Karen has worked tirelessly on bringing nursing back to the forefront of patient care and giving nurses the opportunity to have more say in the care they deliver. It has been almost 2 yrs since the implementation of Nurse Coordinating Council, Nurse Practice Council, Unit Based Councils, and the results have shown increased staff involvement, increased nurse autonomy, and a movement towards utilizing evidence-based practice. Karen was instrumental in the hiring of our first Nurse Educator, making certain that the need education needs expressed by nursing are being addressed. Karen has always had an open door policy for anyone to express concerns related to their work practice, although one may not always agree with her recommendations or resolutions, she is always willing to listen. Karen was effective in bringing back 24hr nursing supervision, a position that had been eliminated for 10 years, a situation that was problematic for physicians as well as nursing.

I can honestly say that the nursing environment here at St. Joseph Mercy has improved under Karen's watch, I enjoy my work more because of the changes I have seen over the past couple of years and I look forward to the continued improvements in nursing practice that will result because of these changes.