Part 3 of a 5-part series commemorating nurse executives who have led through the pandemic.
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.
Andrea Erickson, MSN, RN, CNML
Vice president, Patient Care Services/chief nursing officer, St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire
Andrea put on her scrubs and became a bedside nurse to help with patient care of the sickest patients. Andrea continually checked on staff to make sure their mental health and was so supportive of all of the employees.
Andrea came in during all shifts to hand out healthy snacks and goodies and was a shoulder to cry on. We are all so lucky that a leader worked side by side with us.
Mona McCall, RN
Director of nursing, Acadia St. Landry Hospital, Church Point, Louisiana
Mona has led by example throughout this pandemic. She has spent countless hours at our little rural hospital, even sleeping on the floor of her office, to ensure that the nurses were being supported through the staffing issues and the hurricane, because our little town was out of power for several days following Hurricane Laura.
She has always been there to back up the nurses to make sure our patients are cared for. She never expects more of the nurses than she is willing to do herself.
Nikki Thunder, MSN, RN, NE-BC
Director of nursing, HCA Houston Healthcare, Houston, Texas
Nikki Thunder is an exceptional leader who didn't allow the pandemic to stop her from being the best leader she could possibly be for her team. Nikki not only supported her team by ensuring that they had everything they needed to be successful during the pandemic (i.e. PPE, team nursing support, etc.), she also ensured that she was at the bedside, elbow to elbow with her staff every step of the way.
In Houston, we also experienced a winter freeze upon which we went on lockdown as a facility. Nikki slept very little during the lockdown as she spent time supporting her team while also lending a hand to the ED team. Nikki is a remarkable leader who consistently goes above and beyond for her patients, their families, our colleagues, providers, and the community we serve.
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.
Don't miss the first two installments:
Honoring 3 Nurse Leaders Who Worked Tirelessly
Taking Care of the Frontline Caregivers
Carol Davis is the Nursing Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.