Beebe Healthcare announces 2020 Nursing Award recipients

LEWES – Beebe Healthcare’s Nurses Celebrating Nurses Committee recently presented the 2020 Nursing Excellence Awards in October.

The awards ceremony is held annually to honor nine individual nurses for their dedication but also to recognize the entire Beebe nursing team for their consistent dedication to caring for patients. The awards are normally presented during National Nurses Week in May but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s an honor to have joined an organization with so many amazing people who come to work and care so passionately for the community,” said David A. Tam, MD, MBA, FACHE, President & CEO, Beebe Healthcare. “Beebe is well-known for its compassionate, patient-centered care and nurses carry out that mission with pride.”

Out of over 900 nurses and 600 certified nursing assistants within the Beebe Healthcare organization, the Nurses Celebrating Nurses Committee collects nominations submitted early in the year. Executive leadership then votes on the nominations, which have been blinded, to choose the winner in each category. It is truly special to recognize and celebrate the nurses who landed in the top 1% of our organization. The winners are as follows:

Bonnie Austin Nursing Leadership Award: Beth Richardson

Connie Bushey Nursing Scholarship Award: Beth West

Eleanor Cordrey Nursing Excellence Award: Shawna Mayles

Holly Rader Advanced Practice Nursing Excellence Award: Lisa Shotyk

Professional Mentor Nursing Excellence Award: Jen Whaley

Graduate Nurse Excellence Award: Kayla Harmon

Certified Nursing Assistant Excellence Award: Sherall Blake

Beebe Medical Foundation’s Nursing Philanthropy Award: Kim Blanch

Inaugural Nurses Celebrating Nurses Career Achievement Award: Bonnie Cunningham

The second annual Beebe Medical Foundation Nursing Philanthropy Award was presented to Kim Blanch, RN, Community Services Manager for Beebe’s Community Health department. This award is presented each year to a nurse whose career and service to the community embodies several or all of the following criteria:

• Nominees have been recognized by grateful patients through the Celebrate Excellent Care program.
• Nominees attend or volunteer at Beebe Medical Foundation events or have organized a fundraising event benefitting the Beebe Medical Foundation.
• Nominees are active donors, Giving Hands Society members, or 1916 Club members and are willing to speak with donors about philanthropy.

“Nurses play such a critical role in the care that Beebe provides at the Margaret H. Rollins Lewes Campus, at our health campuses throughout Sussex County, in the patients’ homes, and also at our community events,” said Lynne Voskamp, DNP, RN, CEN, Interim Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. “Awarding these nurses and recognizing all the Beebe nurses who make a difference every day was a really special way to say thank you during this difficult year and past few months during the pandemic. It also provided an opportunity to again celebrate 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and Midwife, which is a designation by the World Health Organization.”