McLeod Dillon is pleased to announce that Abby Lambert, Cardiac Rehab; Bridget Long, Critical and Acute Care; and Elaine McElveen, Case Management, have been selected to receive the 2017 Palmetto Gold Award. Overall, twelve McLeod Health Registered Nurses were selected. These nurses represent McLeod Regional Medical Center, McLeod Darlington, McLeod Health Clarendon, McLeod Seacoast and McLeod Dillon. They join the ranks of the 155 previous McLeod nurses who have received this outstanding award.
The Palmetto Gold Award is a program that was started by various nursing organizations throughout South Carolina as a platform to recognize nursing, and support nursing education with scholarship funds.
“Our nurses are to be commended for devoting their considerable skills and talents to the selfless service of others,” said Marcia Wilds, Associate Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer at McLeod Dillon. “Being honored as part of this elite group of South Carolina nurses speaks to their high level of skill. The Palmetto Gold recipients are leaders in the field representing a philosophy of commitment to caring for the individual patient that underlies the profession of nursing and the mission of the McLeod organization.”
Abby Lambert, RN, of Marion, SC, has nine years of experience as a registered nurse (RN). Abby is the Nursing Supervisor of Cardiac Rehabilitation at McLeod Dillon.
Abby has authored requests for grant funding for patient scholarships and has been awarded over $60,000 to date to enable those in need to participate in Cardiac Rehab, benefiting approximately 20 patients per year. She is also responsible for building the hospital’s much needed pulmonary rehabilitation program, including policy creation, staff recruitment and promotion of services.
Abby is active in the community where she volunteers her time at health fairs and speaking engagements, where she educates on cardiovascular disease and healthy lifestyles.
Bridget Long, RN, of Latta, SC, has two years of experience as a registered nurse (RN). Bridget cares for Critical and Acute Care patients at McLeod Dillon.
On her unit, Bridget serves as a charge nurse, preceptor and mentor to staff. She is a champion for evidence-based, best practice care. She leads with a kind approach and educates on consistency in patient rounding, assessments, plan of care, core measures, and reporting to physicians.
Bridget also gives hours serving those in need. She has served as a short-term missionary in Honduras where she worked in medical clinics. She is also involved in Neighbors Helping Neighbors and the Red Cross.
Elaine McElveen, RN, of Timmonsville, SC has 32 years of experience as a registered nurse (RN). Elaine is the Director of Case Management at McLeod Dillon.
At the hospital, Elaine mentors and leads the Hospitalists and Case Management team through support of decision-making, while promoting care progression and care coordination. She is responsible for ensuring that patient care is delivered appropriately by her team to every patient. Elaine is an advocate for patients and is often the voice that helps the physician identify the patient’s unique needs.
Elaine is active in the community, providing information and resources to the public. She is also an active volunteer with the nursing home residents of the community, with whom she visits and provides resources.

About the Palmetto
Gold Award
Each year, employers from across a wide variety of South Carolina health care settings nominate outstanding nurses from their organizations to be considered as one of the 100 nurses honored with this prestigious award. The nominators are asked to provide evidence of how the nominee demonstrated excellence to the profession by addressing the following criteria. Those areas include: promoting and advancing of the profession of nursing; displaying of caring and commitment to patients, families, and colleagues and demonstrating leadership by assisting others to grow and develop.
This is a competitive process and usually several hundred nominations are submitted with only 100 being selected. Each year the competition for the Palmetto Gold Nurse Recognition Program is becoming more stringent as the number of nominations increases. To select the 100 RNs, a team of six nurses from across the state participate in a blind review process. The nominees are not referred to by name or place of employment on the nomination sections seen by the judges so they are unaware of who they are or for which institution they work.
“Excellence in patient care and a commitment to the nursing profession are valued in the selection criteria for Palmetto Gold,” said Tony Derrick, Chief Nursing Officer, McLeod Regional Medical Center. “Our nurses contribute to the overall high quality outcomes of care for our patients and the profession of nursing. Palmetto Gold Nurses and all of our McLeod Nurses truly promote high standards of nursing care for South Carolina. McLeod is proud to add these twelve winners to the distinguished list of McLeod Health Palmetto Gold Award winners.”
The recipients of the 2017 Palmetto Gold Award were recognized at the Palmetto Gold Gala, April 22 in Columbia. To support the future of nursing, the proceeds from the Palmetto Gold Gala, are used to provide scholarships to each of the approved registered nursing programs in South Carolina. In 2008, the Renatta Loquist Graduate Nursing Scholarship was created to honor Mrs. Loquist, a member of the original Palmetto Gold committee and a leader in nursing in our state.
This scholarship is for $2,000 and has been awarded each year. Since its inception, Palmetto Gold has awarded over $300,000 in nursing scholarships.