Carson Valley Medical Center nurse wins advocacy award

Registered nurse and case manager of Carson Valley Medical Center, Julie Grimes, won the Northern Nevada Nurses of Achievement Award for Patient Advocacy at a ceremony in Reno on May 11.

"This is really an honor," said Grimes. "I was so shocked because we're such a small hospital and we were competing with bigger hospitals."

Grimes was nominated by the medical center's nurse manager Katie Heyder, who recognized her co-worker as a life-saver.

"She goes above and beyond for every patient," said Heyder. "She gets supplies, equipment, everything they need. She fights for doctors and patients to get their stay covered and she never stops."

In her nomination, Heyder said that Grimes recognized the lack of care for terminally ill people and helped open Hospice of the Valley. Grimes also helped establish the Barton Hospice Thrift Store and a short-term nursing care program that provides additional rehabilitation to area patients.

As a TRIAD board member, Grimes works with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and East Fork Fire & Paramedic Districts to improve the services available to seniors.

Heyder said the hospital's denial rate for insurance claims has improved since Grimes has been the utilization review coordinator.

"So far we haven't had a denial," said Heyder.

"We want the best services for patients," Grimes said. "I want to get everything they need."

Grimes has been a nurse since 1990 and with Barton Healthcare System since 1992. She has been in her current position as case manager at Carson Valley Medical Center and Hospital for three years.

The Gardnerville resident said all her children and five grandchildren live in the Valley and she isn't going anywhere.

"I'm going to stay here," Grimes said. "I couldn't work for a better hospital or administration. I always have a good team behind me."

Created by a few nurses who partnered with the Nevada Hospital Association, the nonprofit Northern Nevada Nurses of Achievement honors nurses in a yearly event. The money raised from the event goes toward nursing scholarships. In the past eight years, the group has awarded as many as six $1,000 to $1,500 scholarships per year.