mary shows determination and diligence to find ways for the staff and physicians to consistently use the Electronic Health Records system the way it was intended. Mary is challenged on a daily basis and never seems to be affected by the challenges. She continues to look for more efficient ways to utilize the system,” a nomination letter stated.
Kayla Moreland, RN, works as a nurse at Memorial Specialty Hospital, the area’s only long term acute care facility. Although she has worked for the hospital a little less than a year, her passion for taking care of patients is evident to all who work alongside her.
“She is dedicated to providing 5-star service on a daily basis. Kayla is a great team player and does not mind helping anyone. She is also full of knowledge. She is one who truly loves what she does and it shows!” the nomination stated.