Program expanded to include Surgical Technologists
On Friday, April 11, Prisma Health Blount Memorial Hospital presented three surgical technologists and seven nurses with Clinical Ladder Awards for their commitment to compassionate care and furthering their career expertise.
Clinical Ladder Awards honor individuals who go the extra mile to ensure patient encounters are guided by experience, compassion and clinical expertise by focusing on continuing education, clinical practice, professional development and leadership.
The surgical technologist recipients are Anita Cooper, Jennifer Crain and Christy Dickey. In nursing, registered nurses Keonda Hannum, Annatasia Myers, Sherri Pesterfield, Kayla Johnson, Heather McFalls, Mackenzie Lamon and Jennifer Ingram received awards.
“It takes an immense amount of work and dedication to go through this process, but the end result is that we’re better today than we were yesterday and safer today than we were yesterday,” said Prisma Health Blount Memorial Hospital chief nursing and operating officer Joe Newsome. “Every single person who lives in this county relies on us to get it right. The dedication it takes to complete this one-year process really speaks highly of their commitment to the folks who depend on us for their care,” he said.
This was the first time surgical techs joined the list of recipients since Blount Memorial began presenting Clinical Ladder Awards in 2018.
“We recognized that the full spectrum of health care requires an awareness of those folks who work with a passion for what they do even when patients aren’t aware of the work that they’re doing,” Newsome said. “For our surgical tech positions, this is a new program, and it’s a new way for us to recognize the hard work they do and the contribution they make to the health of our community.”
