Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) nurses, from top left: Hayley Tuon, BSN, RN, CCRN, clinical nurse; Angela Schrage, MS, RN, clinical nurse; Erica Gaudet, BSN, RN, clinical nurse; from bottom left: Sara Pitman, BSN, RN, clinical nurse; Carol Daddio Pearce, MSN, RN, CCRN, ACNP, clinical nurse educator; and Hasna Hakim, DNP, MSN, RN, CCRN, nurse director.

Brigham nurses, along with hospital leadership, Department of Nursing benefactors, physician colleagues, family and friends, gathered together at the 2017 BWH Nurse Recognition Dinner on May 4 to celebrate the hospital’s 3,300 nurses and the nursing profession.

In the spirit of this year’s theme, “Patients at the Heart of All We Do: Connecting Through Healing Relationships,” Lisa Morrissey, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, interim chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services, spoke about the importance of human connection.

“Authentic caring through loving kindness for self and others creates the human connection that is at the very heart of nursing practice,” said Morrissey. “And it’s these connections that strengthen us as individuals and as a community of caregivers.”

Reflecting on her interim appointment, Morrissey noted, “I’ve had the honor of serving as your interim chief nurse for the past eight months, and I am humbled to stand before you in that capacity to celebrate and acknowledge the important contributions that you make in the lives of each of our patients and families.”

Stanley W. Ashley, MD, chief medical officer, and Ron Walls, MD, FAAEM, FRCPC, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Brigham Health, also offered their gratitude to nurses and nursing leadership during their remarks. In addition, they thanked Morrissey for her leadership over the past eight months.

Walls said, “Lisa not only gave us remarkable transitional leadership, but she gave us courageous leadership as well.”

During this year’s dinner, the 2017 Essence of Nursing Award – the highest honor given to clinical nurses at BWH who are known for their exceptional care, compassion and generosity – was presented to Andrew Bober, BSN, RN, clinical nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Float Pool. Bober, who is the first Float Pool recipient of this award, thanked a special group of people for making him the nurse and the person he is today, including his parents; his Nurse Director Cathy Rumble, MS, RN; fellow ICU Float Pool nurse and previous Essence honoree Christopher Day, MSN, RN; and Bober’s wife, Danielle, who is also a Brigham nurse.

Four honorees, whose exemplary practice reflects the tenets of the BWH Nursing Professional Practice Model and relationship-based care, were also recognized: Susan Gabriel, BSN, RN, CCRN, clinical nurse in the Cardiac Surgery ICU; Siobhan Raftery, BSN, RN, CNRN, clinical nurse in the Intermediate Neurosciences unit; Josette Renda, BSN, RN, clinical nurse in the Post-anesthesia Care Unit; and Tracy Slaven, BSN, RN, clinical nurse in the Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant unit.

“This year’s five exemplary nurses join those who have gone before in embodying our Department of Nursing’s vision of excellent care to patients and families, with the best staff, in the safest environment,” Morrissey said. “Your practice energizes and inspires me and those around you. Congratulations and thank you!”

View a photo gallery from the event.