American Nurses Association Honors Nursing's Best

South Carolina Nurse, The,  Apr-Jun 2008  

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Twelve Honorary Awards to be Bestowed at ANA's 2008 House of Delegates

SILVER SPRING, MD-Since the early 1900s, the American Nurses Association (ANA) has presented awards to prominent nurses to recognize their outstanding contributions to the nursing profession and the field of health care. On Thursday, June 26, 2008, as part of its 2008 Biennial House of Delegates meeting in Washington, DC, ANA will bestow Honorary Awards in 12 categories. They are as follows:

* Mary L. Behrens, FNP, RN, will receive the Barbara Thoman Curtis Award for significant contributions to nursing practice and health policy through political and legislative activity. An active political force in Wyoming since 1983, Behren has served as Mayor of Casper, Wyoming, Natrona County Commissioner and Natrona County State Representative and demonstrated political activity that promotes the nursing profession in both political and health care arenas. Testifying at state, national and international venues on nursing and healthcare issues, she has lobbied extensively for issues including: seat belt safety, clean water, energy use, the "Handle With Care" campaign, FIT Testing, and mandatory overtime.

* Rachel E. Spector, PhD, MSN, BSN, will receive the Honorary Human Rights Award for outstanding commitment to human rights that exemplifies the essence of nursing's philosophy about humanity. Spector has steadfastly worked towards the promulgation of "cultural competency" because she believed that "cultural competency reflects the essence of nursing's philosophy and human rights."

* Sister Theresa Graf, EdD, RN, FNP, will receive the Honorary Nursing Practice Award for outstanding direct-patient care, well known as "Sister Terry," she provides health services for poor and uninsured residents of Nassau County in New York. One of her projects, Rotocare, a community health service, caught the attention of a Newsday writer who stated, "Sister Terry and her band of volunteers rely on faith, dedication, and persuasion to offer health care to those the system can't help." On Jan. 28, 2001, Newsday debuted a five-page spread in the Sunday Life section detailing the work of this dedicated professional.

* Lucille Joel, EdD, RN, FAAN, and Marianne Matzo, PhD, APRN, BC-GNP, FAAN, will receive the Honorary Recognition Award for distinguished national or international service to the nursing profession. The list of contributions. Joel has made to the nursing profession is extensive. Her accomplishments are of national and international significance to nursing. She has provided distinguished service to the nursing profession since 1958. A nursing leader from 1979 - 1983, Joel has served as president of the New Jersey State Nurses Association, and the president of the American Nurses Association from 1988-1992. Joel remains actively engaged at all levels of the profession contributing her time and talents to the nurses and the profession in her home state of New Jersey.

* Marianne Matzo, PhD, APRN, BC-GNP, FAAN, will also receive the Honorary Recognition Award for distinguished national or international service to the nursing profession. Known nationally and internationally as a nurse educator in palliative care nursing, Matzo has taught internationally in third world countries, taught doctors and nurses in Saint Petersburg, Russia, about palliative care for AIDS patients. Matzo worked with the Medical Academy of Saint Petersburg to institutionalize palliative care education in medical and nursing education.

* Carolina Huerta, EdD, MSN, RN, will receive the Mary Mahoney Award for significant contributions to advancing equal opportunities in nursing for members of minority groups. Since 1972, Huerta has embraced the challenge of developing and implementing higher education programs in nursing that would enhance the professional health opportunities for the millions of residents living in Rio Grand Valley and South Texas. With her vision and leadership, she has acquired administrative and state resources in the area of South Texas, to offer baccalaureate and master's nursing programs for the Mexican-American citizens at Pan American College (now University of Texas-Pan American [UTPA]).

* Joy F. Reed, EdD, MS, BSN, will receive the Pearl Mclver Public Health Nurse Award for significant contributions to public health nursing. Reed served on the Standards Workgroup for the Exploring Accreditation Initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2005-2006 after serving as the Division of Public Health lead on establishing an accreditation system for local health departments in North Carolina. That system has been adopted by the North Carolina General Assembly and has received ongoing funding. Reed's most recent work includes serving as chair of the ANA work group to revise the document, Public Health Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice. The revised document was published in 2007 and is now being used in the revision of the American Nurses Credentialing Center's work to revise the certification exam for the specialty.