A Marietta resident has worked as a registered nurse for more than a decade without making a dime. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

Joanna Griffin received Turner Broadcasting System's top award for volunteerism recently for her work at the MUST Ministries health care clinic.

The TBS PathFinders Program will donate $20,000 to the awardwinner's organization, a nonprofit, faith-based organization that helps low-income families.

Program director Andy Peabody said the money will go a long way at the clinic, where clients rarely can come up with prescription costs.

Griffin, a Marietta resident, schedules doctors, nurses and other volunteers at the clinic and does general maintenance and office work. She has started several programs, including Project Ideal, which helps Latinos manage their diabetes.

CAREGIVING AWARDS: Neuroscience nurse manager Roslyn Marshall, RN, and pediatric physical therapy assistant Melissa Braswell, RPTA, were named the winners of the 2006 Family Choice Awards. The awards are given annually to caregivers who demonstrate dedication to practicing patient- and family-centered care at Medical College of Georgia Health System in Augusta.

Honorable mention awards went to Rena Pearson Shaver, RN; Wanda Hatfield, RRT; Janet Barnett, PA; and Joy Benson, LPN.

STUDENT NURSING AWARDS: The National Student Nurses Association recognized several Georgiagroups and individuals at its 54th annual convention in Baltimore.

The Legislative/Education Award went to the Georgia Association of Nursing Students for projects promoting political activism at the state level.

The Breakthrough in Nursing Award went to the Emory University Student Nurses Association for having the most successful recruitment project. Emory student nurses organized a Career Day activity at a local inner- city middle school, during which students engaged classes in discussions about what nurses do, their clinical work experiences and nursing education.

The Emory University Student Nurses Association won the Web site contest for having the best school association site.

Special recognition was given to Dr. Susan Gunby, dean of the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University in Atlanta, who received the Leader of Leaders Award. She was nominated by her students for her exceptional commitment to and support of her students and the NSNA.

OUTSTANDING PROFESSOR: Corrine Abraham, an instructor in the Department of Adult and Elder Health Nursing at Emory University's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, was one of seven Emory professors to receive Emory Williams Awards for Distinguished Teaching at the university's commencement in May. Abraham is a resident of Marietta.

Emory's most prestigious awards for teaching were established in 1972 by alumnus Emory Williams.

EMORY APPOINTMENTS: The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University has announced two key personnel appointments.

Kenneth Hepburn, Ph.D., was named the school's first associate dean for research. In this new position Hepburn will provide leadership for and will further develop the school's burgeoning program of nursing research.

Hepburn held a similar role at the University of Minnesota, where he developed a research program for the school of nursing.

Sue K. Donaldson, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, has been named distinguished professor of nursing and interdisciplinary science. In this new position Donaldson will have a primary tenured appointment in the nursing school and a secondary appointment with the Department of Physiology in the Emory School of Medicine.

Donaldson has been elected to the Institute of Medicine and has received numerous honors and awards in nursing. She served as a full professor in both the schools of nursing and medicine at Johns Hopkins University and was dean of the Johns Hopkins School of
Nursing from 1994 to 2001.

ACADEMY FELLOW: The American Academy of Nursing has named Cynthia Chernecky, professor of physiological and technological nursing at the Medical College of Georgia, a fellow.

Chernecky is a member of the Scientific Review Committee for the Georgia Center of Oncology Research and Education and a board member of the East Georgia Cancer Networks Inc. She has edited 25 nursing books and was a finalist in 2005 for Nurse Research Paper of the Year for the Oncology Nursing Society.

BEST HOSPITALS LIST: In the 17th annual U.S. News & World Report guide to America's Best Hospitals, Emory University Hospital in Atlanta had eight specialties among the nation's best, including four in the top 20. The following specialties were recognized for excellence: heart and heart surgery (15); psychiatry (15); ophthalmology (16); neurology and neurosurgery (18); kidney disease (25); gynecology (33); ear, nose and throat (36); and urology (45).

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta was also ranked among the top hospitals, according to U.S. News & World Report, and was named one of the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the country by Child magazine. Four of the hospital's specialty services - cancer, cardiac, orthopedics and neonatal care - were named among the top five in the nation by Child.

NEW NURSE ADMINISTRATOR: Cathleen Wheatley, MS, RN, BC, has been appointed assistant administrator and director of patient care services at DeKalb Medical Center at Hillandale in Lithonia. In this role, she oversees the hospital's clinical departments.
A graduate of Georgia State University, Wheatley is a clinical nurse specialist and is completing coursework for her doctorate in nursing. She began her tenure at DeKalb Medical Center in 2003 and previously served as systemwide director of medical/surgical services. She was named DeKalb Medical Center's Leader of the Year.

NEW DIRECTOR: Piedmont Fayette Hospital has named Earlie Rockette, RN, as director of women's services. She'll be responsible for overseeing the development of obstetrical services at the hospital.

"Earlie has a broad range of experience in women's health, and we are fortunate to have her with us," said Darrell Cutts, president and CEO.

Rockette has more than 20 years' experience in clinical and managerial roles in women's services. She is a certified nurse practitioner in women's health and holds an MS degree in perinatal/neonatal nursing from Emory University.

EMPLOYEE HEALTH DIRECTOR: Michele Y. Wallace, RNC, MSN, MSHCA, NNP, is the new director of employee health at MCG Health Inc. She was previously CNO/director of nursing at Wills Memorial Hospital in Washington, Ga., and was a neonatal nurse practitioner at MCG Health System for eight years.

Wallace holds a BSN degree from Dallas Baptist University, an MSN from the University of New York and a master's of science in health care administration from Bellevue University in Nebraska.