Nursing excellence award presented to Schwarz
Ambulatory Care Services held the annual Recognition and Presentation luncheon for the Jane Rothaermel Excellence Award Feb. 12. Each year, Ambulatory Care Services recognizes a registered nurse whose professional achievement and contributions exemplify excellence in ambulatory care nursing.This award was established in 1995 in memory of Jane Rothaermel, who was the nursing manager of Medical Surgical Subspecialties. She is remembered fondly by those who worked with her, not only for her excellent leadership skills and professionalism, but also for the compassion and caring she demonstrated on a daily basis.
This year’s nominees for the award were: Mary Elizabeth Canaday, R.N., clinical educator, Ambulatory Care Services; Carolyn Cavanaugh, R.N., patient educator, Storm Eye Institute; Lisa Murphy, R.N., clinical care coordinator II, Cardiology; Rosalie Tillman, R.N., Family Medicine; Sharon Schwarz, R.N., Pediatric Endocrinology; and Judith Walker, R.N., clinical care coordinator II, ENT.
During the luncheon, Dave Neff, administrator for ambulatory care services, and Sherry Gillespie Miller, clinical director, read excerpts from the nominations for each of the nominees. All nominees received a certificate and a corsage in recognition of their nomination.
The
recipient of this year's Jane Rothaennel Excellence Award is Sharon Schwarz.
Dr. Steven Willi and Kathryn Sellers nominated Schwarz for the award.
This year's recipient, Sharon Schwarz, the certified diabetes educator for Pediatric Endocrinology, was selected as this year’s recipient. She was nominated by Steven Willi, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, Kathryn Sellers, manager of children’s services, and Ellen Debenham, clinical care coordinator in the Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic.
Excerpts from her nomination include: “Sharon has been instrumental in the revamping of our pediatric diabetes teaching program. In this process she has developed significant new diabetes teaching materials (including a teaching manual and a series of video tapes) designed to acquaint the family of a child with new-onset Type 1 diabetes with diabetes self management skills. Furthermore, Sharon has shown outstanding initiative, receiving more than $5,000 in extramural grant funding to support the development of these teaching materials.
“She is a master at insulin pump management, and has instructed more than 70 children in the use of the insulin pump. She has pioneered the use of new technologies, such as the continuous glucose monitoring system, in our General Clinical Research Center. With the assistance of a nutrition intern from MUSC School of Allied Health Professions, she is conducting a research project to evaluate the impact of insulin pump use upon blood glucose control and psychological functioning in children and adolescents. This ambitious clinical project will be among the first in our nation to consider such an evaluation of clinical practice in the real world.”
In addition to an engraved plaque and a floral bouquet, Schwarz will
have the opportunity to attend a professional nursing meeting this year.
Her name has also been added to the Jane Rothaermel Excellence Award perpetual
plaque that will hang in a place of honor in Pediatrics this year.