Shawn has dedicated his career to behavioral health patients. He is known both inside the health system and within the community as a care partner and expert in Behavioral Health. He was the project manager for the creation of the Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center in our community. He worked tirelessly with the community and Cone Health key stakeholders for two years to build and open this center. He did this work in addition to his Nurse Manager responsibilities. Shawn serves as a mentor to nurses as they transition from an inpatient nursing practice to serving behavioral health patients in an emergency care setting and an outpatient setting. When a nurse was displaced from her inpatient role, he encouraged her to use her experience serving the outpatient community. She states she never thought of this career path and was apprehensive about going into a new area after so many years of inpatient nursing. She states that the main reason she made this change was because Shawn would be her leader. She knew he would teach her everything she needed to know to be successful and that he would always be available to her.

Shawn played a key role in the creation, mentoring, and supervision of a medication clinic that serves patients with chronic, severe, mental illness. Given the newness of this type of clinic, many nurses do not have experience in this area. Shawn has helped train and continuously support these staff members. As one nurse stated, despite how busy Shawn is with his multiple responsibilities, he is always available to coach, teach, and support the staff that report to him, making each staff member feel as if they are the most important. This clinic has been successful in improving the functioning of this clientele and decreasing their dependence on the emergency department. It is because of Shawn's servant leadership that staff are willing to work in new areas, knowing they will be treated with respect, they will grow professionally, and will always have the support they need to be successful. Shawn is someone who fills in for nursing staff when there is a staffing issue, never asking his team to do anything he is not willing to do himself. He exemplifies dedication to coworkers and patients. His drive to improve the lives of behavioral health patients is infectious, and he does it by creating a team with this shared vision. The culture within his department is one of caring for each other, helping where needed, and always looking for new ways to serve the patients. He improves patient care by empowering the staff he supervises to participate in decision-making, to be creative in serving the patient, and to work alongside staff while they learn and grow. Many will say that behavioral health nursing is a calling that requires compassion for people who struggle in sometimes challenging ways. It is through Shawn's leadership that he has helped both new and experienced staff grow and demonstrate a level of compassion for the well-being of behavioral health patients and their families, which is needed more than ever now in our country. I am honored to nominate such an incredible nurse, leader, and person.