Tribute to Theresa Murray

Dear CIOCNS members, 

We would like to pass along this message from Community Health Network and Theresa's coworkers and friends. 

We will post more information as we recieve it regarding services and arrangements. 

Dear Community Nurses:

It is with a very heavy heart that I share with you that Theresa Murray, Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, passed away in a house fire early this morning near Community East where she served as the Network Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist.

A CHNw caregiver for 37 years, Theresa had a God-given gift for patient care. Her nursing career began as an LPN, which she achieved while going to high school in New York.  She earned her Associates Degree in 1983 at Erie Community College and arrived in Indianapolis later that year with a softball scholarship.  She continued to play softball while attending IUPUI and pursuing her BSN degree, which she achieved in 1987.  In the meantime, she began her career at Community Hospital East on September 23, 1985 as a staff RN in Critical Care.

She worked in many different roles over the course of her career including staff nurse on 2ST, Assistant Head Nurse, Educator and Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist.  She completed her formal nursing education in 1995, by achieving her MSN degree from IUPUI as a Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Over the course of her 35+ year career, Theresa shaped the standard of care in ICUs across the country by her involvement in AACN (American Association of Critical Care Nurses) organization at the local, state and national levels. Her work in eliminating Ventilator Acquired Pneumonia through IHI’s Saving 100K lives campaign was recognized nationally.  She introduced the intervention of proning patients in the ICU at Community Health Network and saved the lives of numerous patients with this technique.  She authored articles on her work in mobilizing ICU patients and led VHA’s TICU (Transforming the Intensive Care Unit) program, which transformed patient care in the ICU and in the process saved countless lives.

Theresa was a brilliant speaker and delivered numerous talks and consultations across the United States.  She participated on numerous boards; nursing and non-nursing and was a past president of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists.  She influenced the lives of many nursing students, new grads and seasoned nurses alike. Theresa was fierce about the profession of nursing and patient care in the best possible way. She personified the role of patient advocate and was a role model in ethical decision-making. She dedicated her career to improving patient safety and saving the lives of patients through evidence-based care. 

Theresa was a Nurse’s Nurse. Loved and admired by all who had the pleasure of working with her, I find great comfort in knowing that she was also recognized as one of our Lifetime Achievement Award winners at the Nursing Excellence Awards last October. Click here to watch Theresa’s special moment of honor. Additionally, Theresa was named CNS of the Year in 2006 by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists and was the first recipient of the Art and Science in Nursing award at CHNw in 2003.

As we mourn the loss of this beautiful human being, let us also celebrate her rich legacy as a kind-hearted, passionate, talented woman who dedicated her life to the care and healing of countless Community patients and caregivers. May she now rest peacefully in God’s loving arms.

 

Yours in Nursing,

Jean Putnam, DNP, MS, RN, CPHQ, NEA-BC

EVP, Network Chief Nursing Officer | Nursing Administration

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O 317.621.5328 | M 574.536.9473