2006 SRNA Millennium Awards

SRNA Newsbulletin, Summer 2006

The SRNA is delighted to present to you the 2006 Millennium Award winners who were recognized at the Annual Meeting Banquet, May 2, 2006.

Gail Deneschuk - The Rufh Hicks Award for Student Leadership

After graduating from Yorkton's Sacred Heart High School in 2000, Gail attended the University of Saskatchewan majoring in Sociology. In 2004, she entered the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan where her leadership qualities were immediately recognized when she became the first year rep for the Student Nurses Society in Saskatoon (SNSS). She has received several nursing awards given by her peers including; Community Involvement Award, Freshman Award and Participation Award.

Gail served as the secretary for the Student Nurses Society in Saskatoon in 2005-06 year, and has been elected President for the 2006-07 academic year. She has volunteered in numerous community events including Hope Cancer Walk October 2004, and was the Team Captain in 2005. As the nursing representative for SIAST, Gail became a member of the Student Wellness Initiative Toward Community Health (SWITCH) steering committee in Saskatoon. She later joined their network committee and now serves as their Public Relations Chair. She is a vital part of this student initiative and as one faculty member puts it, "She especially shines in her clinical activities while caring for clients".

Gail is an exemplary student leader who displays strong interpersonal and communication skills with faculty and other health care professionals, all the while achieving high academic grades. Gail plans on completing her BA in Sociology in April 2007, while taking her third year in Nursing.

Trudy Bews, RN - The Nora Armstrong Award for Health Advocacy

Trudy has been an innovative advocate of quality health care in Saskatchewan for more than thirty-five years. She was employed as a RN at Eatonia Union Hospital from 1970 until its closure in 1998, as Director of Care for Eatonia Personal Care Home for one year, and then with Kindersley Home Care until her retirement on Nov 1, 2005.

She has been on three founding committees including first responders and the fitness club in Eatonia. With the closure of the long term care beds in the Eatonia Health Care Centre, Trudy was part of a group who helped convert those beds into a non-profit community owned personal care home. She remains a valued board member who has established numerous policies and procedures to ensure the continued existence of Eatonia Oasis Living.

She has participated in changing health services, advocating for the best possible health services and educating the public along the way. Several of her clients have commended Trudy on the excellent Home Care she gives. Trudy's genuine care and ongoing professionalism has consistently demonstrated excellence in Health Advocacy.

"Living With Hope" Research Team - The Effie Feeny Award for Nursing Research

The "Living with Hope" interdisciplinary research team is led by principal investigator, Dr. Wendy Duggleby, Associate Professor, U. of S. College of Nursing. She began her Hope research in her doctoral program, examining how clients in Palliative Care dealt with their suffering and pain by maintaining hope. Dr. Karen Wright, Associate Professor in College of Nursing, studied hope on her sabbatical leave and was interested in the use of hope in clinical practice. Dr. Lesley Degner, Professor in Nursing at University of Manitoba, is an internationally recognized oncology researcher and holds a research chair in cancer nursing. Dr. Allison Williams, Associate Professor in Human Geography at McMaster University, has conducted nationally funded studies with patients and families at the end of life.

Living with Hope took on a life of its own, with a qualitative study of hope in terminally ill cancer patients, the development of a Living with Hope Intervention, and a Pilot Study. Most recently, the team, with additional researchers and funding, conducted a study in the Sunrise, Prairie North and Regina-Qu'Appelle Health Regions, evaluating the effectiveness of the Living with Hope program in increasing hope and quality of life. The team also developed and pilot tested a Living with Hope intervention for informal caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients.

The Living with Hope Program includes an innovative 17-minute international award-winning video. Team members have disseminated their research results in peer reviewed journals and at numerous national and international conferences. Their research is now expanding to include a study of hope in caregivers of clients with dementia.

Genevieve $ilvernagle, RN - The ]ean Browne Award for Nursing Leadership

Genny loved nursing from an early age and has been referred to as "the image of nursing". She left her parent's farm while still in High School to take care of her 80-year-old grandmother. At the same time she worked to save money for her dream of a nursing education.

She graduated from the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan in 1962 and was immediately hired as a General Duty Nurse at St. Margaret's Hospital in Biggar where she worked in all departments. In the years that followed she took leadership on a number of health related committees. She has served in various management positions; including the Coordinator of Nursing and Home Care Services for Biggar and District, the Coordinator of Home Care for the Greenhead Health District and the Manager of Home Care North in Heartland's Health Region.