RALEIGH, N.C. - TelAve -- A record-breaking crowd of nurses gathered in Concord last week to celebrate the nursing profession, give valuable continuing education, and map out strategies to prevent burnout amid the national nursing shortage. The North Carolina Nurses Association's (NCNA) 119^th Annual Convention drew more than 650 registrants, believed to be the largest Convention crowd ever and beating all recent attendance numbers by well over 100.

NCNA honored more than a dozen nurses and workplaces with awards, celebrated the graduation of its newest Leadership Academy, and took a forward-looking approach to an incredibly important topic with this year's Statewide Membership Forum: Nurse Mental Health & Well-Being: Creating a Healthy Culture Where Nurses Thrive.

"We are seeing a great amount of enthusiasm from nurses demanding we have a say in how the profession evolves. Nurses are facing challenges from a variety of directions, and we do not intend to passively allow healthcare to change without our input," said NCNA President Bonnie Davis Meadows, MSN, APRN, ACCNS-AG. "The conversations during our Membership Forum proved that we have nurses all across North Carolina who are determined to steer our profession with intent."

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NCNA members Victoria Soltis-Jarrett, of Apex, and Margaret "Peggy" Chamberlain Wilmoth, of Chapel Hill, were both inducted into NCNA's Hall of Fame. Soltis-Jarrett is a past NCNA Board member and a nationally-recognized expert in mental health. Wilmoth is also a past NCNA Board member, as well as a past Interim Dean of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing and a retired Major General in the United States Army Reserve.

Hall of Fame

• Victoria Soltis-Jarrett, of Apex
• Margaret "Peggy" Chamberlain Wilmoth, of Chapel Hill

Awards

• Health Systems Nurse of the Year: Maria Orsini, of Butner
• Administration Nurse of the Year: Carmen Smith, of Concord
• Research Nurse of the Year: Ya-Ke "Grace" Wu, of Chapel Hill
• Legislator of the Year: Sen. Gale Adcock, of Cary
• Mentorship in Nursing Award: Sara Hubbell, of Cary
• Rookie of the Year: Maggie Murphy, of Durham
• Outstanding Service Award: Karen Marshall, of Charlotte
• Benefactor of the Year: Community Care of North Carolina

Best Practice Awards

• Caring for Each Other: Cone Health Behavioral Center
• Caring for Others: Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System

Leadership Academy

• Karen Amen
• Caroline Baugess
• Nicholas Biondo
• Jamie Bunn
• Anna Churgai
• Angela Cozart
• Rebecca Dannelly
• Erin Devine
• Jennifer Easterling
• Drew Flammia
• Jennipher Frederick
• Bethany Gallagher
• Michal Glass
• Erika Natira Holmes
• Lisa Johnson
• Christina Liverman
• Betty Marlin
• Shayla Parker
• Alexandra Ray Brown
• Nicole Sanders
• Jennie Sass
• Heather Sodee
• Toshia Swinson

https://www.ncnurses.org/about-ncna/latest-news/nurses-honored-at-ncna-annual-convention/

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