2008 Nursing Excellence Awards Honors 26 Nurses

Albuquerque, NM--A total of 26 nurses and three individuals from throughout New Mexico were honored at the 2008 Nursing Excellence Awards. The awards were hosted by the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence and presented by Lovelace Health System Oct. 25, 2008 at the Hyatt Tamaya Resort. Nurses were recognized in 22 professional categories. Martha Tanuz, RN, BSN, of Pecos, New Mexico was named Distinguished Nurse of the Year. Tanuz, who is a contractor to the New Mexico Department of Health for the Tuberculosis and Refugee Health Program in Santa Fe, has been a nurse for 34 years. While working as a nurse manager, supervisor and clinic nurse in Rio Arriba County, Tanuz used her skills and knowledge to assure services to more than 1,000 residents per month. She also became a self-taught epidemiological nurse, working with local, state and national partners to address the first outbreak of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. She also helped secure antibiotics and treatment for as well as vaccines to prevent outbreaks of other infectious diseases such as Streptococcus Group C linked to Queso blanco (white cheese); Salmonella in beef jerky; and L-tryptophan, a dietary supplement that was found to cause deaths and muscle weakness.