Health & Wellness
Top Nurses 2021: The List
Our seventh-annual awards program salutes a profession that’s the backbone of health care.
EXCELLENCE IN NURSING 2021
TOTAL SPECIALTIES: 19
TOTAL NOMINATIONS: 283
TOTAL WINNERS: 105
Acute Care/Family Practice/General Medicine
Nurse Manager University of Maryland Midtown Campus
Endoscopy Department Mercy Medical Center
Ambulatory Nurse Care Coordinator University of Maryland Medical Center
Infection Preventionist MedStar Harbor Hospital
Permanent Charge Nurse Intermediate Care MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
University of Maryland Medical Center 11 East Medicine Telemetry
Adult/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, Center for Successful Aging, MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Center for Successful Aging-Geriatrics MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Post-Anesthesia Care MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Charge Nurse, Gastroenterology MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
MARGARET OWOEYE
Case Management, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
“If I hadn’t chosen nursing, I’d be a defense lawyer or a pilot. Both challenging. Both complex.”
Cardiovascular
Cardiac Observation Medstar Union Memorial Hospital
Medical Surgical Cardiac Mercy Medical Center
Cardiac Cath Lab University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
Comprehensive Cardiac Pulmonary Care Unit MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Cardiac Operating Room/ Open Heart Surgery Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Clinical Nurse Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital
Cardiac Step-Down Unit MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Director of Clinical Operations Program in Transplantation/ Cardiothoracic Transplant NP University of Maryland Medical Center
TAKIYA FOXX
Nurse Manager, University of Maryland Midtown Campus
“The most gratifying thing about my job is leading and witnessing the career growth of the individuals that I manage.”
Case Management
Manager of Case Management University of Maryland Medical Center
Case Management Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Community care/Ambulatory care
Nurse Care Coordinator University of Maryland Medical Center
Wound Care and Hyperbaric Oxygen Northwest Hospital
Ambulatory Service Family Health and Wellness Grace Medical Center
Ambulatory Care MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Nurse Manager, Ambulatory Services University of Maryland Medical Center
Educator
Nurse Educator, Biocontainment Unit The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Assistant Director, Nursing and Clinical Education Johns Hopkins Community Physicians
Family Education Department UM St. Joseph’s Medical Center
ED Clinical Coach LifeBridge Health Sinai Hospital
Director of Professional Practice, Education, and Research GBMC HealthCare
Emergency Department
Team Coordinator, Special Operations Response Team Lifeline Critical Care Transport Team The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Emergency MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Director of Critical Care, Emergency Services and Medicine GBMC HealthCare
Clinical Nurse II, Adult Emergency Department The University of Maryland Medical Center
Emergency MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Emergency Department Registered Nurse, Information Systems Coordinator Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Nurse Manager, Emergency Department University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
Clinical Unit Coordinator Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital
Emergency MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Hospice/ Home Health/ Palliative Care
Clinical Manager Gilchrist Kids
Care Coordinator The Lisa Vogel Agency
Intensive Care
Clinical Nurse II, Post Anesthesia Care Unit Mercy Medical Center
Clinical Nurse Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital
Clinical Nurse II, Rapid Response Nurse, Charge Nurse University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center
Senior Clinical Nurse II, Biocontainment Unit & Critical Care Resuscitation Unit University of Maryland Medical Center, Shock Trauma Center
Nurse Anesthesiologist Baltimore VAMHCS
CESAR JESUS VISURRAGA
Nurse Anesthesiologist, Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore
“The biggest change I would like to see in health care is an environment with more women and minorities as health care providers.”
Management/ Nurse Executives
Nurse Manager, Unit 38 (COVID Unit), Medicine/Telemetry GBMC HealthCare
Nurse Manager, Emergency Department Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Nurse Manager, Oncology The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Clinical Administrator, Critical Care & ED MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
VP, Patient Care Services & Chief Nursing Officer University of Maryland Medical Center, Midtown Campus
Assistant Patient Care Manager Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Performance Improvement/Innovation and Patient Experience Administration GBMC HealthCare
Manager, Performance Improvement Utilization Quality Management MedStar Harbor Hospital
Director, Nursing Practice Innovation MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
Nurse Clinical Systems Project Manager GBMC HealthCare
Critical Care/Leadership Mercy Medical Center
Medical-Surgical Nursing
Operating Room Mercy Medical Center
Observation Medstar Union Memorial
Permanent Charge Nurse, Medical Surgical, Stroke MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center GBMC HealthCare
Director, Perioperative Services and Endoscopy Services GBMC HealthCare
Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital
Stroke Medical Unit Northwest Hospital
RN II, Medical Surgical/COVID MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
Director of Infection Prevention, Specialty & Inpatient Surgery Wound/Ostomy/HBO GBMC HealthCare
Senior Clinical Nurse II, Service Line Coordinator of Acute Care Emergency Surgery University of Maryland Medical Center
CHAD BOWMAN
Team Coordinator, Special Operations Response Team, Lifeline Critical Care Transport Team, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
“As a transport nurse, we are moving critically ill patients who may need a time-sensitive medical intervention or require tertiary care. The most gratifying part of my job is getting the patient safely to the care they need and knowing that we were instrumental in giving them a chance for the best possible outcome.”
Neurology/ Psychology/ Behavioral Health
Certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Founder and Director of ALS Clinic Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Behavioral Health Northwest Hospital
Oncology
Oncology Assistant Manager Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital
Outpatient Infusion Oncology Mercy Medical Center
Senior Clinical Nurse II, Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center
Registered Nurse III, Infusion and Cancer Center Northwest Hospital
Specialty Infusion Oncology Mercy Medical Center
Nurse Practitioner Pediatric Oncology Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
Orthopedics
OR Clinical Coordinator, Crane OR Mercy Medical Center
Registered Nurse IV, Surgical Orthopedics Northwest Hospital
Inpatient Orthopedics Medstar Union Memorial Hospital
Certified Family Nurse Practitioner University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Institute
Orthopedic Operating Room Medstar Union Memorial Hospital
MÉLANGE (MEME) DAVIS SCOTT
Mother Baby Post-Partum, Mercy Medical Center
“My biggest challenge this year was being pregnant during the pandemic while working at the patients’ bedsides and personally experiencing COVID after my own positive diagnosis.” [Davis has since recovered.]
Pediatrics
Lead Clinical Nurse, Ambulatory Services The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Clinical Applications Manager, IT Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital
Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation Unit Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital
Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital at Capital Region Health
Director of Infection Prevention Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital
Nurse Manager Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital at Capital Region Health
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Division of Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Herman & Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai
VALERIYA MOROZ
Inpatient Orthopedics, Medstar Union Memorial Hospital
“The most gratifying thing about my job is seeing patients smile and feel better during their most challenging moments of their life.”
Psychiatric Nurse
Charge Nurse, Behavioral Health Unit University of Maryland Medical Center, Midtown
Assistant Director, Behavioral Health and Crisis Intervention Services MedStar Harbor Hospital
Community Psychiatry Program Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Lead Clinical Nurse, Psychiatry Nursing The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Rehabilitation
Charge Nurse Subacute Northwest Hospital
Rehab MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Rehab MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Rehab MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital
Research
Immunology Oncology Research Nurse The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Research Nurse Coordinator Oncology University of Maryland
STEPHEN BENKO
Nurse Manager, Unit 38 (COVID Unit), Medicine/Telemetry, GBMC HealthCare
“Our unit took the point position in caring for COVID-19 patients for an extended period of time, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic. So, the biggest thing to shoulder, from a purely nursing and humanistic point of view, was seeing the morbidity, mortality, and suffering caused by the disease.”
Senior Services
Clinical Manager Gilchrist Center Towson
Regional Director of Health and Wellness Brightview Senior Living
Clinical Manager Gilchrist Center Towson
Health Services Director Brightview Mays Chapel Ridge
Clinical Manager Gilchrist Center Baltimore
Clinical Manager Gilchrist Center Howard
Women's Health
Senior Clinical Nurse II, Labor & Delivery UM St. Joseph Medical Center
Mother Baby Post-Partum Mercy Medical Center