North Kansas City Hospital nurses took home three top awards, the most ever, in the annual March of Dimes Nurse of the Year gala on November 11. The annual event honors nurses in Greater Kansas City and Kansas. This year’s NKCH winners were Ginny Doelling, RN-BC, CCRP, Rebecca Murrell, MBA, BSN, and Janel Zion, MSN, WHNP-BC.
Ginny, Rebecca and Janel were selected from 105 finalists. In total, this year’s competition received 740 nominations for nurses representing 22 categories.
Ginny
Ginny Doelling, RN-BC, CCRP
First-year nominee Ginny, who works in Cardiac Rehab, won in the Long-Term Acute Care/Rehab/Geriatrics category. Ginny has been a nurse for over 30 years and can’t imagine working anywhere else.
She believes the hospital provides an environment where nurses can excel, and they feel appreciated. What keeps her interest in nursing? “Patients keep my passion in nursing. It’s an amazing job and my life’s work,” Ginny said. “I am a caregiver, and I love to take care of people here at work and at home.”
Rebecca
Rebecca Murrell, MBA, BSN
Two-time nominee Rebecca went home with the top honor this year for the Hospice/Home Health/Palliative Care category. Rebecca is a Home Health supervisor with over 34 years as a nurse. She loves the educational side of Home Health and said, “I am so happy when I see patients light up after I educate them, and they realize they can help themselves.”
Both Ginny and Rebecca mention the hospital’s quest for Magnet designation as a positive for the hospital’s nurses. Both know first-hand how nurses are involved in providing evidence-based care, which has a positive effect on quality of care and patient outcomes.
Janel
Janel Zion, MSN, WHNP-BC
Janel is the hospital’s third Nurse of the Year winner for 2017 in the category of Women’s Health. NKCH led the Women’s Health category with four of five finalists. Janel is a two-time nominee who feels honored and humbled by the recognition. “I love working at this hospital,” says Janel, who was hired 21 years ago. “Leadership lives the hospital’s mission, vision and values every day, so we are the provider of choice and the employer of choice.”
Proud CNO
“I am proud of all our nurses. They are engaged, stay up-to-date on the medical literature and help ensure we provide evidence-based, excellent care,” said Sarah Oakley, vice president and Chief Nursing Officer. “That type of care means great outcomes for our patients and a wonderful working environment for our staff.”
For the second year, Sarah served as the event chair, which raised over $150,000 for March of Dimes.
