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Steppe Mette, M.D., far left, presented the Team Impact Award to the E4 Intensive Care Unit nursing team, for their work caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Image by Bryan Clifton

ICU Nursing Team, Roberts and Atkins Honored at Awards of Excellence Ceremony

May 19, 2022 | The E4 Intensive Care Unit nursing team, Michelle Roberts, RN, and Julie Atkins, RN, were honored May 12 at the Awards of Excellence Ceremony, an event sponsored by the UAMS Medical Center Auxiliary.

UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, MD, presented the Helen May Compassionate Care Award to Michelle Roberts, RN, an infection prevention nurse. Michelle worked tirelessly over the past two years to ensure UAMS patients and staff were safe during the pandemic. Her nomination also included examples of how she went above and beyond to help patients, such as helping arrange a mock graduation ceremony for the daughter of a dying patient, working with NICU families during COVID and working to get medication compounded as a liquid for a TB patient who had previously not taken his medication because he was  not comfortable taking pills.

The Helen May Compassionate Care Award was established in 2003 in memory of Helen May, who died in 2001 after working at UAMS for 11 years. Nominees are recognized for delivering patient- and family-centered care guided by the service standards of safety, respect, excellence, image and efficiency.

Other nominees for the Helen May Award include Network Analyst Jeff Barkely, Transplant Care Manager Michele Blackford, Marcie Cole, RN, Madison Klammer, RN, and Stacy Pierce, RN.

Steppe Mette, M.D., senior vice chancellor for UAMS Health and CEO for UAMS Medical Center, presented the Team Impact Award to the E4 Intensive Care Unit nursing team, for their work caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. While ICUs across the world faced staffing shortages and nurses were forced to care for more high-acuity patients than they typically would, our ICU team worked to ensure every staff member was OK and every patient received the care they needed.

Despite their best efforts, 303 patients died on E4 from January 2021 to January 2022. They leaned on each other and cried together with each patient lost. They also worked to ensure families were able to spend precious last minutes with their loved ones. There are countless stories of how nurses and other members of the E4 family cared for the unique needs of each patient, including helping a patient dress up for her son’s wedding and making arrangements for her to watch the ceremony on an i-pad.

Finalists for this year’s award were the Laboratory and Antimicrobial Stewardship Team and the Movement Disorders Team. Other nominees for the Team Impact Award include the Administrative Coordinators Team for the Nursing Service Line, the Infection Prevention Team and the Inpatient Care Management Team.

Mary Helen Forrest, MNSc, RN, NEA-BC, retired chief nursing officer, serves as inspiration for the UAMS Nursing Legacy Award, which is presented annually to a nurse who has demonstrated significant contribution to UAMS nursing, patient care, and the mission of UAMS. Nominees must also have worked at UAMS for at least 20 consecutive years. This year’s honoree was Julie Atkins, senior nursing director for the Emergency Medicine Service Line. She has been heavily involved in ensuring patient flow and safety of the hospital for many years and is well-known for her words of encouragement to others. Terry Collins, RN, Andrea Easom, APRN, Terri Imus, RN, Dasie Jackson, RN, Lori Phares, RN, Jami Travis, MSN, were also nominated for this award.