LaVelle named area’s top nurse

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Westfields Hospital leaders joined Beth LaVelle at a reception honoring this year’s outstanding nurses. Pictured (left to right) Helen Sathre, VP patient care services; Betsy Johnson, quality/emergency preparedness; Steve Massey, president and CEO; Ann Fiala, director of quality and compliance; Dr. Beth Lavelle, education coordinator; Jean Needham, director of development; and Chad Engstrom, director of human resources.

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Beth LaVelle, PhD, RN, education coordinator at Westfields Hospital, has been named a 2012 Outstanding Nurse by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine for her dedication to patients, families and her co-workers.

For 38 years, LaVelle has impacted nursing in the Twin Cities, nationally and internationally.

Her nomination listed many examples of how her generosity made a significant difference: bringing evidence-based practice (EBP) and research to the bedside; precepting and mentoring staff and students; presenting at hundreds of national, regional and local conferences and healthcare facilities; serving on national committees in emergency nursing, critical care, simulation and professional development; and changing practice by doing research and reviewing research grant applications and articles for journals.

LaVelle has received several national awards of excellence including Circle of Excellence in Education (American Association of Critical Care Nurses), President’s Citation for Service and Nursing Specialty Award (Society of Critical Care Medicine), Change Agent Award (National Nurses in Staff Development).

“Although Beth has only been with Westfields for a year, her commitment to advancing the knowledge of our staff has been phenomenal. Rare for a hospital our size and largely due to her vision , we are now able to drill for life threatening situations using state-of-the-art manikin technology in conjunction with current evidence based practices. Beth’s primary focus is providing safe, high quality care to our patients by elevating our staff’s level of education and competency. We are so very lucky to have her,” said LaVelle’s supervisor Ann Fiala, director of quality and compliance for Westfields Hospital.

This was the first year Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, which also publishes a yearly Top Doctors issue, recognized nurses. They received nearly 100 nominations and honored 20 outstanding nurses during a dinner reception on July 19.

Westfields Hospital, located at 535 Hospital Road in New Richmond, is a full-service hospital offering emergency services, specialty clinics and maternity services, as well as medical and surgical inpatient and outpatient care. Westfields Hospital is part of the HealthPartners family of care.

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