Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital honors outstanding nurses

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital honored six nurses with its annual Nursing Excellence Awards for their leadership, skill and compassion in areas including education, leadership and volunteerism. The nurses were recognized during a reception and ceremony at Good Shepherd Hospital. The 2013 Nursing Excellence Award winners are:

Ÿ Cheryl Degner, RN, in the 4 East Medical/Surgical Unit from Arlington Heights. Awarded the Nurse of the Year Advanced Beginner for her tender, genuine and professional care at the bedside; excellent continuity of care during each shift and her eagerness to learn and communicate with physicians.

Ÿ Sherri McKenna, RN, Care Manager in the Care Management Services department from Crystal Lake. Awarded the Nurse of the Year Collaborative Professional for more than 30 years of dedication to nursing, ensuring safe patient transitions into home care and collaborating with patients, family and home care institutions to meet patient goals.

Ÿ Christine Conley, RN, in the 4 Center Medical/Surgical Unit from West Dundee. Awarded the Nurse of the Year Education Award for developing teaching materials, reference materials and posters for the unit and for constantly learning new skills to be applied into nursing practice.

Ÿ Lydia Valdez, RN, in the 4 Center Medical/Surgical Unit from Wauconda. Awarded the Nurse of the Year Leadership Award for providing thorough and proactive patient care and for serving as a member of the Quality and Safety Shared Governance Committee as well as numerous other committees.

Ÿ Mary Cote, RN, in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit department from Cary. Awarded the Nurse of the Year Volunteerism Award for taking her work out into the community through vaccination and bioterrorism training and clinics as well as serving as a member of the McHenry County Medical Reserve Corps.

Ÿ Emily Hendler, RN, Clinician II in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit from Wonderlake. Awarded the Nurse of the Year Magnetism Award for her constant support and enthusiasm as Good Shepherd Hospital actively moves toward Magnet designation.

Advocate Good Shepherd, in Barrington, is a 169-bed acute care hospital with more than 700 physicians representing 50 medical specialties. It is part of Advocate Health Care, named one of the Top Ten hospital systems in the U.S. by Thomson-Reuters.

For more about Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, visit www.advocatehealth.com/goodshep

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