Orange, Calif., May 12, 2011 — Each year during National Nurses Week, UC Irvine Medical Center honors nurses who demonstrate excellence in patient care, education and guidance, mentorship, and teamwork.
"The nursing mission here is to provide compassionate, patient-centered care," said Karen Grimley, chief nursing officer at UC Irvine. "Our patients are feeling that commitment."
She noted that the approximately 1,200 nurses there are caring for patients, as opposed to simply taking care of them.
"You can train anyone to be a nurse and provide a service," Grimley said. "But it takes a special group of nurses to embrace the total care and compassion that elevates the patient experience."
The following were honored Wednesday at the Nursing Exemplar Awards Ceremony, one of a series of events marking National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week at UC Irvine.
Nursing Excellence
- Patricia Pinedo, Neuroscience Step-Down Unit
- Winnie Ramos, primary care pediatrics at Gottschalk Medical Plaza
- Teri Book, For OC Kids Neurodevelopmental Center
- Jennifer Wang, Oncology Infusion Center
- Carolyn Rothfuss, Cardiac Catheterization Lab
Nursing Preceptor (guidance for new nurses)
- Marla Gain, Emergency Department
Nursing Mentor
- Gail Devaney, director, Women's & Children's Services
Nursing Rookie of the Year
- Connie Chung, University Hospital Tower fourth and fifth floors
Friend of Nursing
- Hiep Nguyen, staff pharmacist
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.
About UC Irvine Medical Center: Orange County's only university hospital, UC Irvine Medical Center offers acute- and general-care services at its new, 482,000-square-foot UC Irvine Douglas Hospital and is home to the county's only Level I trauma center, American College of Surgeons-verified regional burn center and National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. U.S. News & World Report has included UC Irvine for 10 consecutive years on its list of America's Best Hospitals, giving special recognition to its urology, gynecology, and ear, nose & throat programs.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.
News Radio: UCI maintains on campus an ISDN line for conducting interviews with its faculty and experts. Use of this line is available for a fee to radio news programs/stations that wish to interview UCI faculty and experts. Use of the ISDN line is subject to availability and approval by the university.
UCI maintains an online directory of faculty available as experts to the media. To access, visit www.today.uci.edu/experts. For UCI breaking news, visit www.zotwire.uci.edu.