Here are the finalists in the 2015 Health Care Heroes Nurse category.

Honors a nurse whose performance is considered exemplary by patients, peers and other health care providers.

Janet Perry

TITLE: Nurse

ORGANIZATION: New Hanover County Health Department

WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “Janet draws on her 16 years of hospital experience and four years of public health and jail health experience in her work in Good Shepherd Center’s on-site clinic.

Even for public health nurses accustomed to working with the poor, it takes a special person to connect with the shelter’s homeless guests, who often feel distrustful of caregivers or afraid that they will be looked down upon should they seek needed care.

Employed by the New Hanover County Health Department, Janet is a tireless advocate … She has been integral to the success of a pilot respite program for homeless individuals exiting the hospital.

She has solicited needed donations for the clinic; initiated new medications being made available based on identified need; instituted a more comprehensive course of prenatal care for homeless women; created ‘pocket trackers’ to help hypertensive patients better follow and learn from their readings; and succeeded in significantly increasing the rate at which diabetic clients are able to check their blood sugar levels.”

-Katrina Knight, Good Shepherd Center executive director
 

Demaree Temple

TITLE: Staff Training Coordinator, Certified Wound Specialist

ORGANIZATION: The Davis Community

WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “This is a woman who is always on the move and is the first to arrive when there is a ‘Nurse Stat’ call. She is calm in any crisis, finds humor in defeat and likes the study of science so much that she is a wound specialist.

She teaches CNA training classes and takes personal pride in ensuring that her students learn the intricacies of the job and can pass the rigorous state exam. And if they need extra encouragement she uses her skills as a softball coach to get them ready for the next try.

Demaree created the first ‘On Boarding’ curriculum for Davis nurses … She mixed the ‘On Boarding’ new hires with some seasoned employees and in taking the classes together created personal connections that helped the new hires success when they were ready to begin their jobs.

I have never known someone so willing to build up the confidence of a colleague and so eager to create team spirit.

Her door is always open and takes the time to explain a policy or procedure and how it impacts the residents.”

-Julie Rehder, The Davis Community marketing and public relations administrator
 

Ellen Walsh

TITLE: Pre/Post operative supervisor

ORGANIZATION: Wilmington SurgCare

WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “Ellen Walsh has been an RN for 37 years, the last 23 of which have been spent at Wilmington SurgCare.

The majority of her tenure at SurgCare has been spent in a pre and post operative supervisory capacity with a large dose of direct patient care thrown in for good measure.

Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting many of her coworkers. I can’t say that I have ever spoken to any of them who have not remarked on how much they enjoy working with her. I know they feel empowered by her guidance and that transfers to the patients directly. I can truly say that I feel her presence at SurgCare has helped the center enjoy the reputation in the community it does today.

Her caring of those in need of medical help has been a huge influence in our own family. This May we joined our oldest daughter as she was welcomed into the medical community at the Brody School of Medicine graduation ceremony. She has taken her mother’s passion to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga to continue a family tradition and will administer care and compassion for others in the Emergency Department as a resident physician.”

-Tim Walsh, spouse