AACN to honor 22 nurses nationwide with 2011 Circle of Excellence Award

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will bestow the 2011 Circle of Excellence Award on 22 nurses nationwide at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, Chicago, April 30-May 5.

These outstanding caregivers receive this coveted award for achieving excellent outcomes in the care of acute and critical patients and their families. Criteria used to evaluate the Circle of Excellence Award candidates include relentless promotion of patient-driven excellence; communication skills; true collaboration; effective decision-making; meaningful recognition of others; ability to transform thinking, structures and processes; and ability to address challenges and remove barriers to excellent patient care and achieve visible results through leadership.

Recipients of 2011 Circle of Excellence Awards are: (listed alphabetically by state and last name):

California
Jennifer M. Ballard-Hernandez, RN, MSN, FNP-BC, CCRN-CSC
Nurse Practitioner, Heart Failure Program, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, Newport Beach, Calif.

Deborah A. Lepman, RN, MPH, CEN
Department Director, Cardiac Critical Care Units, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian,
Newport Beach, Calif.

Mary E. Lough, RN, MS, PhD(c), CNS, CCRN, CNRN, CCNS
Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Medical-Surgical-Neuroscience-Trauma ICU,
Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Calif.

Maureen S. McCaffrey, RN, BSN, CCRN
Critical Care Clinical Educator, Lodi Memorial Hospital, Calif.

Connecticut
Prasama Sangkachand, RN, MSN, CCRN
Service Line Educator, Heart and Vascular Center, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Conn.

Florida
Laura Joanne Bratcher, RN, BSN, CCRN-CSC, CNML
Nurse Manager, Pediatrics, Shands Children's Hospital at the University of Florida, Gainesville

Maryland
Helen F. Brown, MS, BC-ACNP, BC-FNP
Nurse Practitioner, Emergency Department, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, Md.
Clinical Instructor, ACNP / FNP programs, Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, Washington, D.C.

Massachusetts
Jeanne P. Ahern, RN, BSN, MHA, CCRN
Nurse Manager, Cardiovascular ICU, Children's Hospital Boston

Maria E. Bentain-Melanson, RN, MSN, CCRN-CSC
Nursing Clinical Educator for Cardiac Surgery ICU, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston

Patricia A. Lincoln, RN, MS, CNS-BC, CCRN
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiac ICU, Children's Hospital Boston

Michigan
Kathleen M. Vollman, MSN, RN, CCNS, FCCM, FAAN
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Educator, Consultant
President, Advancing Nursing LLC
President, Sepsis Solutions International LLC
Northville, Mich.

New York
Michael H. Ackerman, RN, DNS, APRN-BC, FCCM, FNAP, FAANP
Associate Director of Nursing and director, Margaret Sovie Center of Advanced Practice, Strong Memorial Hospital
Director, Center for Clinical Trials and Medical Device Evaluation, University of Rochester Medical Center, N.Y.

North Carolina
DaiWai M. Olson, RN, PhD, CCRN
Staff Nurse, Neuroscience Intensive Care, Duke University Medical Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Neurology,
Duke University, Durham, N.C.

Ohio
Deborah G. Klein, RN, MSN, APRN-BC, CCRN
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Coronary ICU, Heart Failure ICU, Cardiac Short Stay/PACU, Cleveland Clinic

Pennsylvania
Marie T. Fisher, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Thoracic Surgery Unit, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Tammy R. Maclay, RN, BSN, MSN, CCRN, CEN
Critical Care/Emergency Care Clinical Specialist, Chambersburg Hospital, Pa.

South Carolina
Benjamin E. Marett, RN-BC, MSN, CEN, CCRN, NE-BC, FAEN
Director, Education and Nursing Research, Piedmont Medical Center, Rock Hill, S.C.

Texas
Jennifer A. Browne, MSN, RN-BC, CCRN
Staff Nurse, Surgical and Medical ICU, Northeast Baptist Hospital
Clinical Instructor in Critical Care, Baptist School of Health Professions, San Antonio

Valerie L. Howell, RN, MSN, MBA, NEA-BC
Director of Critical Care Services, Methodist Willowbrook Hospital, Houston

Lindsey Langston, RN, BSN
Staff Nurse and Preceptor, Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics, Tyler, Texas

Virginia
Marian B. Lawson, RN, BSN
Nurse Manager, Coronary Care Unit, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville

Theresa R. (Roxie) Macfarlan, RN, MSN, CCRN, ACNP-BC
Advanced Practice Nurse/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Thoracic Cardiovascular Postoperative ICU, University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville

AACN's Circle of Excellence Awards align with the association's mission of creating a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. Recipients, inducted into the Circle of Excellence Society, receive a plaque and a $1,000 award. They also become eligible for future recognition with a Flame of Excellence Award for sustained regional and national contributions to acute and critical care nursing.