ENA Foundation Chair, Longtime ENA Supporter Receives Association’s Highest Honor

ENA’s annual achievement awards recognize exemplary emergency nursing professionals 

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (June 14, 2021) – Known for her spirited enthusiasm and undeniable passion for emergency nursing, Sally Snow, BSN, RN, CPEN, FAEN, will now be recognized for her career-long commitment to the Emergency Nurses Association as the recipient of the 2021 Judith C. Kelleher Award.

The award, named for one of ENA’s co-founders, is the association’s most prestigious honor. Snow, a proud Texas native, became an ENA member in 1981 and has served in many roles at the state and association-wide level over the last four decades as everything from a member of multiple state committees to a five-year stint on the ENA Board of Directors.

As the 2021 ENA Foundation chairperson, Snow leads ENA’s philanthropic efforts that support emergency nurses with educational grants and scholarships. Whether focused on the care of pediatric patients in the ED or advocating for emergency nurses in Washington, D.C., Snow has spent her entire career committed to care.

“I have dedicated most of my professional life to ENA with great commitment and pride, so I am thrilled to receive the Kelleher award. It is the pinnacle of my career,” said Snow, who added that she cherished the time she was able to spend with Kelleher. “To be worthy of this prestigious award make me realize that all the time put in was worth every mile traveled, every missed soccer game and every missed birthday. My family would agree with that – they always knew, and still know, what being an emergency nurse and an ENA member means to me.”

ENA President Ron Kraus, MSN, RN, EMT, CEN, ACNS-BC, TCRN, pointed to Snow’s passion as a defining characteristic.

“She’s a fundraiser, an educator, a mentor and arguably one of ENA’s biggest champions in every sense of the word,” Kraus offered. “The association, from the smallest chapter in her home state up to ENA’s biggest stages, is better for everything Sally has brought to it over the last 40 years.”

On Monday, ENA also announced the recipients of nine other individual awards, as well as the annual State Council Achievement Awards and two other team-based awards, including the inaugural Crisis Response Team Award.

In their unique ways, each award highlights emergency nurses who exemplify exceptional performance in professional practice, innovation and leadership.

“ENA’s annual achievement awards provide a snapshot into the amazing ways ENA members are impacting emergency nursing, health care and their communities. These recipients exemplify what our 53,000 members in the United States and internationally do every day,” Kraus added.

The 2021 ENA award recipients will be recognized during Emergency Nursing 2021 – A Hybrid Xperience in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 22-25:

Barbara A. Foley Quality, Safety and Injury Prevention Award: DeAnna Gillespie, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, of Texas

Behind the Scenes Award: Steve Snow, of Texas

Crisis Response Team Awards:

Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center Emergency Department, Wisconsin

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center Emergency Department, Indiana

University Hospital Emergency Department, New Jersey

Gail P. Lenehan Advocacy Award: Karen Wiley, MSN, RN, CEN, of Nebraska

Lifetime Achievement Award: Patricia Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, of Kentucky

Media Award: “Local Nurse Turns Grief into a Silver Lining” – Cathy Fox, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN FAEN, of Virginia

Nurse Manager Award: Kelly Howe, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CCRN, of Kansas

Nurse Researcher Award: Sue Anne Bell, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, NHDP-BC, FAAN, of Michigan

Nursing Practice and Professionalism Award: Curtis Townsend, MHA, RN, CEN, of Texas

Rising Star Award: Dorine Barbre, BSN, RN, of Texas

Team Award: Southwest Trailblazers Chapter 474 Indiana ENA

In addition to the individual honors, eight states – Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Washington – received 2021 State Council Achievement Awards for their outstanding local efforts last year.

On the philanthropy side, the ENA Foundation named its recipients of two new awards making their debut in 2021

Cornerstone Award: The Texas ENA State Council is the first recipient of the Cornerstone Award which recognizes a commitment to the Foundation and philanthropy through a particular project or over a period of time.

Keystone Award: The inaugural Keystone Award was given to Victoria Bradley, Jon Huddy, Don Payerle and Lynne Smith in recognition of their significant lifetime contributions in support of the Foundation’s work.