EVALENA LEONARD
TITLE: RN
ORGANIZATION: Cape Fear Community College
WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “I first met Evalena Leonard twenty- three years ago in the capacity of Supervisor at NHRMC.
 
Her professionalism and attention to detail earned the respect of staff, colleagues, and especially physicians. Years later, she would take her hospice heart and join us as one of the first full-time nurses at Lower Cape Fear Hospice’s In-Patient Care Center. Over the years there, she cared for and held the hands of hundreds of patients and families as they went through their end-of-life journey.
 
Always one to teach and mentor others, Evalena volunteered to take on new orientees and nursing students to share her many years of experience and wisdom with them. Evalena was someone to be counted on for her calm presence, compassion, empathy, and knowing what to say and when to say it to those experiencing grief or illness. Families would return to the Care Center years after their loved one’s death to say hello to Evalena and share stories with her as she held their hand or gave them a famous Evalena hug.”
 
-Kelly Cahill  
 
JAN PAHL
TITLE: Manager, Willie Stargell Dialysis Center and Vascular Access Team
ORGANIZATION: New Hanover Regional Medical Center
WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “Jan Pahl, BSN, RN, CNN, NE-BC, joined the dialysis unit as a staff nurse in 2005, and soon became its charge nurse. In 2007, seeing a growing need for a more coordinated approach to serving these patients, Jan, then clinical coordinator of the unit, led the unit practice council focusing on quality improvement during expansion of the unit to become a state-of-the-art dialysis center.
 
Now manager of the dialysis center, Jan leads 14 dialysis staff who provide care for more than 800 patients from seven counties under the direction of physicians at Southeastern Nephrology Associates.
 
Her team is available 24/7 to provide care in the dialysis center, ICU and ED.
 
In 2017, the team provided more than 4,400 treatments to patients in need, and July 2018 marked the highest monthly census in the past 18 months. Jan’s passion is caring for patients. She supports and challenges her team to put the patient at the center of care. Under her leadership, Jan’s team makes a difference for their fragile patients every day.”
 
-Iris Baker 
 
NINA KAMMERICH
TITLE: Community Outreach Nurse
ORGANIZATION: New Hanover Regional Medical Center, SMAT
WHAT THE NOMINATOR SAID: “Nina Kammerich is the most kindhearted, genuine, and sweet individual you will ever meet.
 
She is an experienced mother, baby and nursery nurse with a background in cardiac and medical surgical nursing.
 
Nina recently worked the storm team here at New Hanover. Even on her ‘rest’ day during the storm she assisted coworkers and patients by completing discharges and showing family members around the unit.
 
Upon completion of her six days straight working at the hospital, Nina went out with the SMAT team to set up a mobile hospital in an area where people had limited access to healthcare.
 
I cannot speak highly enough of her and her compassion for others.
 
Just today Nina stated she would rather take a small patient assignment as the nursery nurse (who does not regularly get an assignment) than to make her on-call coworker come into the hospital to work. She is truly selfless and constantly looking out for others.”
 
-Kerri Morris