
Trophy Fish Award winner Shannon Bendson (front center) with left to right, front to back: RN Ashley Gutzwiller, Nurse Manager Kristen Christensen, Senior Administrative Assistant Kodi Olander, CEO Amy Hart, Director of Surgical Services Joni Gutknecht, Chief Financial Officer Katie Berg, Benefits Analyst Jess Spicer, Chief Operating Officer Lynn Severson, Director of Human Resources JoLynn Kullhem, Chief Human Resources Officer Kim Blank, Chief Nursing Officer Stacy Weldon, and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Westin.
Cuyuna Regional Medical Center Registered Nurse Shannon Bendson of Deerwood was recently presented the organization’s Trophy Fish Award for going above and beyond in her job duties by providing food to her coworkers and the wife of a patient who was in surgery.
Her nominator wrote, “Shannon came in on a Saturday when two of her coworkers were on call and unable to leave and brought four cheeseburgers fresh off the grill, with chips and condiments. We enjoyed the meal and fed the wife of a patient who was in surgery. It was the first time the patient ate all day and she was very grateful.”
Bendson has been a Registered Nurse at CRMC’s Post Anesthesia Care Unit/Recovery Room since 2021. She started working at CRMC in 2002 as a nursing assistant on the Medical/Surgical Unit; received both her Licensed Practical Nurse (2005) and Registered Nurse (2008) degrees from Central Lakes College; and then transferred to the Surgery Department in 2013. Bendson also worked at Brainerd Lakes Surgery Center from 2016 to 2020.