Celebration 2005

Traditional Highlights, New Additions Make Nursing Celebration a Success

Click here for 5th Annual Medical Housestaff Nursing Awards photo gallery

About 15 miles removed from the regular activity in the patient Tower, nearly 500 BWH nurses gathered at the Westin Hotel in Waltham to celebrate their accomplishments at the annual Nursing Recognition Dinner on May 5.

This year's special guest emcee Liz Walker, the well-known WBZ-TV talent, added a unique flair to the evening. Her energy blended nicely with the traditional program, making for an enjoyable event.

“Our theme tonight is Champions in Practice,” said Chief Nursing Officer Nancy Kruger, RN, DNSc. “We have celebrated with our champion New England Patriots and our beloved Boston Red Sox. But tonight you, the nurses at Brigham and Women's Hospital, are the champions we celebrate,” she added, before turning over the podium to BWH President Gary Gottlieb, MD, MBA, who chronicled recent hospital accomplishments in which nurses played a pivotal role.

“I am honored to work with you to make BWH the very best it can be. Likewise, our hospital must be a place that works for you-where you can be challenged to do your best each day, but also where you can learn, grow, and mentor the next generation of nurses who are equally committed to our mission,” he said, donning one of the BWH Nurse Champions hats that were provided to all who attended the program.

Following dinner and some more remarks from Walker, Kruger resumed the podium to present the 2005 Mary S. Fay Essence of Nursing Award. She announced that the Cardiac Care Unit's Paul Sedgwick was the deserving recipient of BWH Nursing's highest honor. The announcement followed a special tribute to the four other finalists-Radiation Oncology's Katie Duggan; Neonatal Intensive Care Unit's Maureen DeWitt and Corrine Pryor; and the Medical Intensive Care Unit's Barbara O'Donnell. After accepting an engraved vase and hearing accounts from colleagues as announced by Kruger, Sedgwick humbly offered some acceptance remarks.

“I accepted this award not as an individual caregiver, but as a member of a devoted health care team.” He thanked many, including the full range of his colleagues on Tower 12, “who all provide the layers of support before I even step into a room with a patient.”

To conclude his acceptance remarks, he shared a nursing narrative about one of his patients, who had a particular impact on him. The majority of the crowd was brought to tears, marking an opportunity for his fellow nurses to reflect on the large part they all play in patient care and people's lives.

The evening's celebratory tone was further carried by the 2005 video presentation, “The Champions.” The video, coordinated by Labor and Delivery Nurse Manager Margaret Hickey, focused on a number of nursing all-stars at BWH, and even included a cameo by Red Sox First Baseman Kevin Millar. It was a fitting conclusion to the upbeat event that celebrated the success of BWH nurses over the last year.