Press Release
Teri Reynolds of Deerwood, a Charge Nurse at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center’s Medical/Surgical Unit in Crosby, recently received the Mary Lou Houle Nursing Excellence Award.
A CRMC employee the past 22 years, Reynolds received the award for her countless contributions to nursing and the organization overall.
Her award nominator wrote, “Teri embodies the spirit of Mary Lou Houle’s intent in creating this award. She is what I would characterize as an “old school” nurse. She understands the essence of nursing care with an emphasis on CARE. She places the patient at the center of all her interventions and always considers what effect any task has on the patient. The needs of the patients always come first. She embodies the intent of the practice of nursing that Florence Nightingale envisioned, and Mary Lou Houle embraced, to provide comfort to a patient and to modify their environment to allow them to heal during the disease period. Teri sees being a nurse as a part of her whole person and integrated into her world view, whether she is at work or at home or in the community. It is a part of her identity.”
Reynolds, who was originally hired by Houle, has worked in various positions in the Care Center, clinic, and hospital in her years at CRMC and served on numerous committees. She began as a nursing assistant, became a ward secretary, an LPN and then a Registered Nurse. Reynolds also served as a certified instructor and educator and was promoted to management positions. Today she is responsible for providing direct and indirect nursing care for patients in the Medical/Surgical and Obstetrics units. Reynolds earned her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the College of Saint Scholastica.
CRMC established the Mary Lou Houle Nursing Excellence Award in 2010. Houle began her nursing career in 1959 at the original CRMC, Miner’s Hospital, and retired in 2010. She dedicated her career to the patients, families, and community of the Cuyuna Range. She was a skilled Registered Nurse working in many areas such as Obstetrics, Surgery, the ER, Medical/Surgical, Staff Development and Leadership. She was renowned for her exceptional patient care and the level of dedication she demonstrated in every patient interaction.
Previous award winners include Lea Carlson, Kristin Christensen, Sarah Oehrlein, Jesse Oman, Darcy Otto, Jackie Rinta, Christine Roy, Sharon Roy, Lisa Slepica, and Sandy Taylor.
