Shelly Pricco is honored for excellence in nursing

Shelly Pricco, director of Patient Care Services at Enumclaw Regional Hospital, has received the 2008 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Award for leadership. The annual award recognizes nursing excellence in Western Washington.

A registered nurse since 1983, she has been employed at the Enumclaw hospital since 1996. “I love being a nurse,” Pricco says. “I think it’s magical to be able to help other people, particularly when they are sick or injured. The reward for caring for someone in need is simply indescribable.”

She is one of two nurses from Franciscan Health System to receive Nurse of the Year awards from the March of Dimes. Tahallia “Holly” Synder, a critical care nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, was named the 2008 Nurse of the Year for Western Washington for excellence in direct patient and clinical care.

Pricco was promoted to director of Patient Care Services at Enumclaw Regional Hospital in May. A resident of Enumclaw, she was also born at the community hospital in 1961. Today, she supervises the hospital’s nursing staff, including those assigned to the small mother-baby unit that was her birthplace.
“I focus on nurturing and caring for the nurses who report to me, ensuring that they have the support they need to provide the best possible care to our patients,” she says. “I love the nursing profession because it’s all about caring for people.”

She received the prestigious March of Dimes Nurse of the Year leadership award during a special ceremony Dec. 4 in Bellevue. More than 120 nurses, health care leaders and educators from throughout Western Washington were nominated in 14 separate award categories.

“I was honored just to be nominated,” Pricco explains. “I could not believe it when I heard my named called to go to the podium. My immediate thought was: ‘Did they just call my name?’” The glass award, which is about eight inches tall and inscribed with her name, now occupies a prominent place in her office at the hospital.

“We are very proud of Shelly and her contributions to nursing excellence,” says Dennis Popp, chief operating officer at Enumclaw Regional Hospital. “She is a role model for compassionate nursing care and skilled nursing leadership.”

Enumclaw Regional Hospital joined Franciscan Health System in May 2007. Franciscan is affiliated with Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the largest non-profit health systems in the U.S.