Six Genesis Nurses Recognized As Great Iowa Nurses
DAVENPORT, Iowa -- Six nurses from Genesis Medical Center, Davenport are among the 100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2008, an award recognizing nurses who have made a meaningful and lasting contribution to humanity and their profession and act as mentors to others.
The Iowa Nurses Association, Iowa Nurses Foundation and the University of Iowa College Of Nursing partner each year to create this list, which celebrates nursing by honoring 100 nurses from around the state. Nominations are submitted by colleagues, patients, doctors, friends and family members.
The six Genesis nurses selected for the honor are: Betty Carter, Emergency Department; Renee Fay, Cardiographics; Teresa Fraker, Nurse Manager, Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery; Wanda Haack, Nurse Manager, Rehab Nursing Unit; Jan King, Director, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services; and Dianna Paustian, Nurse Manager, Medical/Surgical Unit. They will be honored at a May 4 celebration in West Des Moines.
Genesis now has a total of 19 nurses who have been named Great Iowa Nurses. "This recognition is further evidence of the quality of our nursing staff and the depth of quality among our nurses,"' says Judy Pranger, MSN, RN, Interim Vice President of Patient Services, Genesis Medical Center, Davenport. "Genesis patients receive care from nurses who have been honored for excellence on a statewide basis and also nationally through our designation as a Magnet nursing organization. We are proud that we work with truly great nurses."
Genesis, Davenport is the first and only hospital in the Quad Cities and one of six in Iowa that has received Magnet designation, which recognizes the highest standards of nursing care in the United States.
Here’s more about the Genesis nurses named:
BETTY CARTER, Clinical Level III RN-Charge
In the Emergency Department, where the pace often is frenetic and change is the rule, staff often look to Betty Carter for stability. A nurse for 45 years, more than 25 in the E.D., she can be counted on to guide staff with her expertise and calm demeanor.
She is a mentor, role model, mother figure and friend. Hard-working, always smiling and with a stamina that belies her age, she is committed to providing high-quality nursing care. “She is the nurse that you would want caring for you, your mother or your father,” said Carla Roman, Director, Trauma Services, who nominated Carter.
Carter’s compassion isn’t limited to the ED. She serves as a parish nurse, providing flu shots, vaccinations, blood pressure checks and general medical information for the congregation. Following Hurricane Katrina, she was one of the first Genesis employees to volunteer to travel to New Orleans for 10 days to assist in the aftermath. She returned to New Orleans last year, using her own vacation time to work with Operation Blessing, a faith-based organization that operates a freestanding medical clinic for the poor. She also joined a mission trip to work in an orphanage clinic in Mexico. “This honor comes at the end of a long and gratifying nursing career at Genesis,” said Carter. “I’m humbled, honored and proud of this mark of distinction.”
RENEE FAY, Clinical Level IV RN, BSN, BC
In 17 years as a cardiac nurse, Renee Fay calls “priceless” the life lessons she’s learned from patients along the way. It’s a reward for someone who loves nursing and supporting those in need.
A caring and compassionate nurse, she is perceptive in assessing patients and dedicated to teaching them about their care after discharge. That dedication extends to teaching her nurse colleagues, serving as a mentor for both new and seasoned staff. For years, she has planned and facilitated new employee orientation and regularly provides in-services at staff meetings and throughout GMC. She shares best practices with other departments; designed a program to help staff enhance critical-thinking skills; was a member of the teaching team for the Insulin Protocol; and taught at the IV Skills Day for GMC Davenport Nurses. Last year, she planned orientation and integration for more than 16 new nurses and staff on the Cardiovascular Stepdown and Cardiovascular Interventional Units. Recently, after identifying a need to provide ongoing support to new staff, she arranged meetings to provide continued mentoring.
Fay, who recently moved to Cardiographics, also is active in the community, teaching CPR and first aid courses and serving on her local school board. “I was surprised to be nominated for this recognition, and I’m shocked to be selected,” says Fay. “It’s such a great honor.”
TERESA FRAKER, RN, BSN, MS
An expert, a teacher, a confidant, a cheerleader and yes, a nurse, Teresa Fraker has been described as the “face” of the Genesis Center for Bariatric Surgery program. But above all, she is a patient advocate extraordinaire.
Fraker, first through the Genesis Center for Breast Health and now as nurse manager of the bariatric program, develops a relationship with patients and their families as they go through life-altering events. She spends time understanding patients’ readiness to learn; instructs them in all aspects of weight-loss surgery; and, reinforces hope that their life can be different. If surgery is not approved, she offers alternatives. She makes a difference in all of her patient interactions through the pre- and post-surgery continuum of care that the Center for Bariatric Surgery provides. It is the essence of who she is. With her passion, dedication and attention to detail, Fraker in 2007 led the hospital’s bariatric program to the prestigious Center of Excellence designation through the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.
She chairs the Nurse Manager group at Genesis and is in-coming chair of the Nursing Practice Council. She recognizes ways nurses can understand and collaborate with physicians. “Nursing isn’t really what I do. Rather, it’s who I am as a person, and I derive a great deal of personal and professional satisfaction from my work,” Fraker says.
WANDA HAACK, RN, MSN, CRRN
Calling nursing a wonderful, creative art as well as a science, Wanda Haack has a strong sense of dedication to her nurses and nursing staff. That dedication has led her to a leadership position where she can support and advocate for nurses as well as patients.
When workers’ compensation claims related to patient-handling injuries increased on Haack’s Rehab Nursing Unit, she knew something had to be done. To reduce injuries, she led an initiative that developed a policy; trained staff to move patients correctly; and, obtained equipment to aid in safe patient handling. As a result, Genesis has saved considerable dollars; claims and lost-time injuries have decreased; and, employee and patient satisfaction has improved.
This initiative, as well as a Care Rounding initiative, was so successful that Haack was called to speak on both at a National Magnet Conference in 2007. She also has helped with fall prevention, narcotics indexing, and charge nurse development. She tackles her job with kindness and compassion and always looks for solutions that are in the best interest for all involved, says Jennifer Stender, Program Liaison, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services, who nominated her.
“Genesis is a great place to work because the organization values its nurses,” says Haack. “I am exceptionally thankful to be nominated and chosen as a Great Iowa Nurse. It is an honor that I will cherish my entire life.”
JANET KING, MBA, RN, CRRN
Even as a small child, Janet King wanted to help others and make a difference in someone’s life. After 39 years as a nurse, her contributions no longer lie in direct patient care but in leadership of the busiest physical medicine and rehabilitation program in Iowa.
Supportive not only of nursing, she brings together physical, occupational, recreational and speech therapists along with other professionals so that all patients receive excellent care. She embraces new ideas and technology; inspires and challenges staff; and, displays flexibility in adapting to change.
She has been instrumental in the development of a stroke prevention and recovery program. She obtained a grant to sponsor a “Think First for Kids” chapter at Genesis, which tells third-graders how to protect their brain and spinal cord from injury. Her work with Bend of the River Club, Quad Cities, a Pilot International chapter, has helped raise money for Genesis adult and pediatric brain injury patients. She has served on the American Hospital Association Governing Council for Long Term Care and Rehabilitation, giving patients and rehab facilities a voice in Washington D.C.
“There is no better tribute to a nursing career than to be recognized by your peers, and for that I am truly honored,” King says. “I view this recognition as the Academy Award for nursing. I’m grateful for the professional development support Genesis has given me. I’m especially proud to be a Genesis nurse.”
DIANNA PAUSTIAN, RN, MS
Dianna Paustian knew she wanted to be a nurse in high school after working part-time caring for the elderly in a custodial care facility. After 40 years, she still loves the fast pace, “creative chaos” and rewards of nursing. “The nursing profession has been good to me and given me a career that both influences and makes a difference in people’s lives,” she says.
Her focus on patients has led to many significant contributions. With an oncologist, she opened Davenport’s first oncology unit. She helped bring the first hospice program into the local hospital setting in the ‘70s; and helped establish a Pulmonary Unit in the ‘90s. Outside of work, she volunteers on the Ridgecrest board, as a hospital Auxilian, and as a trained volunteer for Genesis Spiritual Care. She has served on the Hospice Board; as the RN who rides with elderly parishioners on the church van; and, helped establish the Komen Quad Cities Race for the Cure®.
A talented teacher and mentor to new managers and students, she encourages lifelong learning; serves on numerous Genesis committees; and touches many lives with excellence and compassion, says Pranger, who nominated her. “She always keeps the patient at the center of her decision-making and serves as a patient advocate and role model for staff and physicians. Her outgoing personality leads to a unique ability to challenge practices, question decisions and promote critical thinking.”
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