On Saturday, November 9, the University of Pittsburgh honored 82 nurses at the Cameos of Caring Awards Gala.
Created in 1999, by Dr. Ellen Rudy, then dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, the Cameos of Caring Awards Gala was designed to recognize outstanding nurses practicing at the bedside.
Dr. Rudy was transfixed with a column in the Post-Gazette, by Ann Landers. In the column, Landers referenced a letter signed by only, “A Professional Nurse in California”, the nurse shared nurses working in hospitals were underpaid, overworked and second only to construction workers in the number of back injuries. The nurse stated she would rather return to working as a waitress rather than continue her nursing career. This letter was the first in a series of letters from nurses that Ann Landers would publish. These letters inspired Dr. Rudy to take action within our community and recognize nurses for the amazing work they do each and every day – and from this the Cameos of Caring Awards Gala was born.
For the past 25 years, nurses, nurse leaders, and healthcare leaders have come together to celebrate nursing excellence at the Cameos of Caring Awards Gala. As the landscape of nursing science, practice, and healthcare delivery has undergone profound transformations, the Cameos of Caring Award Program has evolved beyond bedside nursing and recognizes nurses in categories encompassing research, advanced practice roles, both in clinical and managerial spheres, as well as those who specialize in quality and safety. The program now honors those excelling in care management, champions of organ and tissue donation, and the faculty devoted to educating the next generation of professional nurses.
Along with changes in the program, the number of award recipients and participating facilities has grown each year over the past 25 years. In 1999, the event started with 20 area hospitals joining us in recognizing 20 amazing nurses from throughout Western Pennsylvania. This year, 53 facilities joined the program to recognize 82 professional nurses from not only Western Pennsylvania, but Maryland, New York, Harrisburg, Erie and two facilities located in Italy – taking our program to the international stage.
Since the inception of the program, more than 1,540 have been recognized with the Cameos of Caring award.
Meet the 2024 award recipients.