Sponsored by the Feigenbaum Family Purpose To recognize one qualified nurse each year who demonstrates the commitment to excellence in nursing that Helen Feigenbaum embodied in her approach to clinical practice and quality care, leadership, collaboration, education, and research. Award $1,000 and a plaque Eligibility Criteria Candidates for the award will be nominated. Current full member of ANNA, having been a member for a minimum of the last 2 years as of the awards/scholarship application deadline. Actively involved in nephrology nursing related health care services. Active participant in ANNA at the local and/or national level. A demonstrated commitment to personal and professional growth and to the promotion of excellence in nursing in the spirit of Helen Feigenbaum. Nominators are also encouraged to give first consideration to those qualified candidates who are facing financial hardship that would be an impediment to their professional development. About Helen Feigenbaum Helen Feigenbaum, RN, was a champion of excellence in nursing and a pioneer in nephrology nursing from its inception. She recognized that nephrology nursing requires a specially skilled and technically proficient team of nurses who are deeply concerned with the human condition and with the unique attributes of the individual patient. Compassion, openness, communication, and respect formed the foundation for Helen’s relationships, not only with her patients and their families, but toward all those with whom she interacted. Under Helen’s exceptional leadership, primary nursing care in chronic dialysis was first conceived and developed at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She understood that only through building a close collegial relationship with the physicians, technicians, social workers, dieticians, and family therapists was it possible to provide superior comprehensive care to patients in the dialysis and transplant programs. Helen was a founding member of both the Connecticut Chapter of ANNA and the European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses’ Association. She lectured and published throughout her career and strongly supported others to do the same. Appreciating the crucial role that professional organizations play in helping nurses to realize their full potential, she enthusiastically promoted participation in conferences, workshops, and seminars, as well as writing for professional journals.
