Nursing Awards and Recognition Celebrating Nursing Excellence

Northwestern Memorial Hospital Nursing Awards, Publications and Presentations

Nursing Awards

DAISY Award Honorees in Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024

Alexa Amato, BSN, RN
Northwestern Memorial Hospital: 13 West Feinberg, General Medicine

Kathryn “Katie” Burns, MSN, RN, PMH-BC
Northwestern Memorial Hospital: Galter 13, Psychiatry

Cecilia “Cece” Crane, BSN, RN
Northwestern Memorial Hospital: Labor and Delivery

Jenise Diemer, BSN, RN, OCN
Northwestern Medical Group: Galter 17, Infusion Clinic

Meghan Enright, BSN, RN
Northwestern Medical Group: Galter 17, Infusion Clinic

Jennifer McGeehan, BSN, RNC-NIC, C-ELBW 
Northwestern Memorial Hospital: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Jamere Parson, BSN, RN
Northwestern Medical Group: Galter 17 Infusion

Katherine Toohey, BSN, RN, CCRN
Northwestern Memorial Hospital: Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit

Tess Troy, BSN, RN, CMSRN
Northwestern Memorial Hospital: 12 East Feinberg, GI Surgical Oncology

Sara Wernicke, BSN, RN
Northwestern Medical Group: Galter 17, Infusion Clinic

Illinois Nurses Foundation: 40 Under 40 Emerging Nurse Leader Award Recipients in 2024

Kate Barrett, MSN, RN, NE-BC
Olson 6, Medicine Observation

Karena Brown, MSN, RN, CMSRN
Feinberg 15W, Medicine

Dana Campbell, MSN, RN, SCRN, CNRN
Feinberg 10, Neurosciences/Neuro Spine

Anne O’Boye, MSN, RN, CCTC
Lung Transplant, Canning Thoracic Institute

Jill Trzaska, MSN, RN, BMTCN, OCN, CNL
Prentice 16, Stem Cell Transplant & Hem/Onc

University of Illinois: The Power of Nursing Leadership – Pinnacle Nurse Leaders

Beth Whippo, MSN, RN-BC
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute

Cora Palmer, MSN, RN, CMSRN
Feinberg 16 West, General Medicine

American Organization for Nursing Leadership: 2024 Nurse Manager Fellow

Kelsey Sundwall, MSN, RN, CMSRN
Galter 4, Medicine Observation

Sarah Richmond, MBA, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
10 East Feinberg, Neuro Spine Specialty Surgery

American Organization for Nursing Leadership: 2024 Nurse Director Fellow

Jessica Rosati, MSN, RN, NE-BC, CNL, RNC-OB
Women’s Health

2024 Excellence in Nursing Practice Award Recipients
Northwestern Medical Group:

Danielle Hanlon, BSN, RN-BC
Canning Thoracic Institute

Meghan Deplaris, BSN, RN, CNRN
Outpatient Neurology, Neuromuscular Division

Bridgett Sessa, BSN, RN
Neurosurgery Clinic

Northwestern Memorial Hospital:

Sam Rifkin, MSN, RN, CCRN
Ambulatory and Procedural Care Nursing

Sam Cohn, BSN, RN, CCRN, CSC
Cardiac Nursing

Nelly T. Dohuuduc, MSHI, BSN, RN, PCCNK
Clinical Documentation and Quality Utilization

Alexander Kammin, BSN, RN, CEN
Emergency/Trauma Department

Madeline Nowak, BSN, RN, CNRN
Float Pool

Jennifer Crynes, MSN, RN-BC, CMSRN
Medicine Nursing

Samantha Blackmore, BSN, RN, SCRN
Inpatient Surgical, Neuro, Ortho Nursing

Colleen Flannery, BSN, RN, OCN
Oncology Nursing

Kathryn Burns, MSN, RN, PMH-BC
Stone Institute of Psychiatry

Ashley Wiseman, BSN, RN, CMSRN
Surgical Services

Hayley Gillespie, MSN, RN, CBC, RNC-MNN
Women’s Health

FY24 Northwestern Medicine Nurse Scholars

Mary Kate Carroll, BSN, RN, CV-BC
VBC Care Coordination
Project: “Using best practice alerts to increase depression screenings and management in ambulatory care management”

Andrei Dmitriev, BSN, RN
Cardiac Care Unit
Project: “Aromatherapy as an alternative to pharmacological and other traditional natural intervention to reduce patient pain and stress during CVC placement procedures”

Diana Tellez, BSN, RN
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute Central Services
Janet Palamone, MSN, APN, CMSRN
Ambulatory Operations
Project: “C.A.L.M. BP: Collaborative to Avoid, Lessen and Maintain Blood Pressure”

Nursing Publications

Gina Paliga, MSN, RN, OCN
Anne McDowell, MAM
Paliga G, Cunningham J, McDowell A, O'Mara M. Implementation of a patient acuity tool and safe staffing model in an outpatient oncology clinical trials unit. Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2023;27(4):424-431. https://doi.org/10.1188/23.CJON.424-431

Angela B. Maeder, PhD, RNC-OB
Michelle A. Kominiarek, MD
Pamela Anderson, MSN, RNC-OB (non-byline support)
Maeder AB, Bell AF, McFarlin BL, Park CG, Kominiarek MA, Toledo P, Carter CS, Nazarloo H, Vonderheid SC. Feasibility study to compare oxytocin function between body mass index groups at term labor induction. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2023:S0884-2175(23)00281-2. doi:10.1016/j.jogn.2023.11.003.

Manushi Desai, BSN, RN, MBA
Desai MD, Tootooni MS, Bobay KL. Can prehospital data improve early identification of sepsis in emergency department? An integrative review of machine learning approaches. Appl Clin Inform. 2022;13(1):189-202. doi:10.1055/s-0042-1742369.  

(non-author collaborators)
Barbara Holmes Gobel, MS, RN, AOCN, FAAN
Angela B. Maeder, PhD, RNC-OB
Kristen Moderhack, MBA, MSN, RN, CBC
Krystal Hanrahan, MS, MSPH, RN, CMSRN
Aiken LH, Lasater KB, Sloane DM, Pogue CA, Fitzpatrick Rosenbaum KE, Muir KJ, McHugh MD; US Clinician Wellbeing Study Consortium. Physician and nurse well-being and preferred interventions to address burnout in hospital practice: factors associated with turnover, outcomes, and patient safety. JAMA Health Forum. 2023;4(7):e231809. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.1809.

Kevin J. O’Leary, MD, MS
Julie K. Johnson, MSPH, PhD
Krystal Hanrahan, MSPH, RN, RN, CMSRN
G. Randy Smith, MD, MS
O’Leary KJ, Johnson JK, Williams M, Estrella R, Hanrahan K, Leykum LK, Smith GR, Goldstein J, Kim JS, Thompson S, Terwilliger IA, Song J, Lee JH, Manojlovich M. Effect of complementary interventions to redesign care on teamwork and quality for hospitalized medical patients: a pragmatic controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2023;176(11):1456-1464. doi:10.7326/M23-0953.

Nursing Presentations

Kristi Harworth, BSN, RN, CCRN
Claire Liszkay, BSN, RN, CCRN
Sami Matson, BSN, RN, CCRN
“Decreasing injuries from rectal tubes in the MICU”
National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition
Denver, Colorado
May 2024

Colleen Flannery, BSN, RN, OCN
Megan Masterson, BSN, RN, OCN
Danielle Ready, MSN, RN, CNL, OCN, BMTCN
Illana Solomon, BSN, RN, OCN, CCRN
Jill Trzaska, MSN, RN, BMTCN, OCN, CNL
“All aboard the chemo train: a collaborative approach to training non-oncology nurses for chemotherapy administration”
49th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress
Washington, D.C.
April 2024

Laurin Masnari, MSN, RN, CMSRN
Alyssa Saklak, BSN, RN, CMSRN
“Better, RN: creating a podcast to connect with Gen Z nurses”
American Organization for Nursing Leadership Annual Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana
April 2024

Sheila Wade, MSN, RN, CMSRN, NEA-BC
Lydia Koepke, MS, APRN, RN-BC, CWON
“Expanded wound nurse program to reduce hospital-acquired pressure injuries”
American Hospital Association Leadership Summit
Seattle, Washington
July 2023