Six Allen Health System nurses have been named to the list of 100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2011 and will be recognized at the seventh annual 100 Great Iowa Nurses Celebration on Sunday, May 1, in Des Moines, Iowa.

Three of the nurses are Allen College faculty, two are Allen Hospital nurses and one is a Grundy County Memorial Hospital nurse. The three Allen College faculty nurses are assistant professor Jacqueline Leutzinger, R.N., B.S., M.S.N.; associate professor Anna Wehling-Weepie, R.N., B.S.N., D.N.P, C.N.E.; and professor, dean for the School of Nursing and ROTC coordinator Kendra Williams-Perez, R.N., B.S.N., M.S.N., Ed.D., C.N.E. The two Allen Hospital nurses are intensive care nurse manager Lisa Franzen, R.N., B.S.N, and care coordination director Milda Mullesch, R.N., B.S.N. The Grundy County Memorial Hospital nurse is long-term care director Cathleen Hopkins, R.N.

 “We pleased to have six nurses named to the list this year,” said John Knox, president and CEO of Allen Health System. “We are very proud of them and all our nurses. Our nurses carry out Allen’s mission to improve the healthcare of the people and communities we serve. We have an exceptionally talented nursing staff, both at the bedside, caring for patients, and in the classroom, teaching the next generation.”

            The 100 Great Iowa Nurses Celebration will be held Sunday, May 1, at 3 p.m., at the Iowa Events Center - Polk County Convention Complex, 501 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa. The University of Iowa College of Nursing, the Iowa Nurses Association’s Iowa Nurses Foundation and the Iowa Hospital Association organize the 100 Great Iowa Nurses Celebration. Nurses selected for this honor represent many sectors of healthcare including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and school and office nurses.

Nurses named to the list must hold a current Iowa registered nurse license and practiced nursing for a minimum of three years. Nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges and selections were based on the significance of each nominee’s contribution to the profession of nursing.

 Allen has had a total of 28 nurses named Great Iowa Nurses in the seven years of the program. To see a list of all 100 Great Iowa Nurses for 2005 - 2011, visit www.greatnurses.org.

To view Allen's past winners, click here.