Photo caption left to right:  Milagros Silverman, the Dee McMillan Nurse Care Partner Award recipient; Erin Truman, RN, the Alice Tudor Professional Nurse Award recipient; and Gloria Grinan, LPN, the Carol Love Licensed Practical Nurse Award recipient.

The Professional Development Council of VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital recently recognized three extraordinary people.  One of the council’s goals is to offer recognition to nurses and nurse care partners for their continual commitment to excellence.

 

VCU Health CMH first gave out these awards on Nurses’ Day, May 6, 2009 and this tradition has continued and grown stronger each year.  This year the Professional Development Council of VCU Health CMH received numerous nominations, a testament to the many dedicated professionals among the hospital’s staff.  This year’s awards were given to three incredible individuals, whose impact and contributions to nursing at VCU Health CMH have been tremendous.

    

The three original awards were named after three special people, Dee McMillan, Carol Love and Alice Tudor. These women embodied the values that are respected in nursing: hard work, diligence, kindheartedness, compassion, knowledge, loyalty and support. 

      

The Dee McMillan Nurse Care Partner Award is named after the late Dee McMillan, who was a true nurse partner for many nurses and nursing staff at VCU Health CMH. She was a person who wore many hats when she worked within the organization. Dee demonstrated commitment in her work and a kindhearted attitude toward everyone she met. This award is presented each year in her memory as the Dee McMillan Nurse Care Partner Award. 

 

This year’s recipient of the Dee McMillan Care Partner Award is Milagros Silverman.  Milagros has been employed at VCU Health CMH for nine years.  She leads the way for others and always makes sure that patients are safe throughout her shift. If she knows that a patient is on fall risk, she is often seen watching the patient closely and ready to assist right away if the at risk patient tries to get out of bed. Milagros strives to be her best and wants everyone in the unit to do the same. She never complains and always has a smile on her face. She is a preceptor and trains other Care Partners in a professional and welcoming manner. She goes above and beyond without hesitation to assist her peers, the patients, family members, and others in any way that she can. Milagros demonstrates relationship based care every day with her caring attitude and always puts the patient first. 

 

Carol Love, LPN, was awarded the first LPN Award from the Professional Development Council of VCU Health CMH in 2009 for her leadership, commitment, caring attitude, demonstration of professionalism, and contribution to the Practical Nursing Program.  Thereafter, the award was named the Carol Love Licensed Practical Nurse Award in her honor, and is given each year to an LPN, for their exemplary contribution to nursing at VCU Health CMH. 

 

The recipient of this year’s Carol Love Licensed Practical Nurse Award is Gloria Grinan, LPN.  Gloria has been employed at VCU Health CMH for thirty years.  She is described as a team player and will jump in and help out whenever needed. She willingly shares her expertise with other team members. She is an educator to team members and shares her tricks of the trade. Gloria treats her patients as if they were her own family with her quiet caring attitude. She always exhibits integrity in her nursing practice and is dressed to impress each day, uniform always pressed, presenting herself in a very professional manner. Her professionalism is evident in her community with her church involvement and assistance with health fairs. Gloria is an inspiration to team members, patients and families, the community, and her church family. At VCU Health CMH, she is well respected and treats everyone as if they are her family. She is always willing to go the extra mile and help anyone in need.

 

The Alice Tudor Professional Nursing Award is named after Ms. Alice Tudor, a CMH professional registered nurse. Ms. Tudor always presented with a professional appearance at work, her demeanor was an example of how a professional registered nurse should behave around their co-workers, patients and families. For more than 50 years, nurses looked up to Ms. Tudor and what she stood for as a professional nurse. This award is presented to a Registered Nurse each year in her honor as the Alice Tudor Professional Nurse Award.

 

The recipient of this year’s Alice Tudor Professional Nurse Award is Erin Truman, RN.  Erin has been employed by VCU Health CMH for four years. She is a role model for Relationship Based Care. Through her actions, Erin exemplifies positive relationships with our patients and our team that generate a positive work environment.  Erin is respected by her team and has emerged as a leader serving as a Preceptor and in other leadership roles. She has a professional, friendly demeanor that facilitates communication with team members. She has a strong relationship with our provider team who look at her as partner in care delivery to our patients. They respect her opinions and work together collegially to obtain the best outcome possible for the patients. Erin promotes professional growth and contribution to change by continuing to be open to learning and taking on new challenges, all while being a role model for others. She represents her unit by serving on several hospital-wide committees such as the Patient Experience Committee. She also takes pride in her own professional growth as she is continuing her education and has obtained a Medical Surgical Nurse Certification.  Erin is a professional nurse with a caring spirit.

 

All 2020 Nursing Award recipients were nominated by their peers or their manager. Each one has demonstrated care and compassion to patients and families and exemplifies excellence in nursing practice and leadership.