Congratulations to Our 2021 Excellence in Nursing Awardees!
This year, 10 outstanding Johns Hopkins nurses have been named “top nurses” by Baltimore magazine and are being presented with the publication’s 2021 Excellence in Nursing award.
The winning nurses are chosen from hundreds of nominations submitted by peers, supervisors and patients. Baltimore magazine enlists an expert panel of senior R.N. advisers to review the nominations and select the top 106 nurses in 19 specialties.
Meet Johns Hopkins’ 2021 Excellence in Nursing award winners, and hear why each is proud to be a nurse.
Carrie Bealefeld, R.N., B.S.N., C.P.N.
Lead Clinical Nurse
Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Pediatric Specialty Care Clinic
Winner in the Pediatrics: Non-Neonatal category
I am proud to be a nurse because of the care, compassion, comfort and support we provide our patients and their families.
Chad Bowman, M.S.N., R.N., C.F.R.N., N.R.-P.
Lead Clinical Nurse
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Lifeline Critical Care Transport Team
Winner in the Emergency Department category
Teamwork and comradery make me proud to be a nurse. The past year has been an exceptional challenge for health care workers not only professionally but personally as well. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” Despite those challenges, we have not only learned a tremendous amount, but have also grown as a team. I’m honored to be part of both the Lifeline and Biocontainment Unit teams where teamwork and comradery are a constant regardless of the challenge.
Robinah M. Campbell, M.S.N., R.N.
Nurse Manager
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Weinberg Oncology, 5A/B, 4B Hematology
Winner in the Management/Nurse Executives category
My compassion comes from my mother, Olive, who was a nurse. She cultivated and maintained my caring spirit of others. As we take care of our oncology patients during some of the most challenging moments of their lives — treatment for leukemia and various other cancers — I am grateful for those who were and are around me. For the past 23 years, I have enjoyed working and growing with the most compassionate, resilient and thoughtful group of nurses and staff. As Maya Angelou stated: “As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul, and body of our patients, their families, and ourselves. They may not remember your name, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.
Lora L. Clawson, M.S.N., C.R.N.P.
Assistant Professor / Founder and Director of ALS Clinical and Research Services
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins ALS Clinic – Department of Neurology
Winner in the Neurology/Psychology/Behavioral Health category
My career in nursing began with the goal of making a caring and compassionate difference in the lives of patients and their families. In the Hopkins ALS Clinic, we are able to provide compassionate caring in addition to cutting-edge clinical research opportunities, thus impacting positively the lives of our ALS patients and families we care for every day.
Jade Flinn, M.S.N., R.N., C.C.R.N., C.N.R.N.
Nurse Educator
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Biocontainment Unit
Winner in the Educator category
I cherish bedside care, and I find that it is the most rewarding, grounding and exciting part of my profession. Nursing gives you the rare honor of immersing yourself into the life of another for 12 hours, and that intimate opportunity is not lost on me. For 12 hours, I am given the license to be a fierce advocate, a deft technician, an empathetic ear, a resourceful problem-solver, and a true and invaluable team player.
Nichole Jantzi, M.S.H.S., R.N., A.M.B.-B.C.
Assistant Director of Nursing Practices and Clinical Education
Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, Department of Education and Training
Winner in the Educator category
I am most proud of the people I work with and their dedication to making every patient and every team member feel at ease during an often-stressful event. Whether it be a patient receiving an injection or a new employee learning a challenging skill, hearing how we made the experience exceed their expectations brings me the greatest joy.
Chrissy Kontogeorgos, D.N.P., R.N., P.C.C.N.
Patient Care Manager
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Progressive/Immediate Care Unit and COVID-19 Intermediate Care Unit
Winner in the Management/Nurse Executives category
Every day is an opportunity to impact people’s lives. It is rewarding to know I can inspire others and touch the lives of not only patients, but families and peers. I aspire to challenge myself every day to make changes that help me to grow as a nurse.
Beth L. Kozak Onners, R.N., M.S.N.
Senior Research Nurse
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, GI Oncology Immunology
Winner in the Research category
I have been an oncology nurse for over 31 years and an oncology research nurse for 22 years. What makes me most proud is being part of the advances in cancer treatment and toxicity management. Being on the forefront of immunotherapy research has given me much hope that we will be able to treat certain cancers, such as pancreatic cancer, as a chronic illness, which allows patients to live their fullest life. Working in a large academic institution, I have the privilege of caring for a diverse patient population. I feel honored to get to know these patients and their families and be part of their cancer treatment journey.
Ed Macsherry, B.S.N., R.N.-B.C.
R.N. III
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Creative Alternatives, Community Psychiatry Program
Winner in the Psychiatric Nurse category
I am inspired every day by the excellence and mission of my nursing colleagues, with the partnership of many clinicians, staff and those who come to us for care.
Marlene Meyer, M.S., B.S.N., R.N.-B.C.
Lead Clinical Nurse
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Meyer 5 – Schizophrenia and General Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry
Winner in the Psychiatric Nurse category
What drives me most is sharing that deep sense of joy with psychiatry patients when they leave the hospital, thriving, ready to face the world. What energizes me is the kindness and good-natured humor of my team and the support of Hopkins Nursing to reach further, to initiate evidence-based practice and research, and to use the power of collaboration to provide the best care possible.
