Thursday, May 12, 2005

More than 350 nurses from Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Nurses’ Day with a dinner and program at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 12, at Wagoner Hall on the campus of UNC Wilmington.

The annual event was started in 1995 by Dr. Virginia Adams, dean of the UNCW School of Nursing, to celebrate and recognize the contributions of nurses and the nursing profession. Nurses’ Day is a partnership between the UNCW School of Nursing and the North Carolina Nurses Association District 22 which covers New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties. The celebration is hosted locally each year during National Nurses’ Week, May 6-12.

The evening will feature brief remarks from Dean Adams, Connie Milliken, director of nursing at Brunswick Community College, and Regina McBarron, director of nursing and allied health at Cape Fear Community College. The event will also honor 91 nurses who are nominated by their peers for excellence in the categories of Practice, Education, Research, and Administration. Each nominee will receive a flower and framed personalized certificate with a quote from the person who nominated them.

A highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the Alumna of the Year, who this year is Kathie Wheeler, a nurse manager with a perioperative specialty at New Hanover Health Network, who earned an associate’s degree in nursing from UNCW in 1978. Wheeler is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in health administration from Kennedy Western University and will begin the master’s program in September at the same university.

She was nominated for this award by Diane Saullo of Southport, a co-worker at New Hanover Health Network, who noted that she has worked with Kathie for seven years while she advanced from coordinator to manager to director. “She has never lost her focus on the patient while keeping the family and doctors very close,” Saullo said. “Most important, she is a great staff advocate at the same time. She uses tact, diplomacy, pleading, lecture, example and a ‘Can Do’ attitude to get it all done and be a role model for the staff.”

Saullo also commented on Wheeler’s active involvement and commitment to her professional organization, the Association of periOperative Nurses (AORN), which she has served as president, treasurer, vice president, and chair of the Ways and Means Committee as well as the state representative for AORN. She is also a member of the N.C. Executive Nursing Organization and serves on the Finance Committee.

In another highlight of the ceremony, three $1,000 student scholarships will be presented from the North Carolina Nurses Association District 22. Recipients for 2005 are Anna Kirk of Hallsboro and Brenda Melvin of Wilmington, both enrolled in the UNCW Family Nurse Practitioner program; and Elizabeth Casey of Jacksonville, who is enrolled in the UNCW School of Nursing Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

The District 22 association customarily funds two $1,000 scholarships, but in honor of the 10th anniversary of Nurses’ Day celebration, they raised funds from nurses, employers and supporters of nursing to award three scholarships. ny student who lives or works in one of the three counties and who is enrolled in a nursing program is eligible to apply for the scholarships.