District nurse practitioner receives award

Kathy McCarthy and Beverly Ann Shipe, members of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Project Linus coordinators, display blankets created for needy children in the area.

The Western New York Chapter of The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners has awarded the Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award for 2007 to Beverly Ann Shipe.

Shipe works in the Sweet Home Central School District and has organized in-service training for the nurses in her school and educational activities for other members in the district. She is always looking to improve the health and well-being of her staff and colleagues.

She has been active in the chapter, assisting with its community project, Project Linus, which is a volunteer nonprofit organization whose mission is to help children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need through the gifts of handmade quilts, blankets and afghans.

The Western New York Chapter of NAPNAP held its fifth annual Project Linus Blanket Drive at Sweet Home Central on Jan. 19, creating 62 new blankets that day, with many to be completed the following week. Last year's donation totaled more than 125.

Shipe also recently received the 2007 Dean's Award for Excellence in Nursing from the University at Buffalo and the Amherst Lions Club Outstanding Community Service Award.

The Nurse Practitioner Student Scholarship Award was given to Nicole McKenzie of Cheektowaga. She is described as "a strong student academically, has taken a leadership position and helped other students in class, and has demonstrated high critical thinking skills." She is a registered nurse at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo.