Mary Alice Vanhoy, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, NREMTP, Emergency Services Educator and EMS Coordinator for Shore Health System, was the recipient of the Nursing Professionalism Award presented by the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) at its annual conference in Minneapolis.

The Nursing Professionalism Award honors a nurse who consistently demonstrates high professional behavior and commitment to professional values and is active within the profession. “ENA is proud of the outstanding accomplishments of its members,” says ENA President Denise King, MSN, RN, CEN. “Mary Alice Vanhoy represents the excellence and dedication of the nation’s emergency nurses to quality patient care.”

Vanhoy, an emergency nurse for more than 30 years, is Emergency Medical Services (EMS) captain of the United Communities Volunteer Fire Department in Stevensville. She is EMS Program Coordinator at Chesapeake Community College. In these roles, she is the key liaison between hospital providers and the students and pre-hospital providers in four suburban and rural counties. She is also the quality improvement coordinator for Talbot, Dorchester, Caroline and Queen Anne’s counties.

Reaching out to the Eastern Shore community, Vanhoy has developed programs for latch-key children, bike and ATV safety, hunting safety, stroke prevention and management, and disaster preparedness. In addition, she has served as the clinical expert on disaster management at Shore Health System.

Vanhoy earned an associate’s degree in nursing from Forsyth Technical College and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and biology from Guilford College, both in North Carolina. She also earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a master’s degree in nursing education and leadership from the University of Phoenix.

A recipient of numerous state awards, Vanhoy has been honored as EMS Provider of the Year, the Emergency Nurse of the Year and the EMS for Geriatrics Provider of the Year. She currently represents emergency nurses on the Maryland EMS Board, the Maryland Chapter of the American Trauma Society and the Maryland Pediatric EMS Advisory Committee. She is past president of the Maryland State Council of the Emergency Nurses Association and the Secretary/Treasurer of the Eastern Shore Chapter of ENA. She currently is an item writer for the newest national emergency nursing certification, Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse.