The Nightingale Initiative
Florence Nightingale, a statistician, theorist and nursing leader, had a profound impact on the practice of nursing in the 19th century. The principles and practices she employed to define nursing as a profession continues to guide nurses in their practice today. Parkview created the Nightingale Initiative in 2014 as a professional development tool for all nurses to build skills in communication and developing a healing touch.
Embracing excellence in practice, Parkview nurses follow Florence Nightingale’s teachings by creating a healing environment, attending to the unique needs of the individual patient, seeking best practices and reconnecting to their nursing purpose.
Nightingale Award
As part of the Nightingale Initiative, Parkview recently gave the fifth-annual Nightingale Awards, linking the history of nursing to the future of caregiving. The award recognizes nurses who foster a compassionate, caring culture. The Nightingale Award was established in memory of the late Marge Carpenter, LPN – thanks to the generosity of her husband, the Rev. Doyle Carpenter. Marge was described by her Parkview co-workers as, “An innovative woman who had a strong work ethic, consistently exceeded the expectations of patients and families, and served as a mentor to younger nurses. Her dedication manifested daily through her work ethic, quality improvements, reliability and perseverance. She was a servant leader at work, in the community and at home.” This award seeks not only to remember Marge but also to honor nurses who embody the qualities she exhibited daily.
2019 Nightingale Award Recipients
As servant leaders, these nurses provide compassionate and holistic care. They are innovative and mentor others in ways to provide care in a team environment. They consistently exceed patient and family expectations. Additionally, they are respected by co-workers for their work ethic and their dedication to quality improvements, reliability and perseverance.
Julia Johnson, RN Family Birthing Center, Parkview Regional Medical Center
“When caring for our pregnant patients and families, Julia works to build a trusting relationship with all members of the family. She continuously educates them about the labor process, care plan and rationale for interventions.
Julia is a hard worker and readily helps others. Our patients can have rapidly changing needs so teamwork is essential in our unit. When help is needed, Julia is there to provide her calming presence to the situation.
Julia came to our unit with 31 years of nursing experience. She embraces changes in practice to improve patient outcomes. One of the areas that she actively promoted change was with our newborn assessment practice. Often, a newborn would not get a full head to toe assessment until several hours after birth. Implementing assessments by the delivery nurse soon after birth has resulted in earlier detection of potential problems.
Julia has been a preceptor for several of our new RNs. She has also worked closely with 2 Huntington College Capstone students. Even when she is not assigned as a preceptor for a nurse or student, I often see her reach out to pull them into a learning experience. She makes new staff members feel welcome in our unit by taking an interest in them on a personal level. She is so tuned into people on an emotional level that she knows just what is needed to make the learning experience positive.
Julia treats all patients equally, regardless of socioeconomic background, race or culture. She is even able to form a special bond with patients that do not speak English. Julia takes care of the most challenging patients with a smile on her face.
It is my opinion that no nurse better demonstrates the holistic approach to patient care that Florence Nightingale promoted. Julia provides excellent medical care to her patients while caring, as well, for their emotional well-being by building a special relationship with them. I can think of no nurse more deserving of this award. If my family or I needed care I would hope that a nurse like Julie would be there for me.” - Barbara Kramer, RN, Family Birthing Center, Parkview Regional Medical Center
Nominated by: Barbara Kramer, RN, Family Birthing Center, Parkview Regional Medical Center
Lisa Meyer, RN PPG – Pediatrics, Stults, Huntington, Indiana
“Lisa is an amazing nurse and goes out of her way to help families in need. She is who I envision when I think of a wonderful nurse. She checks all the boxes. She is a wonderful mentor and has trained many over the years. Lisa tries to tease out what is going on in the families to make sure the correct problems are being addressed and often patients and families will ask for her instead of me. She is a strong Christian and lives her faith. She is very humble and extremely involved in her church.” - Duane Hougendobler, MD, PPG – Pediatrics, Stults, Huntington, Indiana
Nominated by: Duane Hougendobler, MD, PPG – Pediatrics, Stults, Huntington, Indiana
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Katrina Wells, Advanced RN NICU, Parkview Regional Medical Center
“We work with a patient population that cannot communicate with us and with families that are terrified of our unit. Katrina takes the time to explain what we are doing to the patients and pays attention to how the families respond. She takes the time to build a relationship and makes sure she explains the big picture to families.
Katrina is the embodiment of teamwork in our unit. You will see her walk around and just begin to help her team without even asking if they need it. She encourages other nurses when they are having bad days and takes the time to acknowledge and appreciate everyone on the floor from EVS to our doctors and managers. Katrina is part of some of the most vital committees on our unit and prides herself in advocating for our tiny patient population. She seeks our knowledge and evidence-based practice and presents it to the proper channels to move towards bettering the NICU.
Patients’ families regularly request Katrina to care for their baby. One mother stated she appreciated Katrina’s calmness during a very critical time for her baby. She takes the time to make sure that the families understand the treatment plan. You can regularly see her asking families what questions they have after speaking with the Neonatologists and give the parents updates.
Katrina is deserving of this award because she is a lot like Florence Nightingale. She uses evidence-based practice to help encourage positive change for our patients in the NICU. She continually mentors new nurses and is a resource for every nurse on the floor. Katrina is brilliant but humble. She is approachable and will tell you how much she enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. I am truly honored to call her my mentor and believe that no one is more deserving of this award than Katrina Wells.” - Jennifer Godoy, NICU, Parkview Regional Medical Center
Nominated by: Jennifer Godoy, NICU, Parkview Regional Medical Center
