Larry Clifford, director of marketing and business development for the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, and Karen Thoftne, vice president of patient services for Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital & Clinics, present Melanie Breunig, RN, BSN with the Nurse Excellence Award.

Breunig Recognized for Nursing Excellence

Melanie Breunig, RN, BSN, of Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital & Clinics (SPMHC) received the 2009 Nurse Excellence Award for staff nurses from the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative (RWHC).  

Breunig has been a registered nurse for 13 years.  Eleven of those years have been devoted to SPMHC where she works as an ICU and wound care nurse with advanced practice capabilities in diabetes, heart failure, and ostomy care.  She has played a critical role in developing new and innovative guidelines, protocols, documentation procedures, disease management, and patient education techniques.  Breunig was cited for her professionalism, motivation, initiative, and caring touch with patients.  In addition, she promotes the nursing profession by serving as a preceptor and getting involved with various scholarship/health career programs.

Also nominated from SPMHC for the Nurse Excellence Awards were Jill Baxter; Beth Martinka and Robin Labeots.

According to Tim Size, executive director of the RWHC, the Nurse Excellence Awards were initiated to recognize high quality nursing practice provided by the hospitals serving rural communities. Nurses in community hospital settings must be well educated, well rounded at clinical practice, and have the ability to respond to a variety of age groups, diagnoses, and patient emergencies. Establishment of this award is public recognition that excellence in nursing practice is a valuable asset to rural communities and the state of Wisconsin.