Addictions Center Appoints Nurse as CEO, Emergency Nurses Association Recognizes Class of 2021, and More Nursing News

Emergency nurses and doctor quickly wheel patient bed down hospital hallway

A nurse has been appointed CEO at an addictions center in North Carolina. The Emergency Nurses Association has inducted 11 individuals as part of its Academy of Emergency Nursing Class of 2021. A registered nurse has been named Medical Professional of the Year by the Florida Behavioral Health Association (FBHA). Read on for more nursing news and insights.

Addictions center appoints nurse as chief executive officer

Barbara Bennett, RN, has been named the chief executive officer at The Pavillon, a substance use disorder treatment center located in Mill Spring, NC.

A licensed clinical addictions specialist and certified addictions registered nurse, Bennett also holds the credential of legal nurse consultant. Her work with nurses struggling with addictions earned her the North Carolina Nurses Association Peer Assistance Award, named forever afterwards as the “Barbara J. Bennett Peer Assistance Award,” according to Pavillon officials.

“When Pavillon was founded 25 years ago, our goal was to help those struggling with the disease of substance use disorder,” Bennett said in a prepared statement. “Today, the need for quality treatment is more urgent than ever. The landscape of treatment has changed drastically in the 25 years since our founding, but our core principles and our mission remain the same: to provide high-quality, patient-centered treatment that helps individuals overcome the burden of the disease.”

The Pavillon is a not-for-profit substance use disorder treatment center with a 6:1 patient to counselor ratio, which allows opportunities for both group and one-on-one interaction. The residential facility has 50 beds, with an additional 24 beds for extended care, which provides an additional level of residential drug and alcohol treatment.

Individualized, gender-specific residential treatment is built around a 12-step model that includes health, wellness, and spirituality programs to aid patients in healing, hope, and recovery.

The Pavillon also offers a full-service outpatient center in Greenville, SC, with an array of services for substance use disorder. The center offers individual counseling, two intensive outpatient programs, and appointments with the physician/addictionologist.

Learn more about the intersection of nursing and behavioral health in the course, Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders: Clinical Challenges and Psychopharmacology.

Emergency Nurses Association recognizes class of 2021

The Emergency Nurses Association has inducted 11 individuals as part of its Academy of Emergency Nursing Class of 2021. Created in 2004, the Academy was developed to recognize emergency nurses who have advanced the profession and provided leadership to the organization. More than 170 emergency nurses have reportedly been inducted.

The 2021 class includes:

  • Wesley Davis, DNP, APRN, CEN
  • Margaret Dymond, BSN, RN, DCS, ENC(C)
  • Michael Frakes, MS, APRN, CEN, FACHE
  • David House, DNP, RN, CEN
  • Deb Jeffries, MSN-Ed., RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN
  • David McDonald, MSN, RN, APN, CEN, TCRN, CCNS
  • Brittany Punches, PhD, RN, CEN
  • Deborah Spann, MSN, RN, CEN
  • Lisa Tenney, BSN, RN, CEN, CPHRM
  • Joni Hentzen Daniels (Posthumous), MS, RN, CNS, CEN, CCRN
  • Carolyn Jones (Honorary)

“Becoming a fellow in the Academy of Emergency Nursing is a truly great honor for an emergency nurse,” said Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, EMT, CEN, ACNS-BC, TCRN, president, in a prepared statement. “This class of inductees has done an incredible job of elevating the profession, the association, and most importantly, themselves.”

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Registered nurse named professional of the year

Kelly Jenkins-Gregory, RN, BSN, director of nursing at SMA Healthcare in Daytona Beach, FL, has been named Medical Professional of the Year by the Florida Behavioral Health Association (FBHA). The honor comes as part of the organization’s Awards of Excellence, which honor Florida’s best behavioral health professionals each year, according to the FBHA.

Jenkins-Gregory has served her community in a number of roles, and now leads her organization’s nursing team. Whether she is working directly with patients on the floor, or functioning in an administrative role, every decision she makes puts the health and safety of clients first. Her kindness and compassion are second to none, said officials at SMA Healthcare.

“Kelly is deeply dedicated to the health and wellbeing of our clients, and she ensures our provision of exceptional healthcare services,” said Ivan Cosimi, chief executive officer at SMA Healthcare. “She is a selfless leader who always puts her clients and her team before herself. She is a true asset to our community and role model for our entire SMA Healthcare team.”

FBHA is a non-profit organization that provides statewide leadership on behavioral health policy and practice.

Explore essentials of nursing leadership in our in-depth series: Leadership and Nursing Practice Specialty.

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