Four North Country Hospital nurses recognized for excellence

NEWPORT –– Hospital staff celebrated Nurses Week here at North Country Hospital (NCH) in May, and the last day – May 12, always honors the birthdate of nurse icon Florence Nightingale. At NCH, four areas of nursing excellence awards complement the hospital’s mission and values that nurses can be nominated for.

This year’s awardees include Eilish Quirion, RN for Commitment to Customer Service; Maddy Harris, RN for Commitment to Quality; Kristelle Ajeno, RN for Commitment to Professional Growth, and Tara Brown, RN for Commitment to Community.

Eilish Quirion has worked as a Registered Nurse in our Emergency Department for seven years, and her nomination states she is an excellent preceptor for new nurses in the department, always going above and beyond as a team player.

Eilish is sensitive to the needs of others and has demonstrated that part of her personality throughout her life and especially in her work with patients and co-workers.

The award winner for Quality is described as someone who advocates for quality care in the Emergency Department, and this second award went to Maddy Harris, RN.

Her commitment is demonstrated by creating a checklist to monitor falls in the ED, volunteering for the sepsis team, attending SANE training and taking on the role as SANE coordinator, and bringing together NCH, Copley, and NVRH for sharing of best practices. These quality measures implemented by Maddy continue to improve patient outcomes.

The award winner for Professional Growth is Kristelle Ajeno, RN. Coming to us through an international nursing program, she is described as someone who excels in everything she does. She goes above and beyond for her patients and colleagues.

She has gained certifications distinguishing her as a nurse who possesses validated skills, nursing knowledge, and abilities in all areas of her specialty. She is a great resource for all staff and always happy to help and teach others.

The Commitment to Community Service was awarded to Tara Brown, who serves as a Registered Nurse in the Surgical Services department, specifically the post-anesthesia unit. Her nomination states she volunteers her time in her community through her church and is always eager to volunteer as a BLS instructor for outside facilities.

Tara is great with follow through and is so accommodating – her commitment extends beyond the walls of the hospital!

North Country’s Chief Nursing Officer, Denise Carter, added her words of congratulations at the 2024 Nursing Excellence Awards dinner.

“We had 16 nominations for our excellence awards this year. What an honor to be recognized by your peers. Congratulations to Eilish, Maddy, Kristelle and Tara and to all those nominated.”