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Houston Nurse Receives $50,000 Award for Leadership During Hurricane Katrina

In Surviving the Storms of Life: Katrina, Rita and Wilma, a special edition of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) Newsletter, Cynthia J. Hickman, BSN, RN, CM, BC, CVN, writes of her experience caring for Hurricane Katrina evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston: “As morning broke. . .[the] looks of despair and homelessness on the evacuees’ faces were overwhelming. It was heartbreaking watching them stuff their belongings in knapsacks and hide the food and water that was given to them. Our feelings of helplessness and pain for the evacuees will forever be engraved in our memories.”

Winning awards was undoubtedly the last thing on Hickman’s mind when she volunteered to provide nursing services at the convention center as part of “St. Luke’s Cares,” an initiative launched by her employer, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, in response to the Katrina crisis. Yet the Texas cardiology nurse did such a tremendous job of assisting those in need that she, in conjunction with St. Luke’s, was recently honored with the 2006 Johnson & Johnson Community Health Care Leadership Award for her disaster recovery efforts.

Through a combination of grant funding and support resources, Johnson & Johnson’s Community Health Care Program aids outstanding community-based organizations that assistant medically underserved populations. As Leadership Award winners, Hickman and St. Luke’s received a $50,000 grant to be used to advance the quality of care in their community. “A portion of the grant will be used to provide scholarships to future leaders pursuing the nursing profession,” Hickman reports. “My goal is to encourage others to reach into the communities they serve and make a difference.”

Hickman, who is a member of the Fort Bend County Black Nurses Association, was presented with her award in April at a ceremony at the Hotel Monaco in Washington, D.C. To read other NBNA members’ inspiring stories of courage and caregiving from Surviving the Storms, visit www.nbna.org