MEMBERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
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Sally Bixby, RN, MS, CNOR |
When the Rose Parade greets the new year in 2013, much of its behind-the-scenes preparation will be thanks to an RN.
Sally Bixby, RN, MS, CNOR, director of surgical services at City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute in Los Angeles, was rewarded for her efforts as a Tournament of Roses volunteer and board member of the Tournament of Roses Foundation in Pasadena, Calif., with her selection as the president of the 2013 Tournament of Roses.
Bixby, who also serves as treasurer for her local AORN chapter, is using the opportunity to raise national awareness for nursing with a float dedicated to Nurses at the 2013 Rose Parade. When a group of nurse colleagues learned about Sally’s presidency they started Bare Root, Inc., a non-profit charity. This project is affectionately called the Nurse Float! Their website is called Flowers 4 the Float and their goal is to raise money to design, build, and decorate the Nurses Float. If any funds are left over, these monies will be used for grants and scholarships to qualifying organizations.
The goals of Bare Root, Inc.-the Nurses Float- is to give thanks to nurses worldwide for all they do for their patients and their communities, to place the profession of nursing on center stage so the public will know how vital nurses are to the health of world communities, and to highlight nursing as a viable career one that provides many opportunities to new graduates or those who are looking for a second career.
“Nursing has been a rewarding and fulfilling career for me,” Bixby said. “I am thrilled and honored that my colleagues are promoting nursing during my tenure as president of the Tournament of Roses.”
Only two women have served as Tournament of Roses president since its inception in 1890. Bixby is the first nurse to have earned that title.
More information on Bixby and the Flowers 4 the Float program and how to support the Nurses float visit is available at flowers4thefloat.org.
Read more news in AORN Connections.