National 'Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award' Winners Announced

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Cherokee Uniforms announced today the four winners of the 2010 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award. The recipients embody the most outstanding characteristics of the healthcare community. Each one was chosen for their exemplary service to those in need, as well as for implementing innovative solutions to industry challenges.

"The recipients of the 2010 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award demonstrate the life-changing impact people with creativity, a strong vision and a commitment to never give up can have on their communities," said Michael Singer, Chief Executive Officer of Cherokee Uniforms. "We are honored to salute their incredible work and relentless commitment to the healthcare professions."

A panel of Cherokee representatives and past Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award recipients selected the honorees. This year's winners are:

Registered Nurses (RNs):

Grand Prize Winner – Samantha Abate – RN – South Jersey Healthcare System (SJH), Vineland, NJ

Samantha Abate created a program that successfully prepares registered nurses to earn their national certification in progressive care nursing.  She is also being saluted for her innovative research project demonstrating that congestive heart failure patients are willing to exercise more frequently when pet therapy is integrated into their treatment plan.  

Top National Prize Winner – Peggy Folgate – RN – FHN Community Health Care Center, Freeport, IL

Peggy Folgate sees firsthand the desperation that being uninsured has on her patients.  Knowing that pharmaceutical companies provide medications at no cost to the uninsured and that medication tracking and management is a national problem, Folgate created a drug-management system comprised of the available medications and the patients who could benefit.

National Prize Winner – Peggy Matthews – RN – Methodist Fayette Hospital, Somerville, TN

Peggy Matthews created a peaceful, "end-of-life" room for families and patients, turning a clinical hospital room into a warm, home-like environment that serves as an oasis during a heart-breaking time.  

Non-Physician Healthcare Professionals

Grand Prize Winner – Jesse Kontra – Delaware Valley Society of Transplant Surgeons, Phoenixville, PA

Jesse Kontra helps the less fortunate by volunteering his paramedic skills and knowledge several days a week at The Clinic, a nonprofit serving the uninsured. In 2009 alone, Jesse volunteered more than 400 hours, helping The Clinic provide medical services to more than 11,000 patients.  

Since the Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award was established in 2003, more than 9,000 healthcare professionals have been nominated across the various nursing and non-physician disciplines.  

The two Grand Prize Winners receive an all-expense-paid Caribbean cruise for two. The Top National Prize Winner receives an annual membership to her preferred clinical association. Both the Top National Prize Winner and the National Prize Winner receive an all-expense-paid trip to a 2011 medical conference in the continental United States of their choice.  All of the winners receive a wardrobe featuring the best of Cherokee Uniforms and Cherokee Footwear worth more than $1,000; a $500 donation in their name to the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Foundation; a Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award trophy; a 14K gold-plated commemorative pin; and a year's subscription to Scrubs, the nation's first lifestyle magazine for nurses.

For every nomination, Cherokee Uniforms donated $1.00 to Nurse's House, a national fund that provides short-term financial assistance to registered nurses facing serious hardship.  Other Cherokee Uniforms initiatives include scholarships for students enrolled in nursing school and the production of an inspirational film for nurses shown in more than 300 nursing schools across the U.S. Cherokee Uniforms will be accepting nominations for the 2011 Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award beginning March 1 through May 31, 2011. For further information on the award, please visit http://inspiredcomfort.com or receive updates on Twitter- @InspiredComfort.

About 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. For more information, visit www.CherokeeUniforms.com.

SOURCE Cherokee Uniforms