Celebrating Nurses

On May 2, three WellStar nurses were honored at The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s annual Celebrating Nurses: Nursing Excellence Awards event. Amy Tipton, RN, WellStar Paulding Hospital ICU and Acute Care; Cindy Bales, RN, WellStar Kennestone Hospital Women’s Unit; and Penninah (Penny) Ndungu, RN, Kennestone, Ortho/Neuro Telemetry, were chosen from more than 300 nominees as three of the top 10 nurses in Georgia. WellStar was the only health system with more than one honoree.

Whether it’s in a hospital, on a soccer field or in another continent, this year’s nominees share a commitment to helping others and making a difference in peoples’ lives. Their passion for nursing goes beyond their day-to-day responsibilities, as you will discover through their nomination stories.

Always in the Field
A nurse with WellStar for more than 10 years, Amy Tipton is first to help people in the hospital as well as in the community. For Tipton, nursing is ever-present, even when she’s off hospital grounds and at a local park watching her daughters play soccer.

While cheering for her girls, Tipton noticed a man fall to the ground. She ran to his side to find him lifeless and immediately started CPR as she had done so many times in the hospital as an ICU nurse. Worry swept over her, knowing this perfect stranger may not recover. She visited him later in the hospital, relieved to know he had miraculously survived a major heart attack.

Tipton now visits him at Christmas each year as she remembers the day at the park and how fragile life can be. The man will always remember Tipton as the woman who saved his life.

When asked how she felt about being nominated, Tipton said it is an honor and a privilege. “It was something that came naturally to me to help this gentleman. To be acknowledged for that and for the person I am is truly humbling.”

Caring for Three
A nurse for nearly 30 years, Cindy Bales is known among her team members as “the nurse” that you would want to care for you or a loved one should you be hospitalized. This past year, Bales was caring for a new mother brought in from the Labor and Delivery Unit. The patient’s husband, Bales soon learned, was also in the hospital on the Oncology Unit receiving treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer.

Following discussions with her supervisor and the chemotherapy nurses, Bales was able to take the husband on as her patient on the Women’s Unit. Bales made arrangements for the wife in one room and settled the husband in his own room next door. Relocating the husband made it possible for the family, which also included the couple’s 2-year-old, to spend more time together.

Despite the struggles they were facing – and the husband’s prognosis – Bales’ efforts made it possible for this family to be together, while continuing to meet the father’s inpatient needs. In addition to coordinating this move and taking care of the family as a unit, Bales made sure the couple would continue to be cared for as a family, and by the same nursing staff each shift.

A WellStar nurse for 20 years, Bales continues to find ways to create caring moments for her patients every day. “The patients keep me motivated,” she said. “I get to meet different people every day and help them take care of newborns. How could it not be satisfying and keep me motivated?”
Growing up in a rural part of Kenya, Africa, Penny Ndungu saw people suffering and dying at a very early age because they couldn’t get the medical help they needed. “It was very hard to see a doctor because there were few nurses and doctors,” she said. “Most people take medical care for granted here where they can easily make an appointment to see the doctor. It’s a much different situation in Kenya.”

On a Mission to Help
After earning her registered nurse degree six years ago in the United States, Ndungu and her husband of 26 years founded Mission to Kenya, an organization that provides medical clinics to the people of Ndungu’s hometown in Kenya. Her three sons, ages 14, 23 and 25, join them on their annual missions, working day and night in the medical clinics which reside in spaces they rent from local churches and schools.

The preparation for the trip includes raising money, purchasing medications, organizing a temporary clinic and finding personnel to staff the clinic. Despite these challenges, Ndungu said it’s worth the effort when you see all the people who have been touched or healed, particularly the children.

Every day, for one week, hundreds of people wait in line for hours to see a nurse, receive Tylenol, have their blood pressure taken and their child assessed. “Some children had not seen a doctor or clinician since they were born,” said Ndungu. “Just having a stethoscope on their chest or taking their temperature is very emotional for them.”

In addition to treating patients for high blood pressure and diabetes, Ndungu helped to create a self-sustaining eye clinic where individuals can have cataract surgery. Through a partnership with The Lions Club in Kenya, the clinic is able to see about 300 patients every month. Of those,
25-30 receive cataract surgery free of charge.

Ndungu’s vision is to establish a permanent clinic in Kenya. “I like taking care of people who cannot take care of themselves,” she said, “and I have a passion to see people get well.”