March 09, 2007
4 Genesis nurses among Iowa’s 100 Great Nurses
In three years, 13 honored from GMC-Davenport
DAVENPORT, IOWA - They are the best and brightest – shining examples of competence and commitment to patients and the nursing profession. They are this year’s 100 Great Iowa Nurses, and four of them are from Genesis.
Receiving the designation in 2007 for their exceptional contributions to patients, colleagues and the profession are: Jackie Anhalt, Manager of Orthopaedics; Lisa Caffery, Epidemiology Coordinator; Debra Elmer, Nurse Educator, Intensive Care Unit; and Marsha Menke, Manager of the Genesis Diabetes Care Center. They will be recognized May 6 in Des Moines at the annual celebration.
In three years of the 100 Great Iowa Nurses program, a total of 13 Genesis nurses have been recognized. The program was formed to heighten the visibility of nurses within the state by recognizing their excellence and promoting their stories of compassion in nursing practice.
“The award is further recognition not only of the quality of our nursing staff, but the depth of quality among our nurses,’’ said Carole Reid, MSN, RN, Vice President of Patient Services, Genesis Medical Center, Davenport. “The patients of Genesis Health System are receiving care from nurses who have been recognized for excellence on a statewide and also on a national basis through our designation as a Magnet nursing organization.
“This recognition was richly deserved by our nurses, and we believe many other Genesis nurses will be honored in the future. We are proud that we work with truly great nurses.’’
These outstanding nurses are among the more than 1,000 who helped Genesis Medical Center, Davenport earn the prestigious Magnet designation in 2005. Genesis, Davenport is the first and only hospital in the Quad Cities and one of four in Iowa that has received Magnet designation, which recognizes the highest standards of nursing care in the United States.
Congratulations to the four Genesis nurses named to this year’s 100 Great Iowa Nurses list:
Jackie Anhalt, RN, MS, CRRN
A positive approach and a “can-do’’ attitude are part of the uniform when you are a nursing manager, mother of three, a student pursuing a second master’s degree and the leader of many nursing quality initiatives at Genesis.
Jackie Anhalt, the Manager of Orthopaedics at GMC, Davenport, promotes excellence and stimulates her nurses to think “outside the box.” “I get excited to come to work every day and make a difference – in the patients we serve, the staff, the Genesis organization and the nursing profession,” she said.
Her accomplishments at Genesis include: Developing a hospital-wide IV quality-monitoring tool; taking a lead role in the conception of the Nursing Quality Committee; decreasing wait times with a “call ahead’’ initiative; finetuning a color-coded system for storing narcotics for Orthopaedics and then educating other nursing units; working to bring smoking cessation education to pregnant moms; implementing an education series for rehabilitation patients and their families; or providing leadership that puts her nursing unit’s R.N. satisfaction rate among the highest at Genesis.
“I consider this an incredible honor,” Anhalt said of the 100 Great Nurses award. “I love being a nurse and to know that the work I’ve done is held in such high esteem gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment.”
Lisa Caffery, RN, BSN, MS, BC, CIC
When “Dateline NBC’’ needed an expert to interview about flu pandemic last year and wanted to tape a segment in Davenport, the show’s producers talked with Lisa Caffery.
Caffery, Epidemiology Project Coordinator at GMC-Davenport, makes significant contributions to nursing whether she is advising hospitals on infection control or volunteering at a camp for youngsters who have diabetes. “The reason I come to work everyday is the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life,” she said. “I love working with patients, family members, staff and the community to improve care.”
She makes presentations on infection control at the local, state and national level; she co-authored “Preventing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia,” which was published in Perspectives; she holds certifications in gastroenterology; infection control/epidemiology and in medical/surgical nursing. She is a state board member for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Her job isn’t all about infectious disease, however; it’s also about infecting students with the joys of nursing. She mentors students and gives presentations at area colleges. One week each summer, she also educates Camp Hertko Hollow youth on managing their diabetes.
She said of the award, “There are some very awesome and inspiring people being recognized this year, and to be included in this group is truly an honor.”
Debra Elmer, MCN, CCRN
Critical care nurses treat patients with increasingly complex medical needs. As a nurse educator in the Intensive Care Unit, Elmer helps nurses stay current in the everchanging advances.
In addition to managing critical care updates, educational inservices and yearly certifications, Elmer serves on about 15 committees and acts as a nurturing mentor for nurses. She frequently and selflessly rearranges her personal schedule to meet her department’s needs. She is recognized hospital-wide for her caring, supportive demeanor and treats every nurse, in every department, as if they were her own charge to educate, assist and mentor.
“I see nursing as a challenge to be the best we can be for our patients and for ourselves,” she said. “All patients deserve to have competent, caring staff that is an advocate for them and uses best practice. I care for my patients like I would want to be cared for, and I teach new nurses to so the same.”
Elmer says she is very honored to be part of the 100 Great Iowa Nurses program and among the nurses honored over the past three years. “I see those nurses as being visionaries and creative. They are true examples of nursing professionalism and make us proud to be nurses.”
Marsha Menke, RN, MS, CDE, CPT
The diabetes epidemic has a formidable foe in Marsha Menke. Whether she’s talking to 1 or 100 people, the manager of the Genesis Diabetes Care Center believes in empowering people through education.
Among her accomplishments, she developed a diabetes selfmanagement program, an intensive insulin program and outpatient insulin pump program. She helped create a statewide diabetes resource directory; established a diabetes support group; and for 17 years has provided round-the-clock support for insulin pump patients. She provides more than 50 community education programs on diabetes management and prevention. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations has used the Genesis Diabetes Care center as a model for patient education programs.
“It’s so rewarding to see patients improve not only their diabetes management but their outlook,” Menke said. “Sometimes they just need to know someone cares and is there for them, whether it be as a liaison, an advocate or a listener.”
She added, “I am very appreciative of this award and at the same time am humbled to be included in such an esteemed group, especially those who were selected from Genesis.”
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