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Lombard nurse wins Good Samaritan Hospital's Advocate Nurse award

With a near-constant smile and encouraging words, Anne Lipira, RN, has helped countless patients and families lead a healthy lifestyle through her work in the cardiac rehab unit at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.

For her contribution to the hospital and embodiment of Advocate Health Care's core nursing values, Lipira has been named The 2018 Advocate Nurse.

The Lombard resident is among 15 award-winning nurses to be recognized by Advocate's executive leaders in a systemwide celebration at the health system's Downers Grove headquarters.

"Our 11,000 Advocate nurses work on the front line, serving patients and families at our hospitals, clinics, in the community and in the home," said Susan Campbell, senior vice president and chief nursing officer, Advocate Health Care. "These particular nurses were chosen by their colleagues to be recognized for their unwavering commitment to delivering safe, quality care in a way that is both compassionate and innovative."

Lipira is known for empowering her patients with her gentle and compassionate disposition to provide a safe place for them to get back on the right path.

Lipira's compassion doesn't end when her patients "graduate" from the rehab program, as she's been instrumental in starting a local Mended Hearts program that aims to inspire hope and improve the quality of life for heart patients and their families through peer-to-peer support. As the hospital's site captain for the American Heart Association's Heart Walk, she has raised thousands of dollars for the fundraiser and encouraged countless associates to champion the cause.

Lipira is also dedicated to her nursing profession as she has served on the Nursing Governing Council, Professional Development Committee and mentored new graduates. Physicians, patients, families and peers respect Lipira for her clinical knowledge, professionalism and collaboration.

"It is such an honor and privilege to be a nurse," Lipira said. "I love my patients and my job. I feel very blessed to be able to work alongside the great caretakers here at Good Sam."

More than 400 nurses from Advocate Health Care's hospitals, home health care, support center, clinics and medical offices were nominated for this second annual award. Nominations were submitted by physicians and associates, including many non-nursing associates, to recognize Advocate nurses who empower, serve and thrive. These nominations were vetted and presented in blinded format to site-based review committees who scored each according to a metric that considered each nominee's passion for patient care, commitment to service, problem-solving abilities and leadership aptitude.

The winners are nurses from a variety of specialties across the patient care continuum who represent diversity in their backgrounds and experiences; some are veteran nurses with more than 30 years of experience while others are relatively new to Advocate or to the nursing profession yet have already made an impact on their patients and colleagues.

Advocate Health Care is the largest employer of nurses in the state of Illinois, employing nearly 11,000 professional nurses across the system's 12 acute care facilities, more than 250 outpatient locations, home health, hospice, occupational health and corporate services. Nurses represent one-third of Advocate's workforce. For more information, visit www.theadvocatenurse.com.

Anne Lipira, RN, cardiac rehabilitation at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, has been named The 2018 Advocate Nurse. Courtesy of Advocate Good Samaritan
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