Irene Peters, a geriatric clinical nurse specialist at Overlake Hospital

Medical Center, earned recognition as a 2008 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year on Dec. 4. She earned the honor in the category of Advocacy for Patients.

Peters has been a practicing nurse for 34 years, and she joined Overlake in 2005 as a clinician for the geriatric patient population.

“Irene’s leadership skills, her ability to engage staff at all levels and her tremendously huge heart set her apart,” said Overlake nursing director Barb Berkau.

Peters played a key role in adapting Overlake’s preprinted order sets to ensure safe medication-prescribing practices for elderly patients, and she also advocates for the Matter of Balance community outreach classes that help seniors increase activity levels and reduce fall risks in everyday life.

“Her ability to pull teams together, communicate, educate and change practice in a collaborative environment is phenomenal,” Berkau said. “Her passion is infectious, and she never misses an opportunity to advocate for elderly patients to ensure they remain safe in all settings.”

Peters said of the recognition: “In receiving this award, I’m standing on the shoulders of many others. All my colleagues in the Senior Care program, along with physicians and nursing adminstrators have supported me and the initiatives I’ve been involved with in the hospital. A clinical nurse specialist is only as good as the staff who learn and implement the care to the patient population, in my case, geriatric patients.