Susie Bevan, RN, BS, Program Director of Plateau Valley & DeBeque, received the esteemed Nightingale Award, Colorado’s highest honor for nurses.
Bevan was selected from hundreds of outstanding nominees, 41 of which were recognized as Colorado Nightingale Luminaries for Excellence in Human Caring and only 6 received the highest honor as Nightingales at the 2016 Nightingale Luminary Awards Banquet in Denver held May 7, 2016.
Leadership in an Administrator, Educator, Researcher or other Non-Traditional Practice Role is the category Bevan was nominated. She has been a nurse for 14 years and works at HopeWest as the VP of Clinical Services. “Susie is a magnetic leader,” said Christy Whitney Borchard, President & CEO of HopeWest. “She inspires others to be passionate in their work and encourages nurse managers to develop their own leadership skills.”
Bevan is known throughout HopeWest for her creative approaches to problem solving. Because of her leadership, nurses at HopeWest say they feel they can truly practice the art of nursing. “We are so proud to have someone as talented and creative as Susie as part of our leadership team at HopeWest,” added Borchard.
“I am completely honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Bevan. “It is the highlight of my professional career. There are 60,000 nurses in Colorado that go above and beyond every day. To be honored in this way by my peers and the amazing nurse leaders of the state of Colorado is more than I could have ever imagined. I will be forever grateful to my family, mentors, and the outstanding teams that I work with.”
The Nightingale Award was founded in 1885 to honor Colorado nurses who best exemplify the philosophy and practice of Florence Nightingale, a 19thcentury nursing pioneer. The Nightingale award is promoted through the Colorado Nurses Foundation. Each of the six regions from around the state conducts a nomination process in January and selects up to six nurses to receive a Luminary Award and be in the running for one of the state awards.
The program recognizes nurses in two categories:
- Nurses in Clinical Practice
- Administrators, Educators, Researchers & Non-Traditional Practice Roles
Each category will be recognized in one of three areas: Advocacy, Leadership, and Innovation. By structuring the program in this manner, many more nurses are being recognized for excellence in Colorado.
The Nightingale Luminary theme of “Excellence in Nursing Professional Engagement & Citizenship” reflects the Colorado Nurses Foundation Strategic Initiative to reframe the profession of nursing and the professional engagement of nurses.