American Sentinel University and Colorado Hospital Association Name SCL Health – Good Samaritan Medical Center, Infection Preventionists Colorado Health Care Stars

American Sentinel University and Colorado Hospital Association named Anne Dennis, Infection Prevention Manager and Kelley Knapek, Infection Prevention Specialist with SCL Health – Good Samaritan Medical Center (GSMC), as Colorado Health Care Star Award winners. This award recognizes them as exceptional health care professionals.

Colorado Health Care Stars is a statewide health care professional award recognition program sponsored by American Sentinel University and Colorado Hospital Association. The program was launched in February 2015 to acknowledge industry professionals in Colorado who exceed expectations in the delivery of health care.

Kelley and Anne have worked tirelessly to prevent hospital acquired infections across GSMC and engage front line employees in the process. They are highly collaborative with physicians, educators, and charge nurses to ensure GSMC provides the safest care for patients.

“A great example of their dedication is the work Kelley and Anne have done around catheter-associated urinary tract infections and central line-associated bloodstream infections,” said Elizabeth Stanton, Director of Professional Practice & Magnet Program at GSMC. “They collaborated with nursing education and the vascular access team to create in-person skill checkoffs and e-modules for foley and central line care for our staff members. They recruited a physician champion to support their work and address the necessity of lines during critical care rounds. And, they also collaborated with computer informatics to design a foley and central line report, which empowered charge nurses to easily identify fall-outs and unnecessary lines, and provide appropriate coaching to nurses to ensure best practice.”

“Kelley and Anne are excellent examples of health care stars because of their passion toward empowering frontline staff,” said Michael Rickart, Vice President of Partner Engagement for American Sentinel University. “They demonstrate the power of collaboration in health care and we are proud that our partnership with the Colorado Hospital Association allows us to honor their achievements.”

Learn more about American Sentinel University’s online degree programs at https://www.americansentinel.edu/ or call 866.922.5690.