Susan Kendig (center), teaching professor of nursing at UMSL, was named a 2013 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year at a Nov. 9 gala. She’s accompanied by Cindy Collin (left), afternoon personality with KLOU (103.3) and emcee of the event, and Jan DeMasters, president of the St. Louis Campus of Chamberlain College of Nursing. DeMasters is chairperson of the Nurse of the Year selection committee. (Photo by March of Dimes Missouri Chapter)
For her work to improve women’s health, Susan Kendig, teaching professor of nursing at the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ College of Nursing, has been named a 2013 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year.
She was among 20 nurses representing 13 health-care institutions honored at the second annual March of Dimes Missouri Chapter Nurse of the Year event Nov. 9 at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis, Mo.
“I am truly honored and humbled to receive this award,“ said Kendig, who is also the coordinator of the Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners program at UMSL. “Receiving this award in the area of women’s health is especially meaningful. As a women’s health nurse practitioner and teaching professor at UMSL, I have one of the best jobs in the world, as I get to work with women as their health-care provider, partner with our students to prepare the next generation of women’s health-care providers and work on policy issues that affect the health of women and their families in Missouri and nationally.”
UMSL has one of only two Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners programs in Missouri, the other is at University of Missouri–Kansas City.
Kendig and the other recipients were recognized for their extraordinary level of patient care, compassion, professionalism, integrity and leadership in the nursing profession. The winners received a crystal award and a gift certificate to Scrubs and Beyond.
More than 300 applications were submitted representing 55 different health organizations statewide. A selection committee of health-care professionals reviewed the blinded nomination forms and determined the winners.
The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of all babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.
Kendig earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Maryville University in St. Louis, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri–Columbia. She has more than 30 years of experience in the health-care industry. She was a gubernatorial appointee to the Missouri Patient Safety Commission, where she chaired the Commission’s Education subcommittee. She also served on the Missouri Department of Health’s Managed Care Task Force and the Missouri State Board of Nursing’s Advanced Practice Nursing Task Force. Currently, she is an appointee to the Missouri Task Force on Prematurity and Infant Mortality.
