Ashlee Brinley, RN
Fidelity Health Care

This nurse is always looking for opportunities to help others, including clinicians, coworkers and patients. She approaches every day with a team spirit and is always seeking what she can do to help others. She brings vast knowledge to her role and humbly shares her knowledge with others. She is always happy to assist with patient needs and is an example of being a true patient advocate. On a regular basis, she seeks out those who need assistance. She uses her experience to improve quality outcomes and support clinicians with sensitivity. No matter what her day brings, she approaches it with grace and selflessness and serves as an example to others. I look to her as an example of transformational leadership as she shows respect, integrity, compassion and excellence in all of her interactions.

Christina Broughton, RN, RN-BC
Miami Valley Hospital

I wholeheartedly nominate this nurse for this award due to her dedication and enthusiasm for nursing. She is an advocate for patient safety by lead- ing by example in role modeling all the measures to keep her patients safe. She educates staff to ensure that consistent methods are followed. She explains to families all the things we do to keep their loved ones safe. Her rapport with the staff is exemplary. She has a soft way of letting them know what is in it for them. She walks-the-talk when she completes her audits. She constantly advocates for the staff in representing us well at the Moving Safely meetings every month. While it takes the whole team to accomplish milestones, this registered nurse deserves more than a pat on the back for being so passionate about this process improvement. This registered nurse is an important catalyst that moves our patient safety.

Daniella Castillo, RN, CMES
Miami Valley Hospital

Daniella exemplifies what it means to be a leader in health care. She is supportive of her staff, assuring that they are receiving help when things get busy, guidance when faced with a dilemma and support when challenges arise. She makes herself available, engaged, and supportive without taking over the situation, allowing nurses to feel confident and progress in their clinical abilities. Her compassion and tact are indispensable when faced with difficult situations that could easily spiral out of control, if not for her cool-headedness. This not only benefits the staff, but most importantly, the patients. Daniella shows respect and compassion for every patient, considering their individual circumstances and acting as an advocate for their well-being, connecting with them on a personal and sincere level. Working with Daniella has shown me the kind of nurse I hope to become – someone who supports their coworkers, cares about their patients, and enjoys what they do. Not only do I love working with her as a colleague, I would implicitly trust her as a nurse for any of my loved ones. She is a much-needed asset to this unit.

Carrie Evans, BSN, RN
Miami Valley Hospital

She listens to staff and encourages us to do better. Carrie is very professional in her conversations with employees and patients. She is very approachable to discuss issues and follows up with concerns. She is truly a transformational leader who inspires us to do our best because she expects nothing less and leads by example. When your leader thinks you are wonderful and provide excellent care, you do the best. She has a very kind, gentle demeanor with staff, patients and their families. Her kind, friendly smile and approach put everyone at ease. She is excellent in resolving conflicts, listening to concerns, and making our unit a better place to work. She engages employees by providing positive recognition. This nurse leader is the epitome of nursing at its finest. She is knowledgeable, skilled, experienced, compassionate, giving, and caring. We think she is extraordinary. Truly the “best of the best” and we are blessed to work with her.

Sally Farr, BSN, RN
Good Samaritan Hospital (closed in 2018)

This nurse has had a rich nursing career, which began as a junior nursing assistant. Her career at Good Sam spans more than 30 years. She has vast experience in surgical nursing, as well as mental-health nursing. We are blessed to have her as a member of our bed-flow and patient-control team. This nurse takes her responsibilities very seriously as a Qwikbed nurse. She is professional, soft-spoken, and always treats others utilizing our core values. She knows the names of the environmental services staff that come into our office and the surgical staff who pick up wound vacs. She takes the time to connect with other people so that they feel respected and valued. She is selfless and goes out of her way to appreciate those on her team. In the past year, this registered nurse’s life was riddled with many road bumps that would deter many people from chasing their dreams and give up in pursuing growth in their career. However, she is driven to look these circumstances in the eye and with excellence as she pushes forward. She inspires with her leadership and determination. This nurse is tenacious, full of life, and compassionate.

Tonja Fote, MSN, RN
Miami Valley Hospital

This nurse manager is a role model, and the type of leader everyone strives to be. She takes the time to create meaningful relationships with her staff. She truly cares about the individuals who work for her. Not only does she focus on her staff and their needs, but she also walks-the-talk when it comes to the patient experience. She makes a deliberate effort to connect with patients and families during her daily rounding. She also takes the time to make personal connections with all of the patients and their families. Her unit’s patient experience scores continue to increase, which is a true reflection of all the work she has put into her staff and patients. She takes a lot of pride in her unit and the care her staff provides. She has also been a tremendous leader and mentor. She takes the time to teach and help individuals grow as people and within their careers. She demonstrates the core values of respect, integrity, compassion and excellence to everyone she meets. She is an exceptional leader and her unit is so very thankful to have her!

Teresa Gatzulis, RN
Premier System Support

This Nurse is approaching her 38th year at Premier Health! She has extensive experience as an outpatient nurse working with Premier Family Physicians, residents, and hospitalists, not to mention numerous patients and nurses! This nurse is what we call “a nurse’s nurse.” She’s a straight shooter and is an expert at her craft. Her critical thinking skills are evident in all she does for her patients! She is admired by her peers and her leadership team. She is the ultimate professional and is respected by all who come in contact with her. In her current role she is sought out by the hospitalists working with our department! They request her; this nurse can accomplish what normally takes two nurses to complete! AIDET is absolutely automatic with this Nurse; she sets the example and never fails. Her passion is her patients! In our new environment she is the first to volunteer to travel to one of the facilities so she can have face-to-face contact with patients. She is an extraordinary nurse, wife, mother, grandmother, leader, and peer! Our entire department is ever so fortunate to have her on our team!

Sharon Hull, BSN, MBA, RN
Premier System Support

I have had many directors in my 30-plus years of working for Premier Health and this director is heads above the rest. Her knowledge base, leadership and coaching skills have put out many regulatory fires that stemmed from CMS/ODH surveys. Even though her plate is always full, she always has time to answer whatever question you may have in a manner that is positive and stimulates your thought process. She embraces a transformation leadership style because she recognizes the value of each individual’s knowledge and past experiences. In the eight months I have reported to her, she has kicked off two new very difficult projects. Her role as director of regulatory and accreditation has been a very challenging one this past year, requiring frequent travel to each facility to assist the regulatory coordinators when a surveyor arrives. She puts in many hours above and beyond her 80 hours. She is always the first person here and the last to leave. She encompasses the very definition of a leader and I am very proud to say she is my boss.

Paula Lamb, BSN, RN
Good Samaritan Hospital (closed in 2018)

This Nurse Manager is an incredibly caring and very connected leader. Her position requires professionalism, patience, strong leadership abilities, ingenuity, creative problem-solving strategies, effective coping mechanisms, the ability to improvise, and a general concern for the well-being of others. She has been instrumental over the past 12 months in the selection and hiring of an incredibly talented pool of employees to open a new department within Premier Health. In a matter of just a few short months, she has fully earned the respect of her staff, as a manager who leads by action, is approachable, understanding, and straightforward. She is truly one of the best of the best. She is a leader who is highly skilled, an excellent advocate, and a caring provider. She leads by example and deserves to be recognized for her commitment and dedication.

Susan Mahurin, BSN, RN, CNRN
Miami Valley Hospital

While this nurse does not have a formal leadership role, she has established herself as a leader to her peers within our department. The staff look to her for guidance on how to react to changes within our department and work to emulate her constant can-do attitude. This past year has given this nurse the opportunity to train as an alternate team leader and has presented her with the opportunity to precept several new employees. One particular individual was struggling with orientation until this nurse mentored the employee to success. This nurse walks-the-talk with her demonstration of our core values, not just with patient care, but also in peer relationships. She is a true peer leader who provides the best care to her patients and their families.

Wendy Mitchell, BSN, RN, CEN
Atrium Medical Center

My manager is the best of the best! She makes the emergency-depart- ment employees and patients her priority. My manager leads by example, out in the department doing direct patient care and making sure nurses get lunch when it’s busy. She makes us want to be better nurses but is not afraid to hold us accountable. She reminds us of our core values daily by treating patients and staff with respect. She shows integrity by being honest and always following through on her word. She shows compassion by the way she cares for her patients. She shows excellence by facing any situation with confidence and knowledge. She is the rock of the emergency department and an irreplaceable asset to the Premier team. Walking with her last week, a man in a wheelchair stopped her. While I helped him to the bathroom, she warmed up his food and returned it to the table. She talked with him and made sure he had transportation home. He thanked her, and with a smile on her face, she went back to getting her coffee. This is who she is and what she does. To me it was another reason I admire the leader that she is.

Denise Ressler, MSN, RN
Upper Valley Medical Center

This nurse team manager has owned the Premier Proud work since we began the journey with Studer. She has taken hold of the nurse leader rounding and was one of the first at UVMC to reach 100 percent of inpatients daily. During her rounding, she genuinely connects with patients. A recent example is when she was rounding on an older male, discussing his plan of care to ensure he understood. He shared with her that his doctor had just told him that a mass they found might be cancerous. She immediately recognized his concern, slowed her voice and bent down to get eye to eye with the gentleman. She then reminded him that it wasn’t for sure yet. As she talked to him, you could see her facial expression soften and her eyes water up. There was genuine caring heard in her tone as well as concern. In just a brief moment, she showed this gentleman so much compassion.

Kathlyn Springhart, RN
Miami Valley Hospital

This nurse is a transformational leader. As a clinical nurse, she has been a key leader in our unit for over a year. She is an inspiration – always positive, never complaining, and focused on building relationships with the staff in order to help turn around the negativity. The techs, nurses, and physicians always make comments about how great she is and how nice it is to have her on our team. She helps to lead the unit in the day-to-day activities and assignments, inspiring everyone around her to step up to the plate. In addition to providing a positive spirit and demonstrating our core values of respect, integrity, compassion and excellence, she makes the most of the moment with her patients. Her leadership is appreciated and she continues to make a difference in the lives of the patients, as well as the team. She has a way of making people feel important and is able to give compassionate, caring explanations for procedures to patients and their families. She walks-the-talk and is an asset to our department.

Heather Vocke, BSN, RN, RN-BC
Miami Valley Hospital

When I think of nursing leadership and excellence outside of the traditional inpatient setting, this nurse leader’s name is the first to come to mind. She has been a bright, positive light to our department and continues to exemplify strong values for what is best for the patient and patient families, by making each patient feel special and important. She truly walks-the-talk with AIDET and HEART, and I am proud to work for and with her. Her optimism and spirit are infectious. We are lucky to have her as our manager and I hope we are as much of a blessing to her as she is to us.

Brenda Wade, BSN, RN
Good Samaritan Hospital (closed in 2018)

This manager leads her team to believe in nursing, in themselves, and in each other. This nurse is focused on patients and customers. Her rich nursing experience gives her a greater grasp of anticipating the needs of not only the patients, but also the physicians. She was asked to take part in helping a team of doctors create a better system for shortening patients’ length of stay. She helps us to recognize those who have done an excellent job as we work with them. In addition, she lets the team lead with her. This means that she will listen, take into consideration, and execute ideas that her team has brought to her attention. She does not have to be the originator of those ideas for them to be valid. This nurse leads by example; she is pursuing her master’s in nursing, therefore, inspiring her staff to continue their education as well. Over the last six months, our staff meetings have become a great place to provide clarification face-to-face with managers, cath lab nurses, chaplains, and directors. She keeps us informed and answers our questions. This manager has been instrumental in communicating the importance of the bed flow team. She also supports the efforts of prepared- ness during disasters, as well as any visits from ODH or JCAHO by preparing her team through timely education and asking them to actively participate when these practices occur. I am proud to nominate this nurse for her leadership that inspires, challenges, and provokes action.