Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award Marks 10th Anniversary with Call for Nominations to Honor Exceptional Healthcare Professionals

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cherokee Uniforms, a leading provider of medical scrubs, is accepting nominations for its 10th annual Inspired Comfort Award until June 30, 2012. Winners will be announced in October. Entering its second decade, the award continues to recognize extraordinary nurses and non-physician healthcare professionals who demonstrate exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation in patient care and serve as an inspiration to colleagues, peers, family and friends.

"Being chosen as a winner gave me a renewed sense of pride in the significance of what nurses contribute to today's society. Patients look to nurses to help make their lives better and give them hope by lending their hands and hearts, which continues to be my commitment to nursing and the people I serve," said Ardis Bush, a director of nursing, Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston, TX, and a recipient of the inaugural Inspired Comfort Award in 2003.

Ten years later, nearly 10,000 healthcare professionals have been nominated across various nursing and non-physician disciplines with a total of 87 recipients granted the award to date. A grand prize of a Caribbean cruise for two will be awarded in each of the five nomination categories.

"The Inspired Comfort Award highlights the daily hard work and dedication of healthcare professionals, while motivating colleagues and peers to do the same," said Michael Singer, Chief Executive Officer of Cherokee Uniforms. "As the award celebrates its tenth year, it reinforces the importance of going above and beyond in patient care even while facing challenges ranging from a dramatic shortage of workers and higher than expected patient loads to longer work hours."

Nominations
Nominations can take place at www.inspiredcomfort.com/nominate or via nomination forms available at Cherokee Uniforms retailers nationwide, which can be found at www.cherokeeuniforms.com/content/storelocator.php. 

Nomination categories include Registered Nurses (RNs); Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs); Licensed Practical Nurses/Licensed Vocational Nurses (LPNs/LVNs); Students enrolled in nursing school; and other Non-Physician Healthcare Professionals. Candidates may be nominated in two categories, but can only win in one. A panel of nurse leaders, Cherokee professionals and former award recipients will choose winners who best meet the program's criteria of exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation.

Nominations must contain an accurate description (100 words or more) of the candidate's exceptional performance which must have taken place at least in part in 2011. For every healthcare professional nominated through June 30, 2012, Cherokee Uniforms will make a donation to Nurses House, a national fund that provides short-term financial assistance to registered nurses facing serious hardship. Nominations are due by 11:59 p.m. on June 30. For further information on the award, please visit www.inspiredcomfort.com/blog or follow the award on Twitter- @Inspired Comfort and Facebook at www.facebook.com/cherokeeuniforms. Nominees, nominators and supporters are encouraged to communicate about their participation on Twitter by using the hashtag: #ICAward.

Prizes
The grand prize winner in each category will receive an all-expense-paid Caribbean cruise for two. Additional winners in each category will receive all-expense-paid trips to a 2013 U.S. medical conference of each winner's choice and an annual membership to their preferred clinical association. All winners will receive a wardrobe featuring the best of Cherokee Uniforms and Cherokee Footwear worth more than $1,000, a crystal Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award, a 14K gold-plated commemorative pin, a year's subscription to Scrubs – the nation's first lifestyle magazine for nurses – and a $500 donation in their name to the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation. To help celebrate the award's 10th anniversary, those who nominate any winner will receive a $500 Cherokee medical wardrobe and a $500 donation in their name to the DAISY Foundation. And, any institution named on more than 200 eligible nominations will be awarded a $1,000 unrestricted grant.

Cherokee Uniforms
Cherokee Uniforms, Tooniforms and Cherokee Footwear are leading brands in healthcare apparel, recognized for helping to foster a warmer, friendlier, more comfortable environment for healthcare workers and their patients. The company recognizes the incredible value of nurses and other healthcare professionals through the inspirational nurses' film "A Nurse I Am", the A Nurse I Am Scholarship (www.anurseiam.com) and the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award (www.inspiredcomfort.com), which honors and rewards exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation. Cherokee Uniforms proudly supports the DAISY Foundation, which serves the nursing profession through recognition and retention programs for nurses and grants for nursing research. For more, visit www.cherokeeuniforms.com. For timely updates and offers, Like us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/cherokeeuniforms and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/inspiredcomfort.

SOURCE Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award