Newport News, Va. — Having made valuable contributions to the health and wellbeing of the communities Riverside serves during an unprecedented year that included a global pandemic, Riverside Health System is proud to announce three of its nurses were recognized with 2020 Virginia Nurses Foundation Leadership Excellence Awards.
The Riverside awardees were Riverside Doctors' Hospital Williamsburg’s Elisa Mangosing-Lemmon, MSN, RN, CMSRN, and Riverside Regional Medical Center’s Aaron Ross, RN. In addition, Bonnie Workman, MSN, RN, CIC received an honorable mention award.
In light of the challenges presented this year, the Virginia Nurses Foundation modified its annual award program, presenting the awards in a virtual event on Dec. 12 and, in lieu of specific categories, focused on the contributions of 20 registered nurses throughout the state whose service was exceptional to their hospitals and communities during the pandemic. During 2020 — called the Year of the Nurse — nurses have been essential in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple ways. They continue to serve on the frontlines providing care to the sick, working to keep their communities and patients safe and offering support with innovative ideas and compassion.
Riverside Doctors' Hospital Williamsburg’s Mangosing-Lemmon “is a nurse educator, whose kindness and generosity extends to university students who have been hit especially hard by the ramifications of COVID-19,” according to her nomination. “She took two students into her home who were displaced by the pandemic and otherwise would not have been able to continue their studies.”
Inside the hospital, “Elisa is a tireless team member who does not shy away from challenges and hard work. She stepped into a patient care role at peak times and provided support to graduate nurses as they transitioned into staff positions.”
Riverside Regional Medical Center’s Ross was recognized for showing “compassion and skill by working with our families when they are faced with separation from their loved ones on what may be the worst day of their lives,” according to his nomination.
In one particular example, Ross took extraordinary measures to meet with the niece of a nursing home patient brought in with a COVID-19 diagnosis. He “found a way to safely connect with the niece in person outside of the hospital after she was unable to visit her aunt. He has been instrumental in Riverside’s fight against COVID-19,” according to his nomination.
Workman, also of Riverside Regional Medical Center, received an honorable mention award. As an Infection Prevention Nurse Manager, she “was instrumental in the development and implementation of innovative ideas that kept patients and the frontline team safe,” according to her nomination. “She never lost sight of the continuing work of an infection preventionist, which is driving best practices, reducing harm to patients, and ensuring team member safety.”
Published: December 14, 2020