May 19, 2005
School of Nursing hosts community-wide banquet for National Nurses Day
The UW School of Nursing honored outstanding nurses and nursing leaders at its 2005 Nurses Recognition Banquet Thursday May 12. UW President Mark Emmert was the featured speaker.
The banquet is held each year on National Nurses Day, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, and as part of National Nurses Week, celebrated annually May 6-12 nationwide.
The school presented four Leadership Awards. One award is designated for a graduate of the school, and last year the school added three new awards—open to anyone—to recognize the greater community’s nursing leadership in research, humanitarianism and volunteerism. The 2005 recipients are:
Distinguished Alumni Award: Kathleen Shannon Dorcy, a research nurse at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a senior lecturer in nursing at UW Tacoma, is known for her ethical care of patients and is a recognized expert on the care and treatment of those with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Chair of the AML National Oncology Nurse Advisory Board, she is a frequent presenter at national conferences. She is also an associate member of the National Institutes of Health Director’s Council of Public Representatives. A Fred Hutchinson practitioner since 1989, Dorcy coordinates clinical trials, conducts research and works on numerous committees. She is a 1991 master’s graduate of the UW School of Nursing.
Distinguished Research Award: Karen Schepp, associate professor in the Department of Psychosocial and Community Health in the UW School of Nursing, has enhanced the health and welfare of mentally ill children and their families through 20 years of research. A certified child and adolescent psychiatric mental health clinical specialist, she serves as a reviewer for leading nursing journals and consults nationally and internationally. She currently leads a five-year study of families with teenagers who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 1996, she received the School of Nursing’s Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award. Schepp earned her master’s degree from the UW School of Nursing in 1967.
Humanitarian Award: Connie Anderson, director of clinical services at Northwest Kidney Centers (NKC), is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable, committed dialysis professionals in the country. She is an international resource for those interested in home hemodialysis and is known for her humane care of renal disease patients. For 15 years, she has served on the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center’s Board of Trustees, and was the first woman elected to the board. She has served the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Seattle chapter for five years, and in 2003, she chaired the Race for the Cure, raising more than $1 million for breast cancer services. She received her bachelor’s degree from the UW School of Nursing in 1973.
Outstanding Volunteer Award: Eli and Rebecca Almo, owners and operators of ERA Care Communities, are recognized for their commitment to improving the health and well-being of older adults in the greater Seattle community and as champions of quality nursing care. Early in their lives, the Almos sought “something more meaningful” and a sense that they were helping others. In 1985, they established ERA Care Communities, which delivers high quality housing and services for retirees, and initiated one of the first corporate partnerships with the UW School of Nursing. The Almos serve as co-chairs of the School of Nursing Campaign Advisory Board and in 1996 they established the Aljoya Endowed Professorship in Aging at the school.
Many program sponsors recognized their top nurses at the event. Sponsors at the Silver $5,000 level: Cerner Corporation, Johnson & Johnson Health Care System and University of Washington Medical Center. Sponsors at the Bronze $2,500 level: Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center, ERA Care Communities, Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Kidney Centers, Premera Blue Cross, Spacelabs Medical and Swedish Medical Center, which is sponsoring three tables.
