Berlin, Vt – The twelfth annual Rose Black Nursing Awards ceremony honored three registered nurses (RNs) and for the first time also honored two Licensed Nursing Assistants (LNAs) for excellence in clinical practice.
Chief Nursing Officer Alison White, RN, MHA opened the awards ceremony stating “All of the nurses being honored today provide exceptional, compassionate and high quality care to our patients and loved ones.”
Donna Leighty, RN is described as a nurse who is very capable with all kinds of patients – from the most routine to the hospital’s sickest. Her compassion for her patients is evident 100 percent of the time, even when caring for the most demanding of patients. She has genuine kindness and warmth – with patients, families, and her co-workers. Donna has been a nurse for 42 years, starting in the early 70’s when nurses did not teach patients or start IVs; those were the doctors’ responsibilities. The role of a nurse has progressively taken on more responsibility.
Marge Czok, RN has been the mainstay of excellent medical care delivery at Green Mountain Family Practice for 32 years. She began working with Doctors Sullivan and Crowley as the only nurse and now oversees a staff of five . Marge teaches, does triage, draws blood, troubleshoots and schedules. She has trained many new RNs as she embraced and mastered the new vision for nursing excellence at Central Vermont Group Practices. Marge has always kept the patients and their high quality care as her focus and top priority. She is a loyal patient advocate whose competence and compassion sets a tone and precedent for Green Mountain Family Practice.
Betty Miller, RN has more than 20 years of experience, starting in 1988 at McFarland House. She is currently on staff at Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing. Betty respects and cares for each individual patient she interacts with and acknowledges their fears and concerns by placing them in the best possible situation. She is quick to assess urgent situations and is able to figure out the best solution in a timely fashion. Betty is a great individual to work with, always giving positive feedback to staff and team members.
Nancy Renfrew, LNA is one of CVMC’s primary preceptors at the hospital and an excellent role model for her colleagues. She is always the first LNA mentioned when nurses refer to a good nurse. She provides the highest quality of care to all her patients. Nancy has excellent communication skills and is very clear with her needs and status of patient care.
Crystal Sayers, LNA has a primary role as unit secretary at Woodridge Rehabilitation and Nursing. However, she often helps the residents by answering lights, toileting, and feeding so they don’t have to wait. She is a mentor to new staff and volunteers. New staff finds Crystal warm and friendly and seek her out for advice. Crystal notices subtle things that sometimes get overlooked. She brings valuable information to the table whether it is about process or patient care. She also brings solutions to the table instead of just problems.
Dr. Percy Black, Rose Black’s son, gave thanks to today’s award recipients and all of the nurses at CVMC, on behalf of his mother and the Black family.