Mary Jo Kelly
June 2021
Mary Jo
Kelly
,
DNP, ARNP-CNS
ICU/SCU and COVID Vaccine Clinic
UW Medical Center - Northwest
Seattle
,
WA
United States
During all of this, and even before the vaccine clinic was open, Mary Jo was essential in the care of COVID 19 positive patients.
Over the past few months, Mary Jo has worked in roles as EPIC subject matter expert for Critical Care, Critical Care CNS, Vaccine Clinic point person, and leadership support covering the unit. She has been absolutely phenomenal in her flexibility in each of these roles’ responsibilities. Mary Jo has role-modeled the characteristics and behaviors of leadership in each of these roles.
What has been really inspirational to me, and I am sure others who know Mary Jo, is her tenacity and willingness to do her best to provide vaccines to staff and community members. Mary Jo works day and night organizing the vaccine clinic workflow so that staff and community members have a positive experience given the pandemic circumstances. She welcomes anyone who is eligible and able to provide vaccines, gets them up to speed on the process, and makes sure the flow is continuous providing vaccines.
During all of this, and even before the vaccine clinic was open, Mary Jo was essential in the care of COVID 19 positive patients. She collaborated with providers, nurses, EVS, RT, etc. ensuring staff had the right PPE and were following the correct process before and after entering patient rooms. She was and is very instrumental in the education of the critical care team, even with processes changing daily.
I am honored to be writing this nomination letter of Mary Jo because I want her to know just how appreciative we are of her as a friend, colleague, community supporter, teacher, encourager, and outstanding Nurse Leader.
***
Mary Jo Kelly is a fantastic nurse and leader at UWMC Northwest. As the clinical leader of the vaccine clinic, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with her over the past five months. She demonstrates strong leadership, advocacy for safety and quality, and dedication to patients. She is a big reason why UWMC Northwest has vaccinated more than 50,000 patients and employees. She helped to set up the clinic quickly, and she has shown flexibility and innovation as we juggle changes in supply amount, three types of vaccine, and changing staff. When eligibility remained limited, she focused on those most at risk, and she stays late regularly to ensure not a single dose of vaccine is wasted. She has worked tirelessly throughout this process and has been critical in UW Medicine and our city’s role in Covid vaccination.
What has been really inspirational to me, and I am sure others who know Mary Jo, is her tenacity and willingness to do her best to provide vaccines to staff and community members. Mary Jo works day and night organizing the vaccine clinic workflow so that staff and community members have a positive experience given the pandemic circumstances. She welcomes anyone who is eligible and able to provide vaccines, gets them up to speed on the process, and makes sure the flow is continuous providing vaccines.
During all of this, and even before the vaccine clinic was open, Mary Jo was essential in the care of COVID 19 positive patients. She collaborated with providers, nurses, EVS, RT, etc. ensuring staff had the right PPE and were following the correct process before and after entering patient rooms. She was and is very instrumental in the education of the critical care team, even with processes changing daily.
I am honored to be writing this nomination letter of Mary Jo because I want her to know just how appreciative we are of her as a friend, colleague, community supporter, teacher, encourager, and outstanding Nurse Leader.
***
Mary Jo Kelly is a fantastic nurse and leader at UWMC Northwest. As the clinical leader of the vaccine clinic, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with her over the past five months. She demonstrates strong leadership, advocacy for safety and quality, and dedication to patients. She is a big reason why UWMC Northwest has vaccinated more than 50,000 patients and employees. She helped to set up the clinic quickly, and she has shown flexibility and innovation as we juggle changes in supply amount, three types of vaccine, and changing staff. When eligibility remained limited, she focused on those most at risk, and she stays late regularly to ensure not a single dose of vaccine is wasted. She has worked tirelessly throughout this process and has been critical in UW Medicine and our city’s role in Covid vaccination.