Rebecca Gregory was honored with the Dorothy Gunn Medical Staff Award.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A trio of nurses were recently honored at Hancock Regional Hospital in connection to National Nurses Week, which was recognized May 6-12 this year.
At a staff breakfast last week, Theresa Lueder was honored with the Sherry Gehring Nursing Leadership Award, Rebecca Gregory was honored with the Dorothy Gunn Medical Staff Award and Chantelle Goldman was honored with the hospital’s quarterly Daisy Award.
Craig Felty, the hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President for Patient Care, said the three women are exemplary models of their profession.
“Nurses are the glue that holds the hospital together,” said Felty, who worked as an emergency room nurse for years before moving into an administrative role.
“A nurse is the one who works with all the other team members — the physicians, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, case managers, social workers. They’re like the captain of the ship, and everybody else reports to them. It makes for a really dynamic team,” he said.
While National Nurses Week comes once a year, Felty said nurses deserve to be celebrated all year long.
This year’s award winners represent what selfless, caring people nurses can be, he said.
“They’re all just entirely wonderful folks,” said Felty.
Lueder, who received the Sherry Gehring Nursing Leadership Award, is the hospital’s assistant vice-president of surgical services.
“She does such a great job, and she just totally fits the profile and the legacy that Sherri Garrin left here,” said Felty, referring to Garrin, the hospital’s former chief nursing officer.
Felty said Gregory, who received the Dorothy Gunn Medical Staff Award, was also a prime candidate for an award.
“She just epitomizes the loyalty, the dedication, and the love of nursing and working with others that’s required to assist patients in getting back on track to being well again,” he said.
Felty said the same was true of Goldman — a team lead in the hospital’s medical surgery unit — who was given the quarterly Daisy Award thanks to a glowing review from a patient.
“Chantelle had a very touching testament from a patient who said how great she was to her, taking the time to assure the patient had everything she needed when she was being discharged. She went above and beyond what most nurses would do,” Felty said.
Gregory said caring for patients is what the nursing profession is all about.
“I love the interaction with patients and coworkers and working as a team in caring for our patients — helping each other and learning from each other,” said Gregory, who worked in the critical care unit for several years, but now works as a part-time utilization management nurse and nursing supervisor.
Felty said 2023 has proven to be a time of healing for nurses, who gave their all caring for a record number of sick and dying patients throughout the COVID pandemic.
“COVID was very difficult on everyone,” said Gregory. “The acuity level of the patients increased, and we all got sick too. It required more from us mentally, emotionally and physically.”
Hancock Health lifted its mask requirement for hospital staff and guests just a few short months ago, a sign that life was finally returning to normal.
“It was a day I could not stop smiling,” said Gregory.
“It was a joy to see each other’s facial expressions and to be able to express ourselves more effectively with our patients, and to be able to smile at each other,” she said.
Felty feels that the hospital is on the right track in a return to relative normalcy, in a world that is forever changed by COVID.
“We know that things will never be the same as they were pre-COVID — it changed us in so many ways — but we’re doing our best to try and get back to the way it was before COVID as much as possible,” he said.
Another sign that things are getting back to normal is an increase in full-time staff and a decrease in contract workers, who became a necessity when hospitals were overwhelmed with the onslaught of COVID patients.
“The loyalty to the organization is stronger when you have full-time employees on your payroll who are dedicated and committed to your organization, as opposed to a contracted individual who might only be here for a few weeks before moving on to the next place. With full-time employees, you have folks who are taking care of their neighbors,” Felty said.
As of May 11, the nursing director said Hancock Regional only had five or six nursing positions open, compared to over 30 to fill a year ago.
“We’re very pleased with that, and we’re continuing to get applications, which is a very good sign,” he said.
