UCI Health celebrates nurses week and honors 12 for nursing excellence
May 13, 2019
UCI Health has recognized 12 nurses and two friends of nursing for excellence as part of National Nurses Week.
The medical center annually honors nurses and holds events such as the Nursing Exemplar Awards Ceremony to highlight their work and achievements during the past year.
“I am indebted to the nurses of UCI Health for everything they do to help us improve lives, uphold clinical excellence and accomplish our mission, said Pat Patton, chief nursing officer at the UCI Medical Center. “They lead the way with their passion and professionalism. Their leadership inspires others to give their best when they come to work every day.”
On May 9, UCI Health nurses were recognized in the following categories:
Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year – Jeffrey Vu
Ambulatory Nurse of the Year – Pamela Samuelson
Friend of Nursing Non-Patient Care Role – Alison Dorff
Friend of Nursing Patient Care Role – Dr. John Lee
Inpatient Nurse of the Year – Inge Bong
Nurse Educator of the Year – Cheryl Simkins, Nicole Jasso
Nurse Leader of the Year, Case Manager – Marietta Mauhay
Nurse Leader of the Year, Patient Care Coordinator – Pamela Macaraeg
Nurse Manager of the Year – Gina Keranen
Nursing Director of the Year – Sonia Ramos Lane
Preceptor & Mentor of the Year – Scott Rivera
Procedural Nurse of the Year – Kelly Brink
Rookie of the Year – Ashia Mar
The nursing staff also celebrated receiving one of the profession's highest honors, a fourth consecutive Magnet designation. A program of the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Magnet® designation recognizes nursing excellence and provides patients with the ultimate benchmark to measure expectations of care. Those achieving Magnet status must maintain rigorous standards as part of the four-year designation.
Rounding out the week, nurses assembled and donated more than 600 packages for the troops on May 11. Military personnel from the Bob Hope USO collected the packages for the Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County.
National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, which is National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of modern nursing.
UCI Health comprises the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, California. The 417-bed acute care hospital provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
