Madison's Top Nurses 2020

Madison’s Top Nurses 2020

We pay tribute to courageous and compassionate front line nurses who show up, lead and innovate to care for patients.

Photos by Paulius Musteikis

Aniqueka Scott of UW Health (left), Rachel Ruhland William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital (right)

This past year was one in which every nurse in our community went above and beyond the call of duty to help others. With shortages of personal protective equipment, overflow at hospitals and challenges to care on a daily basis, nurses and health care providers were forced to innovate, lead and support those battling COVID-19. It’s so fitting World Health Organization and World Health Assembly designated 2020 as the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

Every other year, Madison Magazine highlights top nurses providing exceptional care to the community; we have the privilege of recognizing seven nurses this time in three categories — innovation, practice and leadership. While we’re honoring these individuals specifically, every nurse deserves an award for their commitment to helping the community during a pandemic.

It was an almost impossible task to choose just a few outstanding nurses because each of the 60 nominated individuals, pairs and teams were worthy of this award. For the first time, we wanted our readers to see the names of all the amazing individuals and teams nominated by their peers, leaders and community members. While this year has been beyond challenging, we’re lucky to have incredible nurses in the area.

Innovation Award
Represents outstanding clinical practice within health care organizations and in the communities they serve.

Bre Loughlin and Tracy Zvenyach Nurse Disrupted

Photos by Chris Hynes

Brittany Nesbit, UW Health

Photo by Chris Hynes

Practice Award
Impacts nursing practice through innovation, whether via research, new ideas, technology or improvements to care processes.

Aniqueka Scott, UW Health

Photo by Paulius Musteikis

Rachel Ruhland, William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital

Photo by Paulius Musteikis

Leadership Award
Demonstrates vision, influence and knowledge to meet the demands of the future and the leadership to create systems and environments to support nursing excellence.

Nathan Bubenzer, UnityPoint Health – Meriter

Photo by Timothy Hughes

Ryan Klaustermeier, Heartland Hospice

Courtesy of Heartland Hospice

Meet All of Our Top Nurse Finalists
Every year, selecting only a select few Top Nurses is nearly impossible. Each nominee is deserving of an award. This year especially, as our nurses have become essential workers, we decided to recognize every nurse who was nominated in our biennial program.