St. Mark's Hospital honors nurse, volunteer

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 8, 2007

DeEtta Barta, intensive-care unit registered nurse, and Bonnie Nielsen, volunteer, have received St. Mark's Hospital's 2006 Frist Humanitarian Awards for Employee and Volunteer of the Year, respectively. It's the top honor an employee or volunteer can receive from HCA, St. Mark's parent company, and places the women in contention for the national award.

The Frist Humanitarian Awards honor "extraordinary concern" for the welfare and happiness of patients and their community. It is named in honor of the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist Sr., HCA's founder.

Barta was cited for her service at international and local levels. In 16 years with Project Compassion, Barta has traveled worldwide to set up medical clinics and provide care in jungles, grass huts, villages and government facilities, as well as providing earthquake and hurricane relief.

As an ICU nurse at St. Mark's, Barta is respected for the "level of compassion she shows for others," says one nominator. During the recent shootings at Trolley Square, she chose to stay on the scene and help a victim, risking her own safety until paramedics arrived.

Nielsen has volunteered more than 2,750 hours of service to St. Mark's Hospital. She serves two shifts in the gift shop each week and often covers other's shifts. She served three years as president of the St. Mark's Auxiliary and has been a board member for seven years.