Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
May 22, 2002
Erie, Pa., nurse wins $10,000 for ideas on ending nursing shortage
Sense of doing God's work pervades nursing, contest organizer says
ERIE, Pa. (CNS) — Elaine Hlopick, a registered nurse at St. Vincent Health Center in Erie, received a $10,000 check May 8 for her suggestion that the Catholic Health Association help to solve the nationwide nursing shortage by promoting the image of nurses as compassionate and essential to the outcome of patient care.
The award ceremony during National Nurses Week marked the close of a competition sponsored by CHA's Catholic Ministry Nurse Work Force Initiative.
Hlopick, a 26-year veteran of nursing, said the long-term solution to the nursing shortage "lies in making nurses feel respected, recognized and valued." Her proposals included a national effort by Catholic health care institutions to celebrate the contribution of nurses and the development of nursing advocacy offices at each facility that would promote nurses' accomplishments and identify and deal with any problems or concerns.
Father Michael D. Place, CHA president and chief executive officer, called Hlopick's ideas "important contributions to the dialogue over how the Catholic health ministry can create a more stable work force and an improved work environment."
The CHA contest received nearly 350 entries from nurses across the country, including staff nurses, supervisors, directors of nursing, student nurses and faculty.
Other entries proposed conducting research to redesign the nursing workplace, providing tuition-free scholarships and developing service clubs in Catholic grade schools that would combine information about nursing with service projects.
"Our ministry is already engaged in improving the workplace to recruit and retain nurses, and I am sure that the wealth of ideas generated by nurses themselves will inspire further creative responses," said Father Place.
A member of St. Philip Parish in Crossingsville, Pa., Hlopick is the mother of four, including a daughter who has followed her into the nursing profession. She earned her bachelor's degree at Carlow College in Pittsburgh and a master's degree in nursing at Gannon University in Erie.
"The profession is in an almost clinical depression," she said. "In fact, when my daughter said she wanted to become a nurse, I argued against her going into nursing. My reaction to her plans made me do a lot of soul-searching for myself.
"It made me come full circle and helped me remember what I love about my job, that I went into it to care for patients," she added. "I was able to see more clearly what has gone wrong, and that gave me some ideas about what needs to be done to fix nursing — all of which led to my proposal to CHA."
Julie Trocchio, CHA senior director for long-term care, said the competition brought out a variety of ideas that could be tapped in the future to strengthen relationships with nurses.
"One of the key issues that emerged through this exercise was how unhappy so many nurses are who work in the ministry. So many of the entries were practically tear-stained," Trocchio said. "There was, however, such a sense of spirituality related to nursing. They are doing God's work."
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