Nurses Week – Excellence in Nursing at Princeton

Have you ever heard of Ida V. Moffett? Mrs. Moffett was known and respected around Birmingham and Alabama for her excellence as a nurse, teacher, mentor and friend. Countless patients said that she was the most compassionate person they had ever met. Ms. Moffett herself said, “Compassion means taking action. Compassion means that we will take some of the patient’s burden on ourselves. Compassion means a willingness to transfer some of our own comfort and convenience to one in need.”

Mrs. Moffett lived by that quote when she worked the majority of her 70-year nursing career at Princeton Baptist and to us, she is one of the best examples of what it means to be a Princeton nurse. In her memory, Princeton presents awards every year to deserving nurses that have demonstrated the qualities that made Mrs. Moffett so special. This year, two special and deserving nurses were chosen: Wendy Nix, recipient of the 2016 Ida V. Moffett Excellence in Nursing Award, and Deborah McCormack, recipient of the 2016 Outstanding RN Award.

Wendy Nix, RN, CICU was chosen as this year’s Ida V. Moffett recipient for her service as a servant leader that exemplifies Princeton’s core values including compassion, advocacy, and excellence.  Ms. Moffett believed that nothing could replace the hands on touch of the nurse, and Wendy lives out Ms. Moffett’s vision.  .  A quote from Ms. Moffett, “Allow yourself to care, really care for the people for whom you are responsible.  Love them.  Get involved in their struggle.  Really care. . . . We must not treat people as nameless objects, disregarding their personal habits and their families.  We must be careful not to exploit people’s dignity with instruments and exposure.  We must not limit people’s freedom and decision-making unnecessarily.  We must not allow coldness and indifference in our social interactions.” 

“Wendy is a role model of Ms. Moffett’s vision. She is consistently the most genuine and caring person to everyone.  She is the most positive and helpful team member I’ve ever known. I’m not sure how she manages all that she does, but she is always encouraging,” her coworkers said. “She is a team player; she is dedicated to her job, staff, and her patients. She is caring, empathetic, selfless and has a sweet spirit. She is always working to maintain excellence in what she does.”

Wendy has been a RN with Princeton for 12 years, she has spent her career in our Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU).

Deborah McCormack, RN, was recently presented the 2016 Outstanding RN Award for her outstanding service as a day shift registered nurse at Princeton.   For much of her career, she worked side by side with one of our surgeons until he retired. For the past ten years she has worked on Princeton’s post-op surgical nursing unit, 6 West, providing direct patient care.

According to several of our surgeons, she always exhibits patience and provides compassionate care. She loves being a bedside nurse and quality care is very important to her. She is very knowledgeable and physicians value her and her judgment. She embodies the ideals of Ida V. Moffett.

Deborah is dependable with strong work ethics. She always puts her patients first and assures that all of their needs are met.   To Deborah, patients are the most important part of the hospital. She truly cares for those entrusted to her care.

Her manager states that Deborah exemplifies the characteristics we want our Princeton nurses to display.