Lone Star College-Tomball Nursing Skills Coordinator Patricia Handley has been awarded a bronze designation from the Good Samaritan Foundation which recognizes outstanding nurses in education and clinical practice in the Houston and Gulf Coast region. Handley was among almost 250 nominees for recognition at this year’s twelfth annual Excellence in Nursing Awards luncheon.
Nursing Skills Coordinator and an adjunct instructor with Lone Star College since 2003, Handley began her career at the original Hermann Hospital in the Houston Medical Center. She received her BSN from Houston Baptist University and her MSN from Texas Women’s University.
“I have been nursing for almost fifty years. I have a passion for teaching and mentoring students as well as the nursing profession,” Handley said. She has worked at a variety of facilities around the Houston area over the years including Bellaire Hospital Nursery, Memorial City Hospital CCU, The Methodist Hospital in the step-down Heart and Lung Transplant Unit, Baylor College of Medicine, insurance companies and physician and surgeons’ offices.
In addition to serving as the Nursing Lab Coordinator, she also taught A&P at LSC-Tomball. When she’s not working, Handley continues to nurture and assist. She helps other sick individuals and enjoys being with her three children and two grandchildren.
“The Good Samaritan Excellence in Nursing awards honor registered nurses and educators who are nominated by their peers. These nurses demonstrate a passion for the nursing profession and exemplify excellence in teaching, mentoring, leadership and service,” said Kathryn Tart, founding dean and professor with the University of Houston School of Nursing.
The Purpose of the Good Samaritan Foundation Excellence in Nursing Awards is to recognize those nurses who are leaders at the bedside offering extraordinary and compassionate care and service. While degrees, certifications, and research exhibit great dedication on the candidate’s part for developing professionally the Foundation’s priority of focus is on the nominees’ stories of the work they do every day servicing patients, families, employees and students.