Heritage Valley Health System announces the 2016 Cameos of Caring Awardees as William Penney, RN, Progressive Care / Critical Care Unit at Heritage Valley Sewickley and Mary Kilhof, RN, Cardiopulmonary Unit at Heritage Valley Beaver.
The Cameos of Caring Award honors exceptional bedside nurses who work in acute care hospitals. Recipients must demonstrate a commitment to consistent, evidenced based clinical decision-making and excellence in nursing care; serve as an effective advocate for patients and their families; encourage and motivate others, and be recognized as a role model for the profession of nursing; practice nursing involving direct patient care; be a licensed RN and be a direct employee of the hospital.
William Penney, RN, graduated from the Community College of Beaver County in 2013 with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing and is currently a Registered Nurse on the Progressive Care Unit and Critical Care Unit at Heritage Valley Sewickley. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing and will graduate in December. During his career William has had the opportunity to work with nursing students, orient recent graduate nurses and is currently part of the Customer Experience Team at Heritage Valley Sewickley. He explains that he was mentored with patience, kindness, compassion and encouragement and believes those values helped mold him into the nurse he is today. “When I mentor nursing students and new nurses, I use those same values,” he added.
Mary Kilhof, RN, graduated from the Beaver County Community College in 1990 with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing and is currently a Registered Nurse on the Cardiopulmonary Unit at Heritage Valley Beaver. Mary feels the most satisfying part of her career is the opportunity to educate and advocate for patients. Nursing enables Mary to care for patients in the community and has made it possible for her to be an advocate for family members and friends. “Nursing gave me the opportunity to be an advocate for my own father as he suffered from heart disease and I will be forever grateful for that,” she added. “It also made it possible for me to participate in a medical mission in Honduras which helped me spiritually. I am proud of my nursing profession and the opportunity to serve others.”
“Heritage Valley is fortunate to have highly skilled and dedicated nurses at all of our locations,” said Linda Homyk, MSN, RN, vice president and chief nursing officer, patient care services at Heritage Valley Health System. “William and Mary are excellent nurses who are committed to patient care and promoting the nursing profession. We’re proud to have them as Cameos of Caring awardees this year.”
William and Mary will be honored at the 18th Annual Cameos of Caring Awards Gala on Saturday, November 5, 2016 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
About Heritage Valley Health System
Heritage Valley Health System is a $480 million integrated delivery network providing comprehensive health care for residents of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties, in Pennsylvania; eastern Ohio; and the panhandle of West Virginia. In partnership with 3,500 employees and more than 480 physicians, Heritage Valley offers a broad range of medical, surgical and diagnostic services at its two hospitals, Heritage Valley Sewickley and Heritage Valley Beaver; in 60 physician offices; and 18 community satellite facilities. For more information about Heritage Valley Health System, please visit www.heritagevalley.org.