Nurses Day at CMH May 6, 2009
A few years ago, nurses at CMH began a journey that would create many avenues for the nursing staff to involve themselves, putting the patient at the center of every intersection. The journey began slowly, but over time, the travel began to speed up, the passenger load grew, and a much larger vehicle was needed to transport the validity and values of what nursing was evolving into at CMH.
Two years ago, the new vehicle became known as the Shared Governance bus. The bus was loaded with essential necessities; the Shared Governance Council, The Nurse Leadership Council, The Quality Research and Safety Council, the Resource and Partnerhsip Council, and the Professional Development Council. The bus has traveled many miles since then and a tremendous amount of side streets constructed to continue the journey such as self-scheduling, new processes implemented, policies and procedures revised and created online, nurses involved in decision making, nurse recognition, and the list goes on, with the ultimate destination of "the voice of the nurse being heard throughout the organization, keeping the patient in the center of all that we do. All of the Shared Governance Councils have worked hard; keeping the wheels on the bus turning to meet the goals set by the councils and to continue the journey to become a Magnet Hospital.
One of the goals of the Professional Development Council is nurse recognition. Nurses's Day, May 6, 2009 marked a milestone for nurses and nurse partners at CMH that will continue for many years. The Professional Development Council recognized and honored three people, one posthumously for their exemplary contribution to professional nursing at CMH. The awards will be awarded each year in honor of the first nurse recipients of the so-named award to be presented each year on nurses's day to recognize a RN, LPN and a Nurse Partner for their exemplary contribution to professional nursing at CMH.