AACN to present Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career to MGH's Sally Millar

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will present the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career to Sally Millar, RN, MBA. She will receive this Visionary Leadership Award for contributions to AACN's mission and vision at the 2013 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, Boston, May 18-23.

Millar has worked at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, for 43 years as a cardiac surgery ICU staff nurse, head nurse in the respiratory-surgical ICU and clinical nurse leader for intensive care nursing. She is currently director of Patient Care Services Informatics, overseeing nursing information systems, the patient and family learning center and the office of patient advocacy. She is recognized for championing true collaboration and authentic leadership throughout her career.

Millar was a pioneer in health informatics, developing systems to quantify patients' needs for nursing care and using data to establish appropriate levels of care. She also advocates for integrating respect for patient privacy into health information systems and patient safety initiatives.

Her visionary work with acuity and staffing data has helped identify trends, model lengths-of-stay, influence budgeting and staffing levels, conduct research, accurately forecast the needs of new patient care units coming online and improve other essential business functions.

She was editor of "Methods in Critical Care - The AACN Manual," the world's first manual of clinical procedures for critical care nurses. She continued as senior editor for the book's second edition, retitled "AACN Procedure Manual for Critical Care." Now in its 6th edition, it has been adopted as the gold standard by nearly every critical care unit in the United States and many units in other countries.

As an AACN national board member and 1981 president, herself a graduate of a hospital-based diploma nursing school, Millar passionately advocated for nurses to obtain baccalaureate degrees and helped establish AACN's scholarship program, a signature initiative that is now supported by an endowment that exceeds $2 million.

Millar is a 20-year member of the Organization of Nurse Leaders of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, formerly known as the Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Executives, and served as its 2002-2003 president. She is also a member of the Health Information and Management Systems Society and the Clinical Issues Advisory Council of the Massachusetts Hospital Association.

A graduate of Saint Joseph Hospital School of Nursing, Joliet, Ill., Millar later became one of the first nurses to earn a Master's of Business Administration degree, when she graduated from Simmons College Graduate School of Management, Boston.