Nurse Innovator Award

Do you know a nurse who is an innovator and leader in the nursing profession? The Missouri Nurses Foundation is calling for nominations for the Nurse Innovator Award.

This award recognizes nurses who have made innovative contributions to the field of nursing. The recipients of this award have made significant contributions to the nursing profession and exhibited remarkable qualities as leaders in the field of nursing.

The Missouri Nurses Foundation is committed to recognizing the high-quality work that nurses are demonstrating. What better way to encourage the important evidence-based, patient-centered work that is at the heart of all that nurses do?

The Foundation’s emphasis on the Nurse Innovator award is one part of this organization’s philanthropic focus to support nurse-led initiatives to improve and promote the health of Missourians.

Past winners have included:

  • Evidence to Support Stimulant Laxatives in Postoperative Cardiothoracic Patients
  • Established New Evidence for Practice Change in Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Patients
  • Interventions for Distressed Dementia Patients
  • Development of a Regional Mentoring Program

Through this state-wide award process, we have showcased the fine work of these nurses in all stages of their careers.

Applications are currently closed!

Previous Award Winners

Margaret Mata

2022 Winner

Margaret Mata, MSN, RN

Margaret Mata was responsible for coordinating and facilitating the development and implementation of the HRO Facilitated Guide and Toolkit across the VISN, in addition to providing coaching and support to HRO Leads (all nursing roles) responsible for leading this effort at the facility level. The HRO Swimlanes Facilitated Self-Assessment Guide effort was accomplished with the help and support of VISN and facility level Subject-Matter-Experts (SMEs) and VISN and facility leadership, including the VISN Chief of High Reliability, Tim Anderson, who is also a RN.

Kristen Wong

2022 Winner

Kristen Wong, MS, PCCN

Kristen Wong has been a Missouri nurse for her entire six-and-a-half-year career. After graduating from the University of Miami Florida, she has worked in the Heart and Vascular division of Barnes Jewish Hospital taking on a variety of roles such as staff nurse and assistant nurse manager. After completing her MSN in Nursing Education in 2020 she began working as a staff nurse in the CTICU and an Adjunct professor at Goldfarb School of Nursing. She has sought many opportunities to implement EBP and provide leadership to new and developing nursing throughout the years.

Janette Coble

2018 Winner

Janette Coble, MS, BSN, RN, CNRN

Janette Coble holds a BSN and a certification in neuroscience nursing (CNRN). She has been a pediatric neuroscience nurse for almost 6 years at St. Louis Children’s Hospital where she completed both an EBP and a Research project. She has presented the results of these studies at local, national and international conferences with a journal article pending. In 2016, she was awarded the Nancy A. Ross RN Nursing Award for Excellence in Nursing Research and in 2018, awarded the Society of Pediatric Nurses’ Excellence Award for a poster in research.

Joseph Pilger

2018 Winner

Joseph Pilger, RN, MSN

Joseph Pilger is a clinical support nurse on 5 North at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton. Joseph started a Multidisciplinary Hospital Fall Team at SSM Health St. Clare Hospital in Fenton, MO in January of 2017. The hospital implemented the Hester Davis Fall Prevention Program in Oct. of 2016 and a new intervention with this program is having fall mats for all high fall risk patients. Staff was very resistant to this and compliance was low initially. Joe along with support from leadership had an innovative idea to produce a video demonstrating dropping a raw egg on a fall mat to show how effective the fall mat is in preventing a fall with harm. This video was instrumental in educating staff and getting support from staff.

Misty Riddle

2018 Winner

Misty Riddle, BSN, RN, CMSRN

Misty M. Riddle is currently a registered nurse at Hedrick Medical Center in Chillicothe, Missouri. She works in the medical surgical/intensive care unit. She is also cross-trained for the emergency room and the obstetrics/labor and delivery departments. She also works as relief house supervisor for the hospital. Along with working at the hospital, Misty also works at North Central Missouri College as a clinical instructor with the licensed practical nursing students.

Ms. Riddle resides in Chillicothe, MO with her husband and two children.

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