Meet our expert panel of nursing and midwifery clinical care judges for this year’s awards
Here at HIMSS, we can’t wait to start sharing your stories of inspiring care from across Europe for The Kate Granger Awards 2020. In recognition of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the World Health Organisation’s The International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife 2020 gives us a unique opportunity to applaud the indispensable role that midwives and nurses play at the frontlines of our healthcare ecosystem - and highlight the best among them.
We are proud to have gathered an impressive judging panel of nursing and midwifery leaders from across our EU communities, who will work alongside the stellar Kate Granger 2019 award winners from last year, to select those caregivers who have gone above and beyond.
How do we evaluate compassionate care?
When reviewing our evaluation process, we asked ourselves, “How do we really define compassionate care?” Compassion is something we expect to naturally come from caregivers: a combination of empathy, dedication and simple kindness. However, these qualities are often as unique as each individual, and so, can intrinsically be subjective. We expect our nurses and midwives to be kind!
Sometimes compassion can be shown in a story that touches our emotions, an act of kindness that reaches beyond the realm of an everyday practice, or perhaps a clinician whose consistent dedication and leadership has impacted patient care over a span of years. Choosing which of these is a winning entry is the challenge given to our expert judging panel.
“Evaluating each story against the criteria required is a challenging task and has included somewhat subjective decisions in the past,” explains Lisa Rice-Duek, a registered nurse and clinical programme manager for HIMSS. “This year, our aim was to improve the judges’ decision making by giving a clear set of quantitative scoring indicators, which allows for comparison and justification of their final decisions. A clear scoring process will bring greater clarity and quality to the overall awards, especially as our panel includes members from across Europe, with vastly different healthcare systems, cultures and opinions. Although experts are working remotely, the panel comes together to discuss their decisions and to agree on the stories they feel deserve recognition, harnessing the value of this cross border initiative.”
Read on to see who is involved in this year’s Kate Granger Awards, and how their backgrounds and experience will contribute deeply to this year’s awards.
Meet Our 2020 Panel of Judges
These judges will work together to identify those nurses and midwives who embody the compassion and dedication that The Kate Granger Awards strive to highlight. These professions improve patient care globally, are key drivers of innovation and improved outcomes, and are valued universally across the care sectors.
Category 1 Judges - Individual Nurse
Chris Pointon (UK)
Widower to Dr. Kate Granger and Co-Founder & Global Campaign Ambassador of the #hellomynameis Campaign
“I feel really proud to be involved in the decision making for these prestigious awards. People that work in healthcare truly go above and beyond each day and I admire them all. Kate will certainly be proud of every person or team that has been nominated and delighted that they are recognised as part of these awards.”
Caron Swinscoe (UK)
Registered Nurse, Chief Nurse (ai) & Clinical Informatics Profession Lead, NHS Digital, UK
Caron is also the Chair of the HIMSS England Nursing Informatics Committee and takes an active role in engaging with the other regions of the UK and Ireland networks.
Ariane Van Wamel (Netherlands)
Registered Nurse, MSc, CNIO, HIMSS EU NI Steering Committee Member
“This is my first contribution to the European nursing Informatics committee. I am excited to cross boundaries for international nominees for recognition of (informal) nurse leaders. They are an inspiration and give others strengths without knowing it themselves, with a modesty most nurses possess! “
Category 1 Judges - Individual Midwife
Fleur Kapka (UK)
Midwife, Barnsley NHS Trust Hospital UK
Category 1 Winner - 2019 Kate Granger Awards
“As a midwife, I feel it is fundamental we deliver all care for our families with compassion. We look after families at the most wonderful and sometimes the most terrible times of their lives. It is vital we deliver this care to ensure these families experience the best care possible. I was nominated for this award by one of our student midwives, and I am passionate about ensuring we train our future midwives to deliver outstanding passionate care.”
Julia Gudgeon (UK)
Midwife, Clinical Advisor Midwifery, NHS Digital UK
Jules is an active midwifery expert member of HIMSS England NI Steering Committee, supporting the digital transformation of maternity services across England. She received the Chief Midwifery Officer Gold Award for excellence in digital maternity 2019.
Pirkko Kouvi (Finland)
PhD (Maternity services), Vice President of the International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth (ISfTeH) and Vice Chair of its Telenursing working group
Pirkko Kouvi works to develop eHealth and telenursing, focused on nursing and maternity services, as well as informatics/community informatics.Principal Lecturer in Healthcare Technology, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, School of Healthcare.
Category 2 Judges - Team or Organisation
This category gives an opportunity for groups or teams with a healthcare provider establishment, or non-clinical but healthcare-related organisation, comprised of or collaborating with nurses and/or midwives to present their initiative, project or patient care impact.
Rob Basjes (Netherlands)
CEO, Abena
Category 2 Winner - 2019 Kate Granger Awards
Rob led the winning team who created a smart tech solution for improving continence care in the clinical area. He is CEO of Abena and has a proven history of finding solutions to improve care for patients and caregivers.
Nina Hynninen (Finland)
Registered Nurse, PhD, Vice President, Finnish Nurses Association
Nina Hynninen is a Registered Nurse and has a PhD degree in nursing science. An experienced leader in special health care, private home care and elderly care in public and private sectors, Nina combines care responsibilities with business responsibility. Currently she is the Executive Director of an elderly care home operated by a non-profit foundation. In addition, Nina is a vice president of the Finnish Nursing Association.
Angela Velkova (Germany)
HIMSS Director of Communities and Strategic Relations, EMEA
“Nurses and midwives are often the first and only point of care in their communities, and are a key stakeholder in defining the future of patient care and improved outcomes. While celebrating Florence Nightingale's 200th birthday, the 2020 Kate Granger Awards give us a chance to better highlight the need to include these professionals at the decision-making table as equal partners to lead the way.”
Category 3 Judges - Best Use of Innovation
Dr. Michelle Hardiman (UK)
Category 3 winner - 2019 Kate Granger Awards
Registered Nurse, PhD, Nurse Practice Development Education and Research Facilitator, Galway Clinic, Honorary Lecturer & Member of the Person-Centred Practice Research Centre, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh & Associate Lecturer, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology
An experienced nursing leader with a focus on quality and clinical standards and bringing evidence into practice, Hardiman is pioneering next-gen Meditech 6.0 using person-centered language to reflect the delivery of compassionate, dignified, person-centered care within the Electronic Medical Record (EMR).
Dr. Mette Maria Skjoth (Denmark)
Registered Nurse, PhD, Senior Project Manager, Odense University Hospital
Mette is a longstanding founding member of our HIMSS EU Nursing Informatics Community and is a valued Steering Committee member, as well as a HIMSS EMEA Governing Council member.
Daniel Johnston (UK)
Clinical Safety Officer / Clinical Workflow Specialist, NHS, Imprivata
"It’s such an exciting and important piece of work, I am genuinely excited for the initiative. To have an affiliation to Kate Granger and champion her work and secondly what an amazing opportunity to illuminate how nurses and midwives are innovating to advocate for patient care."
We hope to hear best practice stories from countries across Europe and encourage as many nominations as possible! The panel of judges will look for evidence of ambitious and innovative ways of delivering care, excellent leadership and a positive impact on the patient experience.
About Kate Granger
Dr. Kate Granger, who sadly passed away in July 2016, launched the awards in England in 2014 to recognise people and organisations that have delivered care with compassion at its heart. Now, with the backing of HIMSS and the support of Kate’s widower, Chris Pointon, colleagues in the rest of Europe have the opportunity to recognise outstanding patient care in the European Kate Granger Awards for Compassionate Care.