McLeod Dillon is pleased to announce Nurse of the Year – Christie Hunt, RN, (Surgical Services), Medical Surgical Tech of the Year – Doris Sellers, MST, (Women’s Services) and Surgical Technician of the Year – Kristi Collins, CST (Surgical Services). Mary Jones, MST, (Pediatrics / Medical Surgical Unit) received the Patient’s Choice Award. Two new awards this year include “Rookie” of the Year awarded to a nurse that has been employed at McLeod Dillon less than one year and Mentor of the Year awarded to a nurse who has served as a preceptor for nursing students as well as new hires to the unit during the year. Kelley Wallace, RN, (Emergency Department) was the recipient of the “Rookie” of the Year award and Pamela Salmon, RN, (Women’s Services) was recognized as Mentor of the Year. All honorees were recognized during a special Nurses Day ceremony held on May 9, 2012. McLeod Dillon Palmetto Gold recipients were also recognized of the Palmetto Gold award. The Palmetto Gold Award is a program started by various nursing organizations throughout South Carolina as a platform to recognize nursing, and support nursing education with scholarship funds. Each year, employers from across a wide variety of health care settings have nominated outstanding nurses from their organizations to become one of the 100 nurses to be recognized for this prestigious award. To date, 13 McLeod Dillon nurses have received this recognition. The keynote speaker for the occasion was Dr. Michael Sutton, McLeod Orthopaedics Dillon. Dr. Sutton is the current Chief of Staff for McLeod Dillon. He shared words of gratitude and his appreciate for the McLeod Dillon nurses that work alongside of him each day. During the ceremony, Nancy Barnes, RN, Associate Vice President of Patient Services at McLeod Dillon, acknowledged the accomplishments of the award recipients as well as the excellent care provided by the entire nursing staff at McLeod Dillon. “To lead a nursing staff of this caliber has been a privilege. The nurses at McLeod Dillon are not only diligent in their patient care; they are also the patient advocates and the physician liaisons. The skill set of the nurses at McLeod Dillon is unmatched by other facilities,” said Barnes. The work of America’s 3.1 million registered nurses to save lives and to improve the health of millions of individuals was the focus of this year’s National Nurses Week, celebrated annually throughout the United States.