Arizona Nurses Association bestows top honors on TMC, nurse manager

Michael Lally, RN, manages Unit 850, Neurology/Neurosurgery

Tucson Medical Center and one of its nurse managers took home top honors at the Arizona Nurses Association’s  Imagine Nurses Driving Healthcare biennial convention last month.

Tucson Medical Center received the Employer Excellence award and Michael Lally, MSN, RN, received the Excellence in Clinical Practice award.

“The employer award recognizes a tremendous amount of work over the last few years to create a nursing environment of excellence,” said Cheryl Young, TMC vice president and chief nursing officer.

“The effort has included not only hospital-wide initiatives, such as the full implementation of the electronic medical record, but a number of nurse-focused efforts,” she said, “such as our nursing councils and shared governance, our annual nursing report, and the nurse recognition you see in the Nursing Patio and Nursing Recognition Wall.”

As for Michael Lally, manager Unit 850, TMC’s neurology/neurosurgery floor, Young said, “you see excellence everyday on his unit. The support he gives to his staff and his patients is amazing.”

And the data backs this up, she said, noting continual improvements in patient satisfaction scores under his leadership.