Stafford Named 2013 Nursing Excellence Award Winner

Karen Spies Award 2013 2 (400 x 271)Amy Stafford, MSN, RN is the 2013 recipient of the Karen Spies Nursing Excellence Award. The Spies Award was established through a gift made to the Memorial Hospital Foundation to honor Karen Spies, RN, for her caring and professional service. Spies, a former nurse for Shore Regional Health who now works for a private physician practice, presented the award to Stafford. The Karen Spies Nursing Excellence Award is given out annually to recognize a nurse for extraordinary nursing research accomplishments.

Stafford received the award for her study “Patients’ Perceptions of Patient Care Providers with Tattoos and/or Body Piercings.” This study evaluated patient perceptions of patient care providers with visible tattoos and/or body piercings.

Stafford, who has worked for Shore Regional Health since 2002, is employed in Professional Nursing Practice as an Staff Education Specialist. Prior to joining the Professional Nursing Practice team, she was a staff nurse on the Surgical Unit at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton.

“Nursing research is an essential component of current and future nursing practice,” says Stafford. “The Karen Spies Nursing Excellence Award has provided me a wonderful opportunity to attend a national conference. I look forward to learning about significant advances in healthcare based on nursing research.”

Participants in the study include the following: Heather V. Westerfield, MSN, RN, CMSRN, Per Diem RN; Karen Gabel Speroni, PhD, RN, Chair, Nursing Research Council; and Marlon G. Daniel, MHA, MPH Statistician.

In photo: Pictured at the Karen Spies Award Ceremony from left are Pat O’Shea, Director of Development, Shore Regional Health, Amy Stafford, MSN, RN, 2013 recipient of the Karen Spies Award; and Karen Spies.