University of Iowa News Release

March 3, 2009

CORRECTION: This corrects in the first paragraph the name of the location of the May 3 recognition event. In addition, this adds the name of the Iowa Hospital Association to the second-to-last paragraph. The release was originally sent out March 3.

UI nursing professionals named to 'Great Iowa Nurses' list

Eighteen nurses who care for patients at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City will be recognized during the 2009 "100 Great Iowa Nurses" event at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at HyVee Hall in the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines.

The nurses are:

--Kathy Bainbridge, nurse clinician-specialist, Emergency Treatment Center.
--Carol Beltramea, staff nurse for NICU II, UI Children's Hospital.
--Cindy Dawson, advanced practice nurse-supervisor, Ambulatory Care Clinics.
--Cynthia Forbes, nurse manager, Medical-Surgical Nursing, 6 RCW.
--Jennifer Franzwa, heart transplant/VAD coordinator for Heart Center/Heart Failure/Transplant.
--Sheila Frascht, staff nurse and grief services coordinator, UI Children's Hospital.
--Jean Gingerich, certified electrophysiology specialist, Pediatric Cardiology-Electrophysiology, UI Children's Hospital.
--Marcia Gingerich, nurse manager for Behavioral Health Services/Nursing.
--Stanley Grant, advanced practice nurse/genetics and certified genetics counselor, Prenatal Genetics/Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center, UI Women's Health Center.
--Sherry Hall, staff nurse, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant, 7 RCW.
--Joelle Jensen, senior associate director, Medical-Surgical Nursing/Administration.
--Lisa Kongable, staff nurse, Behavior Health Services/Nursing, 1 JPW.
--Janine Petitgout, advanced registered nurse practitioner and director of Continuity of Care Program, UI Children's Hospital.
--Trudy Pierick, advanced registered nurse practitioner, Pediatric Cardiology, UI Children's Hospital.
--Page Scovel, clinical research coordinator, Cardiomyopathy/Pulmonary/Hypertension, Internal Medicine/Division of Cardiology.
--Sarah Smith, nurse manager, Ophthalmology Clinic, Ambulatory Care.
--Teresa Sommer, staff nurse, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Orthopaedics Clinic.
--Sharonlee Wagner, staff nurse, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"We are so pleased that our nurses have received this richly deserved recognition," said Ann Williamson, associate vice president for nursing and chief nursing officer at UI Hospitals and Clinics. "They are truly leaders who represent the best that our profession has to offer."

Approximately 1,850 nursing professionals work at UI Hospital and Clinics, the state's only comprehensive academic health center. The hospital received the prestigious Magnet Hospital Designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2004, becoming the first hospital in Iowa to earn the international award. UI Hospitals and Clinics also became the first hospital in the state to be recognized a second time as a Magnet hospital in 2008.

The Iowa Nurses Association, Iowa Nurses Foundation, Iowa Hospital Association, and University of Iowa College of Nursing have partnered to create this event that celebrates nursing by honoring 100 nurses from around the state each year.  Colleagues, patients, doctors, friends and family members submit nominations.

A panel of past recipients reviewed nominees, and a committee of nursing professionals selected the final group of 100. Nurses selected for this honor represent many sectors of health care, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and school and office nurses.

To see the complete list of this year's and previous honorees, and for more information about the event visit http://www.greatnurses.org/.

STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa Health Care Marketing and Communications, 200 Hawkins Drive, Room E110 GH, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1009

MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Moore, 319-356-3945, thomas-moore@uiowa.edu