2009 AANN Award Winners

Excellence in Clinical Practice Award

Lori K. Madden, RN MS ACNP-BC CCRN CNRN, is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Physiological Nursing at the School of Nursing at the University of California in San Francisco, as well as an acute care nurse practitioner in the Department of Neurosurgery at University of California, Davis. She excels in many areas of clinical practice including patient care activities, acting as a preceptor, and developing staff and patient education. She is a true advocate for patient care as demonstrated in her kindness and patience shown to patients when she explains their diagnoses and surgeries. Lori is also an active member of AANN and of her local chapter. She is one of the authors of the AANN Core Curriculum and co-authored the intracranial pressure monitoring section of the AACN/AANN Protocols for Practice. Lori's efforts to make a difference in neuroscience are greatly respected and appreciated by her peers and colleagues.

Excellence in Advanced Practice Award

Susan Heath, MSN RN CNRN, is a Neuroscience Advance Practice Nurse/Clinical Nurse Specialist, Associate Director of Clinical Care, Parkinson's Disease, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (PADRECC), and DBS Program Coordinator at the San Francisco Veterans Administration. Susan has more than 20 years of experience as a neuroscience nurse and has spent 10 years in movement disorders. She has advanced the field of nursing in the surgical management of patients with implanted deep brain stimulation. She has developed and presented more than 100 courses on programming of implanted DBS devices as well as the management of this challenging patient population. Susan will be representing the U.S. nursing perspective on an International Dystonia task force with health leaders from across the globe.

Excellence in Neuroscience Education Award

Kathy Bomar, RN BSN ONC CNRN, works as a Clinical Educator in Neuroscience and Orthopedics at the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Millington, Tennessee. She is responsible for the development of unit-based education for current and new employees and has developed a specialty fellowship orientation for neuroscience and orthopedic practitioners. Kathy has been described as having an avid curiosity, assertive networking skills, and an extraordinary ability to seek and develop relationships with experts in their fields. Among her many accomplishments, Kathy has developed a comprehensive orientation program utilizing best practice resources gathered from AANN, AACN, and AHA, as well as an orientation program for neuroscience nurses.

Rising Star in Clinical Practice Award

Lai Valentine-Brooks, MSN APRN BC, is a Nurse Practitioner at the Lebonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Lai received her BSN at the University of Tennessee and her MSN at the Mississippi University for Women. While Lai's career in neuroscience nursing has been short, she has demonstrated a superior commitment to neuroscience nursing through membership in AANN at both the local and national levels. Lai has been described as one who provides the highest level of patient care in an extraordinarily compassionate manner. There is no doubt to anyone who works with Lai that she is a rising star in the field of neuroscience nursing.

Outstanding Chapter of the Year

The Coastal Carolina Chapter has worked hard to increase its membership and has been successful by providing CE at dinner programs to enhance attendance. This chapter offered several community projects this year, including a Stroke Awareness Program for the local community and hospital employees, a stroke education day with emphasis on the Hispanic and Asian population, and several outreach projects. This active and lively chapter offers professional and community spirit to its members, and looks forward to planning more events for 2009.