Bayhealth Names Nurses of the Year

For their drive to improve the health of our community and being shining examples of Bayhealth’s core values, Caricia Rickards, BSN, RN, CEN, and Idalis Stamas, BSN, RN, have been named this year’s Nurses of the Year for Bayhealth Sussex Campus and Bayhealth Kent Campus.

Rickards is a clinical coordinator at Bayhealth Emergency and Trauma Center, Sussex Campus. She was nominated for being a team player who takes the time to research best practices and continuously provides insights to other nurses on the floor. “I believe that each day she works in her department is a day where she goes above and beyond,” her nominator wrote. “I haven’t worked with another nurse who is more willing to offer a helping hand or encouragement than she has.”

This dedication to educating peers stems from a bad experience early in her career, but Rickards made it through and now strives to help other nurses truly settle into their careers. “I want to make sure new nurses have what they need to be successful,” Rickards said.

While Rickards is busy helping new nurses, Kent Campus winner Idalis Stamas is taking her unit by storm as a new nurse graduate. Stamas works on 3 West, a surgical acuity adaptable unit. “In the short time that she has been here, she has demonstrated herself to be a great asset to the floor. She is hard working, diligent, cares about her patients, and consistently goes above and beyond in demonstrating her integrity as an employee and a nurse. She sets the standard for how all nurses should conduct themselves,” the nominator wrote.

Stamas appreciates the variety that comes with working as a nurse, stating there could be victories, losses and everything in between. “Every day I come to work, I convert my passion for nursing into service. The ability to learn and progress while fulfilling a purpose is a beautiful way to start my career,” Stamas said.

Bayhealth congratulates Rickards and Stamas, and their fellow nominees, for receiving these honors. If you think you have what it takes to be a Bayhealth nurse, visit Bayhealth.org/Careers to view current openings.