Part 1 of a 5-part series commemorating nurse executives who have led through the pandemic.
National Nurses Week, which kicks off today with National Nurses Day, recognizes the service, selflessness, and commitment that nurses provide. Given the demanding season healthcare workers have endured, this year's commemoration is particularly of note.
HealthLeaders is celebrating National Nurses Week, May 6-12, by highlighting nurse leaders each day throughout the week who were among healthcare workers nominated by a colleague for HealthLeaders' "Leading Through the Pandemic" sweepstakes. Each nomination included comments from the colleague, which are featured here.
Be sure to visit HealthLeaders each day to see new stories recognizing dedicated nurse leaders who have made sacrifices as they've led their nursing staffs through unprecedented and difficult times.
The word "tireless" best describes these nurse leaders who jumped in and stayed to safeguard their staff and patients as COVID-19 filled hospitals, sickened nurses, and created heartbreaking working conditions.
Noreen Brennan, PhD, RN
Chief nursing officer, NYC Health + Hospitals Metropolitan, New York, New York
Noreen Brennan utilized strategic planning to accommodate the increased number of critically ill patients by opening three additional Intensive Care Units, procuring extra life-saving equipment, and onboarding 321 agency nurses to provide excellent care to our patients when New York City was at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked every day to support the staff, ensure adequate personal protective equipment to keep the staff safe, provide a respite center for the staff to rest and meditate, and provided meals to staff every day.
Dr. Brennan utilized innovation to enhance communication between patients and their families via FaceTime or Google Duo on iPads, when visitors were restricted from visiting hospitals. Dr. Brennan transformed the Rehabilitation unit into a Palliative Care Unit to allow family members to be present with their loved one to provide compassionate end-of-life care.
Dr. Brennan facilitated education and supported best practices to improve patient outcomes using new technology, such as Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy for patients with kidney injury, and prone positioning patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, and disseminating best practice education at conferences.
Jenny Gojmerac-Owens, MSN, FNP-C
Director of Advanced Practice Providers, Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Indiana
Jenny Gojmerac-Owens has been amazing nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department at Methodist for 20 years, which is impressive in itself. But in addition to her amazing skills as an NP, she is a tireless leader.
She has built the APP program into a robust group of extremely high-functioning groups spanning multiple sites. She has developed programs to continue to train APPs across the state and even the country. In the last year during the pandemic, she worked innumerable hours to keep her team safe and staffed. She continued to work at the bedside covering shifts and maintaining the wellness of her team.
Melissa Hall, RN
Chief nursing officer, Coffey Health System, Burlington, Kansas
Melissa Hall, along with two colleagues, has headed up the Infection Control Team for COVID-19. From the onset she has worked diligently on behalf of all the staff and for the county to ensure all were safe and followed the guidelines set forth. She and the team have given tirelessly to this endeavor.
We quickly found ourselves in the midst of a "hot spot" at the beginning and she and the team stepped in and established screening guidelines to keep everyone as safe as possible. Countless hours, at all hours, were put in to maintain our safety. It has been impressive to see how the team has functioned to provide leadership at all times.
Carol Davis is the Nursing Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.