Research Highlights
Secretary’s Nursing Awards Announced
Taken from the Veterans Health Administration Highlights dated April 26, 2002
In conjunction with National Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2002, VA has announced the winners of the 2002 Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Nursing and the Advancement of Nursing Programs. The recipients will be presented awards at a special ceremony to be held on May 7 in Washington, D.C.
Those to be honored include Martha Adams-Watts, RN, John Cochran Division, VAMC, St. Louis; Sandra Griffiths, RN, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System; Pon Ninlawong, LPN, VA Health Care System of Ohio; and Esterbina Irizarry, NA, North Hampton VAMC. A posthumous award will be presented to Michael W. Walton, former director of the Chillicothe VA Medical Center.
A special acknowledgement will be made in recognition of Dr. Denise Hynes, Director of the VA Information Resource Center in Hines, Illinois, and a VA nurse researcher. Dr. Hynes took the results of the VA Cooperative Studies on erythropoietin and applied them to the Medicare database resulting in a potential savings of up to $142 million for Medicare.
VA has the largest nursing staff of any hospital system in the world, composed of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, vocational nurses, and nursing assistants. VA nurses provide comprehensive, compassionate care to assist veterans to maintain or regain health, to learn to live with disabilities, or to die with dignity and comfort. Care is provided in a variety of clinical settings across the health care continuum in general and specialized treatment programs.
Nursing as a clinical practice discipline is supported by nursing programs in administration, education and research. VA nurses are highly valued members of the VA health care team, and they have the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and expertise directly to the care of patients and retain accountability for nursing practice.