Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Nursing assistant Lakia Lee, left, and registered nurse Kelsey Greuel show their Excellence in Nursing awards.

Much has been asked of nurses over the past year, and they have risen to the occasion.

And their work has not gone unnoticed.

On Friday, as part of National Nurses Week, four Milwaukee VA employees were honored with the 2021 Secretary’s Awards for Excellence in Nursing.

“As we gather today, we do so with gratitude to our nursing staffs who have made sacrifices over the past year,” said Beth Hammer, program manager for Nursing Excellence. “We celebrate your resilience, your innovations over the past year and your dedication to your profession and all of our Veterans.”

“Each one of you has contributed in amazing ways,” said Chief of Staff Dr. Michael Erdmann. “This ride has been difficult for everyone – no more so for our nurses. … You’ve had amazing strength, courage and resilience for our patients, putting your own health at risk. … Nurses stepped up, stepped forward and made the difference.”

“It’s hard to put into words just how important the work you do is,” said Dr. Daniel Zomchek, medical center director. “Whatever your chosen area of expertise, it is invaluable to what we do. You’re just so integral to making our organization work.”

Awards were presented in four categories. The winners:

• Nursing assistant/health tech/medical instrument tech: Lakia Lee
• Licensed practical nurse: Jill Willert
• Staff registered nurse: Kelsey Greuel
• Registered nurse in an expanded role: Lisa Brown

Here’s a closer look at the winners’ accomplishments:

Lakia Lee has been a nursing assistant on 4C since 2017. “She is an exceptional nursing assistant, working closely with her colleagues to ensure that Veterans receive individualized, compassionate care,” according to her nomination submission.

Lee specializes in working with dementia patients and has advocated for their care.

“Lakia excelled in developing relationships with these Veterans over the long term, providing an exceptional level of individualized, caring and engaging interactions.”

Also noted are her dependability, commitment to professional development, calm demeanor and willingness to help “whenever and wherever she is needed. … She is a true team player, who works tirelessly” for Veterans.

Jill Willert is a licensed practical nurse in Green Bay, working in primary care. “She was instrumental in establishing Green Bay as the hub for pain treatment and providing staff injection training,” according to her nomination papers. She streamlined the injection setup process, allowing her team to serve twice as many patients.

Willert is also the “driving force” in Green Bay’s blood pressure management program and was lauded for helping Green Bay achieve the highest influenza vaccination rate in the VISN.

“She has established a reputation of professionalism and excellence and has immediate rapport with staff from other clinics. (She) often goes above and beyond her role in primary care to coordinate care for patients in other specialties. … Her experience, examples and professional knowledge earn her the respect of her peers, providers and managers.”

Kelsey Greuel has worked on 4C since 2015 and has “established herself as a leader on the unit and often facilitates bringing staff ideas to shared governance for discussion and, when appropriate, testing and implementation,” according to her nomination submission.

Greuel also was key in helping nurses adapt to new realities brought on by COVID-19, including a shift from a primary to team care model, noting challenges and offering recommendations for improvement.

Also noted is her commitment to professional development. Greuel started as a certified nursing assistant, is now a registered nurse and is looking at graduate programs. She has worked on improvement projects and is a frequent preceptor, working with new nurses and nursing students.

“Ms. Greuel has cultivated a reputation as a nursing professional that supports a positive image of nursing. Her work … conveys a nursing professional who is committed to the VA mission and ICARE values, lifelong learning, professional development and interdisciplinary collaboration to provide excellent nursing care to ZVAMC Veterans.”

Lisa Brown began her VA career in 2014 and earned her master’s degree in nursing in 2018. She was co-chair of the pain resource professionals committee, a unit preceptor and a nurse mentor when she became a faculty member with the nurse residency program.

As a nurse educator, Brown incorporated “group activities, scenarios, videos, quizzes, gaming and other interactive activities” along with “practice and policy as well as hot topics such as addictions, opioids, acute and chronic management, and voice of the Veteran,” according to her nomination papers.

As lead facilitator for nursing service orientation, Brown is noted for her “positive image of what VA nursing is about – our mission and our pride in caring for Veterans.” She is credited with streamlining and improving the orientation process. The new program was so well received that it was accepted as a quality improvement poster presentation for the annual Southeastern Wisconsin Nursing Research (Building Bridges) conference.

“Nurses new to the Milwaukee VA are well served by her passion for education, engagement and energizing personality.”

Other honorees

Also honored at the event:

• DAISY Award recipients Kristen Yohpe, Bridget Guerndt, Dawn van Buren, Brenda Klein, Amy Starich-Pluta and Mattie Murry.
• DAISY Team honoree: Green Bay surgery and anesthesia team of George Pe, Tom Corbley, Sarah Beth Lemmer, Laurie Helebrant, Curtis Ninham, James Mitchell, Jeff Steinhorst, Jennifer Lindemann, Sandra Peters, Renee Miller, Dawn Miller-Bergmann, Odette Balza, Sharon Maki, Brooke Williams, AJ Walker, Shay Korittnig, Tim Johnson and Natasha Koehler.