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Sunday, May. 11, 2008

Introducing the 2006 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award Winners

Featured in the 2007 Cherokee Inspired
Comfort Award Calendar

Cherokee Uniforms Recognizes 11 Healthcare Professionals for Service, Sacrifice and Innovation

For their heroic efforts in the aftermath of the Gulf Coast Hurricanes and the Asian tsunami, to their selfless dedication and caring for underserved populations, 11 remarkable individuals selcted from nearly 900 nominations nationwide, are being recognized as recipients of the 2006 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award. The prestigious honor is awarded annually to outstanding healthcare professionals who put the needs of the injured, sick and underprivileged first, often at their own physical risk and personal sacrifice.

“Cherokee Uniforms is proud to honor nurses and other vital healthcare professionals who go above and beyond in the ways they serve others. This award acknowledges their dedication and conveys our admiration for their intelligence, skill, compassion and devotion,” said Michael Singer, president and CEO of Cherokee Uniforms. “Our hope is that through initiatives such as this awards program and the A Nurse I Am Film and Scholarship program, Cherokee will help motivate more of our nation’s best and brightest to consider careers in healthcare.

A panel of nurse leaders, former Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award recipients and Cherokee Uniforms professionals selected the honorees who were nominated for their exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation by colleagues, friends and family.

Nominations were received in five categories: Advanced Practice Nurse, Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse, Student Nurse and Non-Physician Healthcare Professional.  

This year’s Grand Prize, Top National and National Winners are:


Advanced Practice Nurses

Jacki WittGrand Prize Winner – Jacki Witt, JD, MSN, RNC, WHNP, CNM
As the co-founder of an adult healthcare clinic within Missouri’s largest single-site childcare and early education center and a full-time nursing teacher at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, Witt tirelessly works to provide nursing care to the underserved populations of Kansas City.
goRead Feature Story


Linda Lopez-Ochart SummersTop National Winner – Linda Lopez-Ochart Summers, DSN, CNS, CFNP Lopez-Ochart Summers stops at nothing to ensure that the physical and mental needs of adolescents in southern New Mexico are being met, and she has woven together private and government resources to meet the underserved teenage population.
goRead Feature Story


Registered Nurses

Bonnie MarchettiGrand Prize Winner – Bonnie Marchetti, RN
When she saw TV coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, Marchetti, an ER nurse, called the American Red Cross to see if they needed her services. She helped to establish a MASH unit within a New Orleans-area elementary school that treated more than 1,000 patients.
goRead Feature Story


James BowerTop National Winner – James Bowers, RN, BSN, CNOR
After volunteering year round by collecting snacks, craft items and money to help send children with diabetes to Camp Kno-Koma, Bowers took a week off work to attend the camp as a cabin nurse. He also volunteered in Mississippi after Katrina by working at a clinic and making house calls.
goRead Feature Story


Margaret HurleyNational Winner – Margaret “Peggy” Hurley, RN
Retired after 42 years of nursing, Hurley can’t seem to deny her calling. When a full-time nurse was diagnosed with breast cancer, Hurley covered all of her colleague’s shifts for nearly half a year, which included three weekly 12-hour shifts, weekends and holidays.
goRead Feature Story


Kerry JeaniceNational Winner – Kerry Jeanice, RN, EMT-P
Following Hurricane Katrina, Jeanice helped to battle disease by administering 40,000 vaccines by organizing and running vaccination clinics and saving lives by recruiting nurses and emergency personnel. He also assisted retirement home residents who were abandoned.
goRead Feature Story


Licensed Practical Nurses/Licensed Vocational Nurses

Gerald FlintGrand Prize Winner – Gerald Flint, LVN II, EMT, COMT
Immediately following a mission in Iraq where he was injured, Flint led an international team of medical volunteers to assist the tsunami victims of Thailand and Sri Lanka. He led multiple other volunteer operations in 2005 using his own funds and over 1,500 hours of time.
goRead Feature Story


Rosanne CorteseTop National Winner – Rosanne Cortese, LPN
The only LPN in her Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Cortese’s rapid and accurate problem-solving ability and clinical intuition when seconds separated life and death have spared lives. She has been instrumental in educating her fellow RN staffers as well as mentoring LPN students.
goRead Feature Story


Student Nurses

Shelia GholstonGrand Prize Winner – Shelia Gholston, LPN, Student Nurse
Constantly faced with heartbreaking struggles and challenges that could discourage even the most optimistic person, Gholston relentlessly pursued a lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. This student was described by her teacher as a "hero".
goRead Feature Story


Janet OrlinTop National Winner – Janet Orlin, RN, BSN
A leader within her class at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Orlin has provided compassionate care that was tailored to the needs of her patients and which reflected her knowledge and expertise honed by extensive training and experience – exceeding the requirements of a student.
goRead Feature Story


Non-Physician Healthcare Professionals

Scott EutslerGrand Prize Winner – John Scott Eutsler, PT, MS
Eutsler’s advocacy on behalf of some of society’s most vulnerable patients and his unrelenting pursuit of equipment, services and expertise that would improve their health and quality of life far exceeded his call of duty. His leadership at a local nonprofit helped assist physically challenged adults.
goRead Feature Story

Award History

Since the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award was established in 2003, more than 4,200 healthcare professionals have been nominated in the Advanced Practice Nurse, Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse, Student Nurse and Non-Physician Healthcare Professional categories. A panel of nursing professionals and Cherokee representatives evaluates nominations and grants the awards.

For every nomination, Cherokee Uniforms donated $1 to Nurses House, a national fund that provides short-term financial assistance to registered nurses facing serious hardship. Since 2005, Cherokee has donated $2,200. Proceeds from Cherokee Uniforms products support healthcare professionals through initiatives such as the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award, an annual calendar and the A Nurse I Am Film and Scholarship Program. Cherokee Uniforms will be accepting nominations for the 2007 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award beginning March 1, 2007 through May 31, 2007.


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Copyright © 2006 Inspired Comfort Award. All rights reserved. Cherokee Uniforms, a division of Strategic Distribution, L.P.

Cherokee Uniforms is the leader in the design of fashionable scrubs for nurses and other healthcare professionals, bringing innovative style, comfort and quality to medical scrubs, nursing uniforms, and healthcare footwear. We recognize that healthcare workers are not only our customers, but also special individuals who make a tremendous contribution to society. Our tagline, "Inspired Comfort" reflects not only the fashionable and functional design of our medical scrubs and nursing uniforms, but also honors the exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation healthcare workers exhibit every day in bringing comfort to the nation's sick and aged. With this in mind we created the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award, which not only is a nurses award but also a national award to recognize these exceptional people. Proceeds from the sale of Cherokee Uniforms products support nurses and other healthcare professionals through such initiatives as the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award, a nationally distributed calendar, and the A Nurse I Am Film and Scholarship Program.