Franciscan St. Francis Health salutes nurses for leadership, patient care

INDIANAPOLIS – For Franciscan St. Francis Health nurses, nursing is far more than a career. It’s a calling that blends professionalism with joyful service and a compassion to care for patients.

Franciscan St Francis Health recently celebrated its 2012 Excellence in Nursing Award Winners, which are given to nurses each year who have been nominated by their peers for their leadership abilities and exceptional talents. The awards are based on the Magnet components of Structural Empowerment; Exemplary Professional Practice; New Knowledge, Innovation & Improvements; and Transformational Leadership. 

“The 2012 Nursing Excellence Awards winners are a true reflection of the excellent talent of the many great nurses at Franciscan St. Francis Health,” said Theresa Weisenbach, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, OCN, chair of the Excellence in Nursing Awards Dinner Committee. “These nurses have excelled in many ways, and it was an honor on behalf of Franciscan St. Francis nursing to celebrate their many accomplishments.”

Recipients were:

Exemplary Professional Practice - Clinical

Shannon Roberson, BSN, RN

Structural Empowerment - Preceptor

Kara Schalk, BSN, RN, CEN

New Knowledge / Innovation / Empirical Outcomes - Quality

Melinda Quarles, RN, CCRN

Transformational Leader – Staff Nurse

Jill Ricke, BSN, RN

Transformational Leader – Management Team

Christa Smiley, BSN, RN, RNBC

Continuing education is paramount in nursing and Franciscan St. Francis supports this endeavor. Recipients of the 2012 Richard E. Fry Memorial Nursing Scholarships: 

Amanda Bergdoll, IUPUI; Amanda Garrigus, Anderson University; Bethany Lytle, University of Indianapolis; Marlena Mathis, IUPUI and Kassandra Owens, Purdue University, West Lafayette. The scholarships were established in 2000 by Fry’s widow, Michelle Fry Hanson, and the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation. They memorialize the late physician’s dedication to the medical profession, Franciscan St. Francis, and his high regard for the nursing staff. Fry was chief of vascular surgery at Franciscan St. Francis until his death in 2000.

The goal of the scholarships is to “recruit and retain the best in the nursing profession” at Franciscan St. Francis. Nursing scholarships are awarded each May to Franciscan St. Francis employees who are in good standing and either accepted or enrolled in an accredited nursing program.

The evening also included recognizing DAISY award winners at Franciscan St. Francis:

Amy Adams, RN; Eric Balka, RN; Lisa Binger, RN; Pam Buss, RN; Julie Comer, RN; Janis Dwyer-Curtiss, RN; Joe Fenton, RN; Dawn Foster, RN; Joan Frith, RN; Sharon Giza, RN; Margie Hinesley, RN; Carol Keefe, RN; Wendy Ladd, RN; Monica Lee, RN; Bev Loudermilk, RN; Joan Mast, RN; Megan Miller, RN; Rita Osborne, RN; Michael Painter, RN; Taren Popovich, RN; Heather Miller, RN; Micky Sullivan, RN; Terri Sullivan, RN; Becky Teising, RN; Beverly Thomas, RN and Kelli Turlo, RN.

The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses is a national program that honors the compassionate care and clinical excellence that our Franciscan St. Francis nurses bring to their patients every day.

Franciscan St. Francis employs 1,400 nurses at its hospitals in Indianapolis, Mooresville and Carmel.

To learn more about nursing at Franciscan St. Francis, visit

www.stfrancishospitals.org/nursing.