May 10, 2024
Olean General Hospital and Bradford Regional Medical Center honored several nurses across both hospital campuses throughout National Nurses Week, which ran through Friday.
At Olean General, a reception for nurses was held Friday in Café 515, which included refreshments for those in attendance. For the second year in a row, Dr. Muhammed Javed, chairman of the Upper Allegheny Health System board, sponsored the event to recognize the contributions of nurses at OGH.
This year’s award recipients included Meagan Winer, BSN, of the ICU, nurse of distinction; Frances Perez, RN, float pool, nurse of distinction in education; Katie Weaver, RN, medical-surgical, outstanding staff nurse; Jesse Barnes, LPN, quality, outstanding LPN; and Amy Hayman, unit coordinator in subacute rehab, outstanding support staff.
Other nominees at OGH included Alyssa Snyder, RN; Autumn Freer, RN; Cayla Thomas, RN; Katelyn Spears, BSN, RN; and Kristen Miller, BSN, RN, for the nurse of distinction. The 2024 nominees for the nurse of distinction in education included Heather Faulkner, RN; Nicole Lippert, BSN, RN; and Rachael Huff, BSN, RN.
Catherine Blocher, RN, and Jennifer Salerno, RN, were outstanding staff nurse nominees and Kim Schauer, LPN, was an outstanding LPN nominee. Susan Yaeger, nurse assistant, was also nominated as an outstanding support staff member.
“Our nurses are the heart and soul of our organization,” said Jennifer Ruggles, chief nursing officer of Upper Allegheny. “The dedication and steadfast resiliency of our entire nursing team throughout UAHS is unmatched.
“The nursing excellence that our team provides to our community is admirable.” she added. “Our nurses make the difference.”
In Bradford, Pa., an award reception was held Wednesday in the main lobby of BRMC. The event was sponsored by Dr. Luis Gonzalez, longtime general surgeon at BRMC, and well-attended by hospital leaders, staff and community members.
The 2024 nurse of distinction honoree was Charlotte Muckinhaupt, BSN, RN, a registered nurse in the emergency department. The nurse of distinction in education honoree was Rachel Windsor, BSN, RN, Pavilion. Ann Kriner, RN, med-surg, was named the outstanding staff nurse honoree with nominees being Brooke Lipps, RN, med-surg; Amanda Wehler, RN, med-surg; and Shirley O’Dell, emergency department.
The outstanding support staff honoree was Stefanie Buley, emergency department tech.