Oakland University announces winners of 36th Annual Nightingale Awards

Oakland University’s School of Nursing and its Board of Visitors have announced the 2024 Nightingale Award winners and runners-up. This year’s top nurses in Michigan come from a variety of clinical roles and settings and are recognized as exceptional in the healthcare field.

This year’s Nightingale Awards Ceremony will honor 10 winners and 10 runners-up in 10 different nursing categories. Awardees are nominated by their peers and supervisors, and recognized as exceptional in their nursing roles in both clinical and nonclinical settings.

Oakland University School of Nursing will host this annual celebration of nursing, during National Nurses Week on May 8, 2024.

Thanks to the support from Presenting Sponsor Henry Ford Health, along with the other generous sponsors, individual donations and support from the School of Nursing Board of Visitors, The Nightingale Awards provides future nurses with scholarships, including the Nightingale Legacy Scholarship. This endowed scholarship will be awarded annually to nursing students who display the pioneering spirit of Florence Nightingale.

“We take our mission of educating and helping to create top nurses in Michigan very seriously,” said OU School of Nursing Dean, Dr. Christopher L. Coleman. “Our goal is to create more nurses who emulate the spirit and tenacity of Florence Nightingale — innovative, passionate nurses who can change the world.”

The Nightingale Awards Ceremony will be on Wednesday, May 8, 2024 in the Oakland Center Ballrooms, on Oakland University’s main campus in Rochester Hills, Mich. Each Nightingale Award winner receives a check for $1,000, a solid bronze statue of Florence Nightingale and a Nightingale pin. Runners-up receive a commemorative plaque.

For more information on the event or to purchase tickets to attend the event, please contact Kate Lionas in OU School of Nursing at (248) 364-8723 or by email at nightingale@oakland.edu or visit oakland.edu/nursing/nightingale.

2024 Nightingale Award Categories - Winners & Runners Up:

Excellence in Advanced Practice Nursing

Winner: Katherine Oag, DMC, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Rochester Hills, MI

Runner-Up: Navneet Strickland, Ascension - St. John Hospital, Flat Rock, Mi

Excellence in Nursing Research

Winner: Cynthera McNeill, Wayne State University College of Nursing, Southfield, MI

Runner-Up: Jennifer L. Hoffman, Eastern Michigan University School of Nursing

Oakland University, School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni

Winner: Ashlee Barnes, University of Detroit Mercy, College of Health Professions & McAuley

School of Nursing, Birmingham, MI

Runner-Up: Sarah Berry, Corewell Health, Oxford, MI

Excellence in Education

Winner: Olga Ehrlich, Oakland University School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI

Runner-Up: Kellie Gartland, Trinity Health, Fenton, MI

Excellence in Nursing Leadership

Winner: Lisa Bauer, Oakland County Health Division, Rochester, MI

Runner-Up: Cathleen McCloskey, Henry Ford Health, White Lake, MI

Executive Administration

Winner: Tricia Haener, McLaren Macomb, Riverview, MI

Runner-Up: Kathy Moore, Corewell Health Dearborn, Detroit, MI

Nursing in the Community

Winner: Tara L. Walker, Wayne State University, College of Nursing, Farmington Hills, MI

Runner-Up: Angela Varela, Oakland County Health Division, Holly, MI

Post-Acute Care & Specialty Nursing

Winner: Amy Sweet, Michigan Medicine, HomeMed Infusion & Specialty Pharmacy Services,

Flat Rock MI

Runner-Up: Krystal Waldrup, Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital, Royal

Oak, MI

Staff Nurse

Winner: Samantha Shotwell, Ascension Providence Southfield, West Bloomfield, MI

Runner-Up: Michelle Curtis, Corewell Health Taylor, Woodhaven, MI

People’s Choice Award

Winner: Tina Poisson, Henry Ford Health - Detroit, Windsor, ON

Runner-Up: Susan Fellows, Oakland County Health Division, Waterford, MI