Nursing Spectrum Selects St. Christopher's Hospital Nurse as 2009 Nursing Excellence Award Winner

One of Only Six Nurses Awarded in Tri-State Area

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children charge nurse Claire Alminde, R.N., B.S.N., C.P.N., has been selected as the Philadelphia and Tri-State region award winner in the community service category for the 2009 Nursing Spectrum Nursing Excellence Awards.

Nursing Spectrum, a news magazine for nurses, holds its Nursing Excellence Awards to honor nurses in six categories: advancing and leading the profession, clinical care, community service, management, mentoring, and teaching.  A total of 30 nurses from the tri-state region were honored as finalists.  From that group of finalists, winners from each of the six categories were announced at a gala event, which was held on May 6 at the Sheraton Society Hill.

Alminde won in the community service category for having made significant professional or voluntary contributions that improved patient care, and for helping the community as either part of her job or as a volunteer.

“For the past four years, I have had the honor of acting as Claire’s direct supervisor,” says award nominator Anne Marie Krajewski, B.S.N., R.N., C.P.N., clinical coordinator at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.  “During this time, I have been a witness to Claire’s remarkable ability to ‘give back’ to those less fortunate.  It is not one particular event or instance that makes Claire so worthy of this award, but a culmination of ongoing commitment and service to her community.”

Among her community service contributions, Alminde, a 20-year employee of St. Christopher’s Hospital, organizes an annual fundraiser called “Bowling for Brain Tumors” with the help of her 12-year-old son Patrick. The event, which is held in memory of Patrick’s friend Connell, who died of a brain tumor, raises funds for the Connell Anastasi Foundation, an organization that supports brain tumor research.

In addition to fundraising, Alminde and her colleagues often visit a women’s abuse shelter, which St. Christopher’s nursing departments has “adopted.”  St. Christopher’s nurses bring food, clothing, household items and toys there on a monthly basis.  The nurses also spend time playing with the children and educating moms on health related issues.

“Claire has attended each and every shelter visit,” says Krajewski.  “For our visit in October, Claire was responsible for obtaining donations that included more than 50 Halloween costumes, crafts and candy.  Along with her 14-year-old daughter’s assistance, the children at the shelter were treated to a huge Halloween party.”

Alminde not only donates her time, but lends her skills as well.  A certified CPR instructor, Alminde volunteers as a non-paid instructor so that free CPR classes are available at a local swimming club and at her church.  In addition, Alminde helps prepare trays of food for elderly residents of her parish through her children’s school. Remaining focused on children’s health, she also raised money to buy a defibrillator for her children’s school.

As a charge nurse on a medical-surgical unit that cares for many trauma patients, and as the wife of a Philadelphia police officer, Alminde is acutely aware of the importance of gun safety.  To help protect her patients and all children from becoming victims of gun violence, Alminde developed a gun safety program at St. Christopher’s.  Last month, she helped raise funds to support violence prevention by walking with her children in the Legs Against Arms walk.

“Perhaps what is most extraordinary about Claire is her ability to do all this in addition to being a mom of three active children, working full time at St. Christopher’s, teaching nursing students one day a week and pursuing her master’s degree,” says Krajewski.  “What’s more, she enthusiastically encourages her peers to ‘get involved’ whether it is in research, committees or special projects.  She brings a unique sense of humor to her work each and every day and is a tireless advocate for patients and families.”

Since 1875, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children has been providing exceptional patient care and advancing new pediatric treatments through research and innovation. Through affiliations with Drexel University College of Medicine and Temple University School of Medicine, St. Christopher’s is a teaching hospital helping to train the next generation of professionals in pediatric medicine.

The 189-bed hospital is committed to delivering high quality family- and patient-centered care to children from throughout the Philadelphia area and around the world. Its highly acclaimed programs include its Cystic Fibrosis Center, Level I Pediatric Trauma Center, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), as well as its Burn Center, which is the only dedicated pediatric burn center in the area. In 2009 St. Christopher’s achieved Magnet status, which is one of the nation's highest forms of recognition for nursing excellence.

St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children is part of the Tenet Health System.