This award was created in 2004 in honor of Eileen Austin Neal, RN, who worked at Springfield Hospital for 64 years and retired in 2005. Judy Mittica, RN, was the first recipient of this award on the request of Eileen, whose personal photo, cap and uniform receive special honor, along with a list of all recipients since 2004, in the hospital lobby on Level C.

Criteria for the award includes communication, care for patients, nursing professionalism, and teamwork. Nominations are accepted from throughout the organization and are reviewed and voted on by a committee. In addition to Olga Carey, RN, this year’s nominees included Nicole Bush, RN, Heidi Clough-Agoes, RN, and Shelley Howard, LPN, Perioperative Services.

Contained within Olga’s nomination are the following words from one of her colleagues: “Olga is a nurse that has continually metamorphosized not only in her role as a nurse but in her development as a leader.  Recognized as a patient constant, Olga has proved to possess the integrity and determination that is so vital with critical access nurses.  She owns the will — and if there is a way, she will find it.  She maintains the patient as the focus of all of the hard work and because of this, she exemplifies the very elements of the Eileen Austin Neal Award. “

“Congratulations to Olga, and all of our nominees. We are proud of our nurses and the entire staff at Springfield Hospital and grateful for the care that they provide to our patients, 24/7/365,” says Robert Adcock, CEO, Springfield Hospital.