Vivian Health Announces Winner of the Vivian Nurses Week Leadership Award

Recognized for her embodiment of compassion, leadership, and positive impact on their patients and colleagues, this Michigan nurse will be awarded $5,000 to help alleviate her student loan debt

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vivian Health, the talent marketplace used by over 1.9 million healthcare professionals, today announced the winner of the first Vivian Nurses Week Leadership Award, a new contest that rewards the leadership, empathy, impact, and personal growth of the winning nurse with a $5,000 prize to reduce their student loans.

Over 1,300 nurses from across the nation submitted their stories for consideration during National Nurses Week, and the award went to Heather Thornton, a Michigan nurse and educator. Heather was chosen as the award recipient after sharing her personal experience advocating for a patient who was presumed to be a drug seeker and as a result did not receive a proper examination. Heather followed protocol and pushed for fair and adequate care, which resulted in a diagnosis of a dissecting aortic aneurysm – a life-threatening condition. In the end, Heather's advocacy helped save the patient's life.

Heather was inspired to become a nurse while volunteering in the oncology unit at a hospital, and has been a healthcare professional since she was 17 years old. Since then, she's worked in hospice, mental health, surgical care, cardiac care and chemotherapy, all before becoming a nurse educator at Baker College in Michigan.

Heather's mission is to empower the next generation of nurses and train them to think critically in their roles. Heather believes that by training as many as 40 new nurses each year, she is doing her part to help alleviate the nursing shortage. To become a nurse educator, she earned several advanced degrees, including a Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate in Nursing. This required her to take out student loans for additional schooling and take a large pay cut, as teaching nurses make almost $20,000 less than nurses working in hospitals.

"This $5,000 award will make a significant impact on my life and I am thankful Vivian Health is providing a platform for me to share my story," says Heather Thornton. "This story is important and one I often tell my students because I want to help future nurses understand our role, understand our power, and know that by just doing their jobs they can make a difference and save lives."

Vivian Health is thrilled to award Heather the $5,000 prize, honoring her as a leader in healthcare and amplifying the financial wellness crisis amongst nurses.

"We introduced the inaugural Nurses Week Leadership Award to recognize the exceptional contributions of nurses while raising awareness of the financial sacrifices, like student loan debt, that nurses are forced to make in order to enter the profession and advance their careers. In fact, nearly 70% of nurses have to take out loans for school," says Parth Bhakta, Vivian Health CEO and Co-Founder. "With this award, Vivian Health aims to raise the overall awareness of this important issue. We encourage employers to step up and take meaningful action to help by offering tuition reimbursements and loan repayment benefits to nurses like Heather, as they are the backbone of our healthcare system."

Learn more about Heather's story on the Vivian Community blog.

About Vivian Health

Vivian Health is transforming how the healthcare industry hires. As the leading jobs marketplace that serves healthcare professionals first, Vivian Health empowers a broad range of healthcare professionals to find jobs they love across many types of healthcare work, including staff roles, per-diem shifts, local contracts, and travel positions. Built on intelligent matching, transparent information, and the widest selection of job opportunities, over 1.9 million healthcare professionals turn to Vivian to find their perfect job. For employers, Vivian Health helps fill roles faster than traditional recruiting practices and at a fraction of the cost, saving them millions of dollars and helping alleviate labor shortages in healthcare.

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SOURCE Vivian Health