2012 Nurse of the Year

Mary Haddow, RN-BC, CWCN

Nomination information: Cindy Walker

This candidate is being nominated for outstanding nurse based on her many years of service to WOCN, both locally (Baltimore and DC affiliates)and regionally, and for her commitment to outstanding patient care.  Certified in Wound Care in 1998, this nurse joined the Baltimore WOCN affiliate in 1999 and became secretary of the group that year.  WOCN offices held include:

  • Secretary of Baltimore Affiliate for several years
  • Treasurer of Baltimore Affiliate for several years
  • Treasurer of MAR WOCN 2009 to present
  • Nominating Committee Chair, MAR WOCN, 2005 and member for several years
  • Bylaws Committee Chair, 2009; Served during Bylaws Revision and for several years

In addition to WOCN activity, this nominee enhances her Wound Care knowledge and service by being active in the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC).  Her accomplishments in AAWC include:

  • Contributing editor AAWC Newsletter, 2006 to present
  • Consumer Representative AAWC Board of Directors, 2008 to present
  • SAWC host committee for four years
  • Member of AAWC Public Awareness Task Force

This person not only serves on committees, she is very attentive to details, knows how to see projects through to completion and mentors new committee members.  She readily shares insight and advice on WOCN matters with her colleagues, gained from her years of experiences.  She is very often known to enlist the help of her husband to accomplish her duties.  In the past she arranged for him to give an affiliate lecture on how to present a power point presentation.  More recently she was instrumental in connecting her husband with “Legs to Stand On”, a committee of physicians and physical therapists who are developing protective footwear for the people of Ghana.  He is working on the business end of the committee, to develop the footwear and advise on getting it to the third world people.

Attendance at WOCN conferences helps improve medical knowledge and patient care.  This nurse is a frequent attendee of WOCN regional and national conferences, and SAWC conferences.  At the Clinical Symposium for Advances in Wound Care 2010 (Orlando), she co-presented ”Emerging Technologies in Wound Care Education:  Use of Robotic Simulation and Serious Games”.   At the same Symposium in 2011 (DC) she helped present “Wound Care Essentials and Simulation Practicum”, presenting the Nursing perspective, including dressing selection based on wound characteristics, and reimbursement criteria and issues.  This nurse has also helped to write the following wound-related educational brochures and columns:

  • ABC’s of Skin and Wound Care
  • The Skin You’re In
  • Dress and Compress for Success
  • Take the Pressure Off
  • Real World Wound Care column editor for AAWC Newsletter

She was also a co-presenter for the MAR and SAWC poster “Translating Best Practice Standards into Patient Brochures that are Understandable”.

Currently this nurse is employed as the wound care specialist and office nurse for a private practice.  In the past she was a case manager for a busy home health agency, providing both wound and ostomy care to her patients.  For many years she was the wound care nurse and clinical consultant for a pharmaceutical company.  She takes every responsibility to heart and tries to ensure the best outcomes, whether it is patient care or member duties.  Her years of dedication and countless long hours working behind the scenes for both the WOCN affiliates and MAR have earned her the respect of her colleagues and made her a worthy nominee for the WOC Nurse of The Year Award.