Ten Registered Nurses receive Nursing: The Heart of Healthcare Awards

Oct 31, 2005

2005 Nursing: The Heart of Healthcare Award Winners.

The 15th Annual Nursing: The Heart of Healthcare Awards banquet honored 10 registered nurses Oct. 15, 2005, at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The University of Kansas School of Nursing coordinated the event with Siemens Medical Solutions, one of the largest suppliers of health care equipment in the world, as the event sponsor.

The event recognizes outstanding registered nurses in Kansas and the Greater Kansas City area and had nearly 500 people in attendance. This year's 10 award winners from more than 400 nominations were:

• Amy Altman, RN, BSN, hospice nurse, Hospice of Salina, Inc., Salina, Kan.;
• Heidi Boehm, RN, BSN, unit educator, The University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kan.;
• Charlotte Kringen, RN, school nurse, Mulvane school district, Mulvane, Kan.;
• Ron Neuharth, RN, BSN, nurse manager, Hemophilia Health Services/Bio Partners in Care, Lenexa, Kan.;
• Karen Olson, RN, BSN, clinical registered nurse, St. Francis Comprehensive Cancer Center, Topeka, Kan.;
• Lisa Peterson, RN, nurse manager, Rachel House North, Kansas City, Mo.;
• Rene Poole, RN, NICU nurse, Menorah Medical Center, Overland Park, Kan.;
• Kathy Ramsay, RN, hospice nurse, Hays Medical Center, Hays, Kan.;
• Nancy Rhoades, RN, BSN, operating room nurse, Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Shawnee Mission, Kan.;
• Cynthia Walker, RN, MSN, ARNP, CNS, nurse practitioner, Via Christi Regional Medical Center, Wichita, Kan.

The University of Kansas established Nursing: The Heart of Healthcare in 1989 to recognize registered nurses' contributions to their communities, patients and profession. Over the past 15 years, there have been more than 150 winners and more than 5,500 nominations for the award.

Nominations are accepted from patients, patient's family, colleagues, employers, supervisors and the nurse's family and friends. A committee, composed of former award winners and health care and business leaders, selected the 10 winners. Every nurse who was nominated received a certificate of recognition.

For more information, contact Kari Ziblut, 913-588-1616 or kziblut@kumc.edu.