Beaufort Memorial Leaders Win Palmetto Gold Awards for Outstanding Nursing
April 29, 2024
Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) Nurse Practitioner Jaime Cuff, APRN, FNP-C, and Registered Nurse Kevin Kremer, R.N., BSN, have each earned the Palmetto Gold Award, a designation given by the South Carolina Nurses Foundation.
Established in 2002, the Palmetto Gold Nurse Recognition and Scholarship Program recognizes the state’s 100 top registered nurses each year for the valuable contributions they make to patient care and the leadership they have shown to promote the nursing profession.
“We are so proud that two of our outstanding nursing leaders have been recognized for their contributions to and advancements in our profession, and especially for their commitment to our patients,” said BMH Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer Karen Carroll.
Cuff is the director of the hospital’s Preoperative Assessment Clinic (PAC), and Kremer is the director of the Pratt Emergency Center.
Recognizing the need to better prepare high-risk patients for surgery, Cuff was chosen to serve as the provider of the Preoperative Assessment Clinic (PAC), which helps ensure patients with other health conditions and risk factors experience the best possible outcomes and patient safety. Cuff works with about 200 patients per month and sees more than 90 percent of total knee and hip replacement patients. While preparing patients for surgery, the PAC regularly uncovers chronic conditions and other important information that might otherwise delay a surgery or add risk for postoperative complications. “Jaime is a true advocate for her patients and believes that her job is not just about optimization for surgery, but optimization for life,” said Carroll. “She consistently models the qualities of a great nurse by her critical thinking, leadership, communication and compassion.”
Kremer joined Beaufort Memorial in 2005 and has seen the emergency department grow to serve approximately 50,000 patients annually. Over the last year, he has led an initiative to measurably reduce wait times for patients being treated in the emergency room and the time it takes to transfer them to a hospital unit when inpatient care is needed. The new processes expedite a coordinated hand-off of patients to nursing units and alert housekeeping to prepare the room for the next patient, thus reducing the time patients spend in the emergency room and enabling staff to accommodate a growing volume of ER patients. The efforts have also improved overall patient satisfaction.
“Kevin’s deep knowledge of emergency services and workflow has been instrumental in improving patient care for everyone who enters our doors,” Carroll said. “From his work on development of the soon-to-be-built mental health crisis stabilization unit to increasing staff satisfaction through comprehensive onboarding and mentorship programs, Kevin never stops innovating and educating in ways that benefit us all.”
Cuff and Kremer received their awards at the 22nd Annual Palmetto Gold Gala on April 27 in Columbia. Proceeds from the event support the Palmetto Gold Scholarship Program, which provides funding to nursing students across South Carolina.
Visit BeaufortMemorial.org/Nursing to learn more about the nursing team and opportunities at Beaufort Memorial.
