MinorityNurse.com

Vital Signs

Minority Nurses Honored for Outstanding Leadership, Advocacy and Service

An African American RN who demonstrated exceptional leadership by co-founding a local chapter of the National Black Nurses Association, an American Indian RN who is a compassionate advocate for wellness and sobriety in her community, and an American Indian LPN who consistently goes beyond the call of duty to improve the health of minority veterans were among the top prizewinners in the 2005 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Awards, a national recognition program sponsored by Cherokee Uniforms, a leading designer and manufacturer of health care apparel.

Cherokee established the annual awards program in 2003 to honor RNs, LPNs/LVNs, student nurses, CNAs and other non-physician health care professionals “who demonstrate exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation and have a positive effect on others’ lives.” For the 2005 awards, the 14 winners were selected from a field of 1,300 nominations.

Voncea Brusha, RN, of Gainesville, Fla., a charge nurse in the mother/baby unit at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida, was one of four National Prize winners in the RN category. In addition to her highly successful 36-year clinical career, she has exemplified outstanding leadership within the National Black Nurses Association. In 1995, she co-founded the NBNA Gainesville chapter, which was chartered in 1997. She is currently the chapter’s president, serves on several national NBNA committees and participates in the annual National Black Nurses Day in Washington, D.C. She also serves on several hospital committees, conducts teen forums on safe sex, organizes community health fairs, and mentors nurses and students.

Mary Hayes, RN, a member of the Choctaw Nation, also received a National Prize for her tireless efforts to help people of color in her community of Pryor, Okla., overcome alcoholism and substance abuse and live healthier lives. Hayes, who works for Girling Home Health Care in Tulsa, created an extremely successful community event called the Pryor Powwow to promote wellness and sobriety--or as she calls it, “wellbriety”--in a culturally sensitive manner. But her commitment to the community doesn’t stop there: She also founded the Mayes County Grief Support Group and the Mayes Community Alzheimer’s Support Group.

The coveted Grand Prize in the LPN/LVN category went to Cari James, a staff LPN in the pre-procedure clinic at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center in Phoenix. James, a registered member of the Abenaki Nation, is also the facility’s minority veterans’ coordinator--the only female American Indian nationwide to hold such a position. In this capacity, she has been an unceasing advocate for the needs of Indian veterans. Upon learning that many rural vets lacked transportation to the hospital, she initiated a fundraising campaign that enabled the facility to buy a 15-passenger, wheelchair-accessible van. She also organized a grass-roots committee that led to the formation of the Arizona Inter-Tribal Veterans Association (AITVA) in 2004. AITVA was such a success that it inspired a national initiative and served as a model for the newly founded National American Indian Veterans, Inc.

For more information about the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Awards, visit www.cherokeeuniforms.com.
The Eagle Books, a collaborative project of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Indian Health Service, are a series of four culturally competent children’s books that use wise animal characters to teach American Indian and Alaska Native kids about diabetes prevention and healthy living. For more information about the books, which are written and illustrated by American Indians, see www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/eagle.htm.