
2016 Outstanding Nurses Awards winners
On July 14, Mpls.St.Paul Magazine celebrated excellence in Twin Cities nursing by toasting 74 finalists and recognizing 16 winners of our coveted Outstanding Nurses Awards.
Now in its fifth year, this event and awards program, sponsored by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, has become an annual highlight for many in the medical community and an opportunity to shine the spotlight on a group of inspiring professionals working in a field that touches us all in one way or another.
The Outstanding Nurses Awards asks the public and the medical community to nominate nurses of excellence in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. Nominations are vetted and judged by a team of nurses working in the profession. This year’s judges were Linda Lindeke, a pediatric nurse practitioner and health consultant who recently retired from a long teaching career at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, where she also attended graduate school. Beckie Hines, nurse director of Summit Orthopedics Surgery Centers, who oversees four surgery centers with another underway. Last year, Hines won the award for Outstanding Nurse in Administrative Leadership. And Amy Erlandson, from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. A staff nurse for more than 25 years in neonatal intensive care, she was named the 2014 Outstanding Intensive Care Nurse.
As in other years, only one Lifetime Achievement Award was given. This year the recipient is Betty Bishop, who has spent the past 21 years as a nurse in the pediatric rheumatology program at theUniversity of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. Prior to building this nationally recognized program, Bishop served patients in the field of critical care nursing.
All finalists and winners, as well as their friends, family, and colleagues, had the opportunity to attend the event at the Minneapolis Event Center that celebrates and honors them, hosted by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine and sponsored by organizations within the Twin Cities medical community. Winners are announced at the event. This year, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota was a participating sponsor and on-site event partners included Hennepin County Medical Center, Minnesota Oncology, and University of Minnesota Health.
All winners are listed below. Look to the November 2016 issue of Mpls.St.Paul Magazine for more information on—and a celebration of—these Twin Cities Outstanding Nurses.
Winners of the 2016 Outstanding Nurses Awards
The Rising Star Award, given to a nurse with less than five years since board certification, went to Jessica Riemenschneider, Pediatric Home Service
The Award for Outstanding Nurse Practitioner went to Luann Johnson, Hennepin County Medical Center
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Women’s Health went to Mary Roen, Colon and Rectal Surgery Associates
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Children’s Health went to Doreen Carson, Pediatric Home Service
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in a Clinic Setting went to Marci Knaak, University of Minnesota
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in a Hospital Setting went to Amy Daly, VA Health Care System
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Cancer Care went to Becky Bogan, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Intensive Care went to Louise Jacobs, Abbott Northwestern Hospital
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Emergency Settings went to Teresa Cahill, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Administrative Leadership went to Judith Pechacek, University of Minnesota School of Nursing
The Award for Outstanding Nurse Educator went to Thomas Klint, University of Minnesota/Fairview
The Award for Outstanding Advanced Practice Nurse went to David Jensen, HealthPartners
The Award for Outstanding Nurse Researcher went to Diane Treat-Jacobson, University of Minnesota
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Mental Health went to Andrew Wallin, Fairview
The Award for Outstanding Nurse in Public Health and/or Activism, given to a nurse who advocates publicly for public health issues or for issues important to nurses, went to Cheryl Robertson, University of Minnesota
The Lifetime Achievement Award, given to an outstanding nurse with 25 years or more since board certification, went to Betty Bishop, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital
Meet our lifetime achievement winner, Betty Bishop: