Copyright cherokeephoenix
SALINA – Cherokee Nation citizen Rodney Stewart was selected as a Great 100 Nurses of Oklahoma honoree in September – highlighting his more than 20-year career in the nursing field. The Great 100 Nurses Foundation has honored thousands of nurses across Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas since its founding nearly 40 years ago by New Orleans Registered Nurse, PK Scheerle. According to g100nurses.org, nurses are selected based on their concern for humanity, contributions to the nursing profession and their mentorship of others. Stewart, a registered nurse or RN, started his nursing career in 2003 as a licensed practical nurse or LPN. “I think it started from a very personal and compassionate place. Watching nurses take care of an ailing grandma while growing up gave me a deeper understanding of the impact a nurse can have, not just on the body, but on the emotional well-being of patients and their families,” he said. He started his career at the then-Mayes County Medical Center emergency room in Pryor, Oklahoma. In 2008, he began doing home health care for Cherokee Nation while also working shifts at the W.W. Hastings Hospital emergency room in Tahlequah. “Home health gave me an opportunity to learn and try some more advanced wound care, so in 2013 I started at Healogics Outpatient Wound Care. I worked there until 2019 and found my way back to the ER at Hillcrest Pryor,” he said. “While at Hillcrest Pryor, I got to help with COVID relief in an ER in New Jersey in the hardest hit county in the state.” Stewart also lived and worked in Oklahoma City and started working in the RN system float for Integris Health, which allows him to work in any Integris ER facility. “Last year we moved back home to Salina (Oklahoma), and I started working at Integris Grove,” he said. In addition to being selected to the Great 100 Nurses list, earlier this year Stewart also received the prestigious DAISY Award given to nurses who go above and beyond not only to provide excellence in clinical care, but also work with compassion, according to daisyfoundation.org. Given through the DAISY Foundation, it is an international recognition program that honors nurses for the compassion and skill they display as they care for the patients and families they serve. “Rodney truly loves what he does and as a fellow nurse, I can truly say he is one of the very best at what he does. Not only is he a great nurse, but he is an outstanding educator, dedicated mentor and a thoughtful co-worker,” his wife Brandi said. Stewart said he is appreciative of the recognition he has received for doing something he is passionate about. “I’ve been blessed working with some great nurses that have mentored me throughout my career. I continue to work with some great nurses that I still learn from today,” he said. “I will strive to improve the life and health of any patient or family that I have the privilege to take care of.”
