Contact: Carol Feuss, MNA
517/349-5640, ext. 21 or (cell) 517/230-4086
carol.feuss@minurses.org
 
November 5, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two Michigan RNs receive Nurse Hero awards

Dearborn, MI – The Michigan Nurses Association presented two Nurse Hero awards this year at their annual convention in Dearborn. Honorable John B. O’Reilly, mayor of Dearborn, was among the several hundred attendees at the awards luncheon.

The Nurse Hero award is not an annual award, but rather is given out when there is a need to recognize a registered nurse’s extraordinary bravery and commitment.

Tess Karwoski, RN (left) and her daughter Jacquelyn are shown with the MNA Nurse Hero award, which was presented to Ms. Karwoski in recognition of her public support of environmental health and safe patient care.

Tess Karwoski, MSN, RN, of Ann Arbor, received the 2007 MNA Nurse Hero award in recognition of her willingness to champion a healthy environment, in honor of her strength and determination to seek truth and justice, and in support of her example for all nurses to stand up for what is right. Tess is a tireless advocate for limiting the use of pesticides around schools. In her role as Health Policy Director for the Michigan Environmental Council, she called for a ban on pharmaceutical lindane, a neurotoxin used in lice shampoo and lotion. Her advocacy took a personal turn when she was erroneously diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. When she discovered the error, by reviewing her own records, she called attention to the need for patient and hospital awareness of medical errors through a successful lawsuit.

Members of the family of Lisa Hanson, RN, accepted the MNA Nurse Hero award in her honor. Left to right: Chuck Livermore (father), Christine Livermore (mother), Chrissy and Sarah Hanson (daughters), Jenni Eldridge (sister) and Scott Hanson (husband)

Lisa Hanson, RN, of Cornell, MI was awarded the 2007 MNA Nurse Hero award posthumously in recognition for her commitment to her patients without thought of personal sacrifice.

An emergency room nurse at OSF St. Francis Hospital in Escanaba, Lisa lost her life on March 5, 2007 when the ambulance in which she was riding was involved in a collision with a logging truck. Lisa had volunteered to help transport a seriously ill patient from Escanaba to Marquette General Hospital.

Cheryl Dykes, an OSF St. Francis nurse who worked with Lisa writes, “…Lisa was a firm believer in making a difference. She believed that we were all capable and responsible enough to provide compassion and to be the patient’s advocate. She treated people the way she would expect to be treated. That day, Lisa gave the ultimate sacrifice, her own life, trying to save someone else’s.”

The Professional Nurses Council of OSF St. Francis Hospital has established the Lisa Hanson Memorial/MNA Nursing Scholarship at Bay College in Escanaba.

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