Bartow, Fla. – Bartow Regional Medical Center (BRMC) honored seven Unit Nurses of
the Year and a Nurse of Excellence.
Each honored nurse was selected by their peers and chosen from every patient care
unit at the hospital. The regional BayCare Professional Practice Council, comprised of
staff nurses from BayCare facilities in Polk County, then chose the Nurse of Excellence
from the group of unit-based Nurse of the Year honorees. Nominations for these awards
are based on how each nurse demonstrates and consistently reflects the BayCare
values of trust, respect, dignity, responsibility and excellence.
Sandra Swain, the 2023 Nurse of Excellence, works in the Imaging/Radiology
Department. Sandra’s nursing career began in 1985, graduating from the University of
Phoenix with her BSN degree. She has worked at BRMC for 15 years. She was here
in 2016 when BRMC became a BayCare facility and was instrumental in that transition.
Sandra says that she knew as a very, very young child that her “life mission would be
special. Nursing found me and when it did, I knew it would be the way I could touch
people and change lives. I had no idea the magnitude, the challenge, the satisfaction,
and the honor being a nurse would bring.”
Sandra’s teammates have tremendous respect for the experience and expertise she
brings to every patient situation. Her passion for nursing excellence is obvious. “Sandra
truly puts her heart into her work!” Her fellow team members also say:
- “Sandra treats her patients with the utmost care. She goes above and beyond
in helping her patients feel at ease.” - “Sandra respects each individual as if they were her own family. She has a
heart of gold!” - “Sandra explains what is involved with the procedure and lets you know that
she will be with you the whole time. And a patient recently validated this,
noting, “I was nervous before my procedure, and she stood by my side during
the whole thing.”
Sandra’s personal motto is, “Treat patients and coworkers with the same care, respect,
compassion, and patience as I do my family.”
The Unit Nurses of the Year for Bartow Regional Medical Center are:
- Alvaro Garcia, Surgical Services
- Marchel Fairchild, Acute Care Unit
- Peggy Wells, Cardiovascular Telemetry (PCU and PSU)
- Shannon Hernandez, Emergency Department
- Yesenia Lozano, Intensive Care Unit
- Sandra Swain, Imaging/Radiology
About Bartow Regional Medical Center
Bartow Regional Medical Center, part of BayCare Health System, is a 72-bed acute
care hospital serving South Lakeland, Bartow, Ft. Meade, Mulberry, rural south Polk
County and northern Hardee County. Physicians and healthcare professionals at Bartow
Regional Medical Center provide a variety of services. The hospital is equipped with
four surgery suites and two gastroenterology suites. The emergency services
department is staffed with board-certified emergency physicians and specially trained
nurses, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to treat all types of emergency situations.
The hospital is located at 2200 Osprey Blvd., Bartow, Fla. For more information:
BayCare.org/BRMC.
About BayCare long
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and
families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient
locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. The system is West
Central Florida’s largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services and
its provider group, BayCare Medical Group, is one of the largest in the
region. BayCare’s diverse network of ambulatory services includes laboratories,
imaging, surgical centers, BayCare Urgent Care locations, wellness centers and one of
Florida’s largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare. Its Medicare Advantage
insurance, BayCarePlus, is among the region’s few 5-star-rated plans and the system is
ranked in the top 20 percent by Fortune/Merative. BayCare’s mission is to improve the
health of all it serves through community-owned, health care services that set the
standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information visit BayCare.org.