The Georgia Chapter of the March of Dimes honored 15 outstanding local nurses at the 2015 Nurse of the Year Awards. Joanna Berry, RN, BSN, of Piedmont Newnan Hospital received top honors in the Emergency and Ambulatory Care category at this year’s event.
“It was an emotional evening and I am so honored to have won in the company of such amazing nurses,” said Berry. “This award means so much to me, especially being the first winner from the Southeastern region.”
Through Nurse of the Year Awards, the March of Dimes recognizes nurses who demonstrate exceptional patient care, compassion, and service. Whether serving as a health care provider, educator, researcher, or chapter volunteer/advisor, these nurses have played a critical role in improving the health of Georgia’s residents.
“Throughout history, nurses have played a critical role in advancing the mission of the March of Dimes,” said March of Dimes Georgia Chapter executive director for Metro Atlanta, Rebecca Habermann. “In 1954, Forty-thousand nurses volunteered for the Salk polio vaccine field trials, which was the largest medical investigation of its kind ever conducted. Today, nurses serve as volunteers, fundraisers and advisors to the March of Dimes. They are critical to the mission of improving the health of babies –and are key in comforting families. We are proud to see how the profession of nursing has dramatically grown and changed and are honored to give recognition to Georgia’s nurses who are heroes in the medical community.”
Nurse of the Year Awards are given annually in approximately 15 award categories. More than 760 nurses were nominated in Georgia and of those, 210 were selected as finalists. Award recipients were announced at a special awards gala held on Saturday, November 21st at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta, Buckhead.
The award recipients were determined by a distinguished selection committee comprised of health care professionals who screened the nomination forms in a blinded review process. A complete list of finalists is available at www.marchofdimes.org/Georgia.
