Oro Valley Hospital nurse earns national excellence honor | News

A registered nurse in Oro Valley Hospital’s emergency department is one of 10 national recipients of a Nursing Excellence Award from Community Health Systems.

Nardos Feshazion, RN, who has worked at Oro Valley Hospital for almost two years, was surprised by hospital leadership with a crystal plaque and a symbolic check for the cash award she received.

“Nardos, you show up with 100% of your heart every single time,” wrote Shelley Gouby, director of the hospital’s emergency department.

“You champion change, fight for our staff, and give everything you have to lift up your peers even when you are pulling the heavy weight yourself,” Gouby said in the nomination form. “That level of grit and resilience is rare, and I see it. Your dedication is quite literally building the future of nursing … The future of health care in our entire region is safer because you help shape the next generation.”

Recipients were chosen from hospitals and providers affiliated with Community Health Systems, parent company of Oro Valley Hospital, Northwest Medical Center, and related facilities and services. CHS develops and operates health care delivery systems, to include 60 hospitals, in 32 distinct markets across 12 states.

The Nursing Excellence Award program was created in 2020 with the celebration of the “Year of the Nurse” as a means “to recognize the tremendous effort and sacrifice made by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic,” a release said. “This is the sixth occasion for the peer-nominated award recognizing the vital work nurses play in Northwest Healthcare’s work to make the health care experience exceptional.”

Award recipients provide outstanding, compassionate, innovative care, the release said. They are team players, mentors to others, leaders in times of crisis and regular promotors of health in the community, the release continued.

Northwest Healthcare is an integrated health care provider with four hospitals — Northwest Medical Center, Oro Valley Hospital, Northwest Medical Center Sahuarita, and Northwest Medical Center Houghton; two Northwest Emergency Centers in Vail and Marana; many Northwest Urgent Cares; Northwest Women’s Center; Northwest Primary & Specialty Care clinics; Northwest Tucson Surgery Center; Tucson Surgery Center; a skilled nursing facility; and Northwest Transitions inpatient rehabilitation facility.

To learn more, visit HealthierTucson.com.