Nurse earns MSU College of Nursing Alumni Association award

Kathleen Bair, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, Director of Magnet and Nursing Excellence

Published: Oct. 8, 2015

Kathleen Bair, Sparrow’s Director of Magnet and Nursing Excellence, has been honored with the 2015 Recent Graduate Achievement Award from the Michigan State University College of Nursing Alumni Association. Presented annually since 1972, the award recognizes nursing alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years and who have obtained a high level of professional accomplishments. It is one of the Nursing Alumni Association’s highest honors.

“This is an honor that wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my loved ones and nursing mentors from the MSU College of Nursing and Sparrow Hospital,” said Bair, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC.

Bair is known for her strong communication skills, enthusiasm, and respect for others. While completing her master’s degree she worked as a Per Diem Nurse Educator, developing and deploying educational tools that helped Sparrow Caregivers transition from traditional paper documentation about the administration of medications to electronic bar code scanning.

She also developed a protocol to keep Patients physically active while hospitalized. Both have increased Patient safety and furthered Sparrow’s mission to provide quality, compassionate care to everyone, every time.

As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Bair created “Champions,” a new approach for frontline involvement where Sparrow Caregivers represent their units on quality improvement, accountability, and overall excellence. The program was showcased by the Michigan Health and Hospital Association as a best practice model.

“I have worked with many MSU Nursing graduates over the years. Kathleen is special,” said Vice President of Nursing Christine Jodoin, MSN, RN, NE. “She utilizes her talents to improve workflows and engage Nurses at all levels, and displays confidence and excellence in all she does.

“Kathleen is the measuring stick that I utilize when looking for Nurses to join our team. As a young woman in the Nursing profession who has accomplished so much in such a short period of time, Kathleen deserves to be honored with this award.”

Choose Wisely. Choose Sparrow.