Amber Weber, four St. Luke’s staffers given recognition in virtual celebration
By Eric Valentine
Editor’s Note: In the next issue of Wood River Weekly, we will sit down with St. Luke’s nurse of the year Amber Weber and ask her about her role as a nurse and her MSN-Ed, BSN, RNC-NIC, NPD-B multi-credentialed career. Our hope is to gain an understanding about her concerns and her optimism going forward in healthcare after an overwhelming year. But for now, at least, we’re just standing up to applaud.
So, here’s a sports analogy that may help you take it all in.
Anyone voting on annual awards in healthcare during a pandemic probably feels a bit like a sportswriter trying to name the Most Valuable Player for the 1927 New York Yankees. Two players had identical .356 batting averages, but they didn’t even lead their team in the category. That player was Lou Gehrig who, in addition to batting .373, walloped 47 homeruns that year. And that was nothing compared to Babe Ruth, who blasted 60 round-trippers. They also had two ace pitchers, one who led all of baseball in wins and … You get the idea.
Since early 2020, the frontline healthcare worker responsible for wiping down handrails and refilling hand sanitizer bottles deserves some sort of medal along with the nurses and physicians who are more in the public eye. So, one can easily imagine how difficult it would be to pick just one nurse for nursing excellence. It’s an overwhelming choice.
Yet, that’s how esteemed nurse Amber Weber is across the St. Luke’s Wood River landscape, where last week she won the 2021 Carl A. Gray Memorial Award for nursing excellence, an award given annually by the St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation’s board of directors and the Harvey Gray family, who established the annual award in 1995 to honor Carl A. Gray, a well-known and avid Sun Valley Ski Club member.
“Each year the entire hospital staff nominates a nurse who exemplifies excellence in their nursing practice. The nursing staff then votes on the colleague, whom they believe is most deserving of the recognition. This year, Amber Weber was overwhelmingly the staff’s choice to receive the excellence award,” St. Luke’s spokesperson Betsy Mullins said. “She got 80% of the vote. That’s just never happened before.”
An Overwhelming Career
In addition to her role as clinical educator for St. Luke’s Wood River, Amber stepped up this past year as the hospital’s lead for a local vaccination effort reaching out to hospital employees and the community at large—a balancing act of sorts considering a portion of the population’s angst toward vaccines in general and vaccine mandates in particular.
It wasn’t a role that was handed to her, nor was it a role she stepped up to fill.
“She spearheaded the whole thing,” Mullins said. “She organized it. She did everything.”
Based on the following colleague testimonials regarding Weber, the nurse performed heroically:
“Amber goes above and beyond her job and she does it remarkably well. She is very organized and always on top of what needs to be done despite having millions of irons in the fire.”
“Amber is never afraid to jump in at the bedside when her expertise is needed. She even comes from home when the call is critical. Wood River is so lucky to have an experienced NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) nurse in house as those emergencies are few and far between in our critical access hospital and her skills are always sharp. Amber has been an incredible addition to the (St. Luke’s Wood River) team, and her excellence has touched everyone at our facility and beyond.”
“Amber has been a beacon of positive energy this past year. She has managed to inspire us, educate us, and organize a whirlwind of activities, not the least being an incredible effort in vaccinating our community. Amazing is not a big enough word!”
An Overwhelming Year
According to the American Medical Association, the pandemic has been brutal to the healthcare industry. Between May 28 and Oct. 1, 2020, using the AMA Coping with COVID-19 for Caregivers Survey, 42 healthcare organizations across the U.S. assessed their workers’ stress during the pandemic. The survey of 20,947 physicians and other workers found that 61% of those surveyed felt high fear of exposing themselves or their families to COVID-19 while 38% self-reported experiencing anxiety or depression. Another 43% suffered from work overload and 49% had burnout.
Stress scores were highest among nursing assistants, medical assistants, social workers and inpatient workers—such as nurses, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants and housekeepers—as well as among women, Black and Latinx healthcare workers, the report found.
“But odds of burnout were 40% lower in those who felt valued by their organizations, which was 46% of respondents,” the AMA said.
“As we continue to navigate challenges and a range of emotions associated with the pandemic, this was an opportunity to honor the work that our nurses do each and every day,” said Megan Tanous, St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation chief development officer. “Our nurses exhibit integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and excellence in everything they do every single day at St. Luke’s Wood River. Their dedication, perseverance and resilience has been exemplary throughout the pandemic.”
Other Annual Healthcare Awards
Awards of distinction were also given in specific areas of St. Luke’s core values. The honorees included:
Integrity—Karen Stevens, R.N., Ph.D., Assistant Nurse Manager
Compassion—Scott Kelly, R.N., Medical/Surgical
Accountability—Lauren Hoover, R.N., Emergency Department
Respect—Cherie Shardlow, R.N., Assistant Nurse Manager, Surgical Services