Watertown Regional Nurse Receives ScionHealth’s Highest National Award for Caregivers

Christine Kelsey honored with the Monarch Caring and Community Award, which recognizes exceptional caregivers from among the health system’s 90+ locations across the country.

WATERTOWN, WI (October 7, 2024) – Christine “Chris” Kelsey, RN, a med surg nurse at Watertown Regional Medical Center, was honored on October 3 as one of only two recipients nationally of ScionHealth’s 2024 Monarch Caring and Community Award ‒ the highest annual honor the company presents to healthcare professionals who work in its 92 specialty and community hospitals.

Kelsey was selected from among the 92 award finalists (one from each hospital) within ScionHealth, which has approximately 25,000 total employees across the 28 states in which it operates. She received the award during the closing event of the annual ScionHealth Caregiver Summit in Louisville, which is the location of the company’s corporate headquarters.

The Monarch Caring and Community award recognizes the company’s most exceptional caregivers who consistently go above and beyond to deliver excellent patient care, elevate the patient’s experience, and support their colleagues and communities.

Kelsey was nominated for the honor by co-workers from EVS and Harvest Market along with Katie Kerwin, Director of Inpatient Services at Watertown Regional Medical Center. In the nomination, she cited her contributions beyond being a skilled nurse that included exceptional team building, support of other units throughout the hospital, excellence in emergencies, and adept mentorship as a preceptor helping new nurses transition into their roles. She also shared an example of when she went the extra mile for an elderly patient who couldn’t have his wife visit due to isolation precautions. Kelsey coordinated with the patient’s family to arrange a special anniversary celebration, complete with a telephonic reunion and cupcakes.

“This act of kindness brought joy and comfort to both the patient and his family during a challenging time,” she noted.

“Christine Kelsey’s extraordinary contributions to patient care, team support, and community involvement make her a deserving candidate for the Monarch Caring and Community Award,” added Kerwin. “Her dedication, compassion, and leadership set a standard for excellence and inspire all who have the privilege of working with her.”

Watertown Regional CEO Richard Keddington, who selected Kelsey as the hospital’s top nominee for the award, said the nurse is not only a role model at Watertown but also someone to emulate across the ScionHealth organization.

“When a person goes into healthcare, they do it because they want to help people and they want to do it in a way that is evidence-based and high quality, and I think Chris does both of those things,” said Keddington. “She is very strong and very smart but she can also take care of patients with lots of compassion.”

Kelsey, now in her 19th year as a nurse, said she was surprised and humbled by the honor.

“I was shocked Thursday night when they called my name,” she said. “There were so many great caregivers being recognized and I couldn’t believe I had been picked. It is such a great honor! I definitely have my work family to thank for helping me become the nurse I am today.”

She began working at Watertown Regional in 2005 and often might share a shift with her husband, Chad Kelsey, an ICU nurse at the hospital. Kelsey says she pursued nursing to help patients and families and treating them like family is part of her approach to being a caregiver.

“I always try to treat all my patients like I would want someone to treat one of my family members,” she said. “I go in with a smile and build a trusting relationship with them. I enjoy getting to know them and have them get to know me as well. I’m a great talker – just ask my husband.”

She primarily works as a med surg nurse at Watertown, but also serves as house supervisor and at times, a preceptor training new nurses. Her colleagues say she is viewed as a go-to person for questions and often a key contributor to the nursing department’s togetherness.

“She is calm, kind, funny, caring, and compassionate,” said Patty Gedemer, Chief Nursing Officer at Watertown. “She ‘wraps her arms around’ the nurses and other caregivers to make sure they are going to have a good day.”

Gedemer added that Kelsey also connects other departments to further impact the hospital’s culture and the care it provides its patients.

Camille Hamme, a cook in the hospital’s Harvest Market, can speak firsthand of Kelsey’s ability to bridge departments.

“I’m so thankful for Chris for being the nurse she is,” said Hamme. “There are so many people that you come across in your years of work, but with Chris – she’s just that ‘light.’ She’s just that person that, when you see her, you feel so good – you get a good feeling in your heart.”

Kelsey was honored along with one other ScionHealth 2024 Monarch Caring and Community Award recipient – Chante Edwards, nursing assistant at Kindred Hospital Northland in Kansas City, MO. To learn more about ScionHealth’s Monarch Caring and Community Award, visit scionhealth.com/employees/monarch-caring-and-community-award.

About Watertown Regional Medical Center

Watertown Regional Medical Center (WRMC) has been providing the residents of Dodge and Jefferson counties in southeast Wisconsin with excellent healthcare for over 115 years. By placing patients’ needs first, services have grown to include Emergency, Primary Care, Women’s Health, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Heart and Vascular, Neurology, Pulmonology, Ophthalmology, and many other services. Watertown Regional Medical Center is a joint venture between the Greater Watertown Community Health Foundation and ScionHealth. For more information and to see a complete list of the services offered, visit www.watertownregional.com.

About ScionHealth
ScionHealth strives to deliver on its promise of high-quality, patient-centered hospital care by empowering the hands that heal to do what they do best. The health system is focused on driving innovation, serving its communities, and investing in people and technology to deliver compassionate patient care and excellent health outcomes. Based in Louisville, ScionHealth operates 92 hospital campuses (75 specialty hospitals and 17 community hospital campuses and associated health systems) across 28 states. For more information, please visit scionhealth.com.