The Beatrice Renfield Caring for the Caregiver Award, given by the American Journal of Nursing, recognizes a significant contribution to clinical facilities in support of nurses and nursing. The award is given to a philanthropist, either an individual or organization, who has provided financial support for the development of excellence in nursing practice.
The award is named in honor of Beatrice Renfield, a trustee and patron of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, who established a fund for the support and development of its nursing staff in 1990. She also made significant donations to the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and the Yale School of Nursing for research and special projects devoted to improving nursing care.
Nominations of individuals or organizations for the annual award are accepted from any clinical facility that supports the development of excellence in nursing practice, including hospitals, home care agencies, and long-term care facilities.
NOMINATION GUIDELINES
1. Write a narrative description of the nominee's support of nurses and nursing at one facility (or more). This description should explain the type of support given and the result of this support; it should not exceed 1,000 words.
2. Include additional documentation of the philanthropy and its implications, such as announcements published in the facility's newsletter or a newspaper account of the work. Do not exceed 10 pages of attachments.
3. Provide at least two letters in support of the nomination. One must be written by the chief nurse officer of the facility and one by a staff nurse.
4. Compose a cover letter, complete with the nominator's contact information, to accompany the narrative description, additional documentation, and letters of recommendation. The original nomination package and six copies of the complete nomination package must be submitted.
5. Nomination submissions must be postmarked no later than July 1, 2006.
Nominations will be judged by a panel of nurses and others familiar with the philanthropic support of nursing.
JUDGING CRITERIA
The nominee's philanthropic support should embody the idea of "caring for the caregiver" through educating nurses and providing support to nurture and renew their capacity for caregiving.
1. The nominee should have a vision for health care that values nursing and the contribution nurses make by providing leadership, delivering superior care, and conducting clinical research.
2. Priority will be given to nominees who have supported nursing in clinical facilities rather than schools of nursing.
3. The nominee should demonstrate a long-term commitment of support through repeated gifts or an endowment.
4. Posthumous awards will be considered.
Award recipients will be announced in the November 2006 issue of AJN. Additional media outreach will accompany the announcement to celebrate the philanthropic support of nurses and nursing.
For additional information, contact:
Diana J. Mason, Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Nursing, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 333 Seventh Avenue, 19th Fl., New York, NY 10001, (646) 674-6604, mailto:[email protected]