Oregon Nurses Foundation Honors Nurse of the Year

Lake Oswego, OR. The Oregon Nurses Foundation board chair, RN Kathleen Sims, helped honor Teri Mills as Oregon Nurse of the Year. The nurse activist and public health advocate was honored on April 28th at the Crowne Plaza in Lake Osewego. The Oregon Nurses Foundation brunch drew over 75 people. It celebrated nurses and raised $26,000 to help advance the nursing profession and open nursing careers to underserved populations.

Teri Mills, the 2019 Oregon Nurse of the Year, has had a career that spans more than four decades, demonstrating nursing excellence in teaching, mentoring and advocacy. Foundation members say she consistently works to increase the visibility of the nursing profession from testifying in front of lawmakers to writing op-eds for national publications.

“Our work is not finished,” said Mills, “there is a great need for a National Nurse for Public Health. America is our patient. Nurses are and have always been the trusted credible messengers.”

The Oregon Nurses Foundation’s Oregon Nurse of the Year Award recognizes an Oregon registered nurse who is a trailblazer in the care of patients and families and who advances the profession through their practice and community involvement. “Nursing means so much to me. I knew at four years old that this was my calling. I’m humbled by this special recognition, especially since it comes from my peers.”

The United States has four million registered nurses. Every year National Nurses Week begins on May 6 and ends May 12, Florence Nightingale’s birthday.

Oregon’s growing and aging population is increasing the need for health care services. While demand for services is increasing, the supply of nurses is shrinking. “The Oregon Nurses Foundation wants to make a significant impact in the lives of students,” said the Foundation’s Development Director Judith Woodruff. “We are kicking off a campaign to raise $100,000, which will allow us to award larger scholarships in 2020.” Special thanks to event sponsors OHSU School of Nursing, Jonas Philanthropies, University of Portland School of Nursing, Nurse Practitioners of Oregon, Constituent Association 1, Portland Nursery and California Casualty.

For more information: https://www.oregonrn.org