Fifteen Parkland nurses among DFW’s Great 100

Irving, Texas. February 13, 2018 –

Fifteen registered nurses at Parkland Health & Hospital System are among those being honored as 2018 Dallas/Fort Worth Great 100 Nurses. The program has been celebrating nursing excellence for 28 years, honoring nurses from all practice areas including acute care, sub-acute care, school nursing, nurse leaders, academics and more.

The Parkland RNs earning recognition are: Angel Newman, Celestine Anyanka, Janice Lankford, Joanne Muturi, LuAnn McKee, Phyliss Dyess-Nugent, Robin Harding, Sayda Major, Scott Meyers, BJ Harms, Jean Lovell, Karen Watts, Mercy Alexander, Amarech Messelu and LaShonda Rice.

The Parkland nurses were selected from more than 750 nominations submitted by patients, families, colleagues, teachers and co-workers for the annual award. All the 2018 DFW Great 100 Nurses will be recognized during a reception and dinner on April 18 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

“Parkland nurses personify the compassion, skill and commitment to excellence required in today’s professional nursing practice. Their dedication to serving our community is truly inspirational as they seek to support and care for our hundreds of thousands of patients, many with complex and special needs,” said Fred Cerise, MD, MPH, Parkland president and CEO. “We are proud of our Great 100 Nurses and grateful for their many contributions to Parkland’s patients and to advancing their profession.”

“We continuously strive to make Parkland a great place for nurses to work, develop their professional skills and provide excellent patient care. This recognition by Great 100 Nurses honors our team’s commitment to making a difference in our community,” said Karen Watts, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Great 100 Nurses awards celebration was founded in 1991. Beth Mancini, PhD, RN, Parkland’s former Chief Nursing Officer, was one of the founders who served as chair and emceed the event for 18 years.
When she initiated the local celebration, Dr. Mancini said, “We wanted to present nursing in a positive light and to encourage individuals to consider nursing – the worth of nursing – and to create scholarships so that individuals could go to nursing school and better meet the healthcare needs of our community.”

The Great 100 celebration raises the awareness of the contributions of nurses to patient care, research, leadership, education and community service of more than 46,000 nurses practicing in the DFW area. In addition, the celebration builds the image of nursing through positive reinforcement of the profession as a scientific art and the recognition of those who exemplify excellence.

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