• Link to Facebook
  • Link to Instagram
  • Link to X
  • Careers
  • Patient Portal
  • Online Bill Pay
  • 855-429-7633
    • Search Search
  • Find Care
        • Find a Provider
        • ER or Convenient Care
        • Find a Location
        • Request an Appointment
  • Services
        • Top Services

        • Birth Center
        • Breast Care Center
        • Cardiology
        • Ear, Nose, and Throat
        • Family Medicine
        • Fitness Center
        • General Surgery
        • Internal Medicine
        • Nephrology
        • Oncology
        • Orthopedics
        • Pain Center
        • Urology
        • Women's Health
        • All Services
  • Providers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • Referrals
  • Patient Portal
  • Online Bill Pay
  • 855-429-7633
  • REQUEST APPOINTMENT
  • Click to open the search input field Click to open the search input field Search
  • Menu Menu

Hays Medical Center Nurse Receives International Award

July 15, 2024/in HaysMed News, News/by Leanna Swart

Jessica Albers honored for exceptional contributions to forensic nursing specialty

July 15, 2024 – The International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) honored Jessica Albers, MFS, BSN, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P. with the Virginia A. Lynch Pioneer Award in Forensic Nursing, the Association’s highest award, at a presentation held at Hays Medical Center (HaysMed) in Hays, Kansas on Friday, June 28, 2024. Albers is Sexual Assault/Forensic Nurse Examiner at Hays Medical Center. The award is named for Virginia Lynch, known globally as the “mother of forensic nursing.”

Albers also serves the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence in several capacities: Continuing Nurse Education Program Coordinator, Statewide Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Clinical Consultant, and SANE/Sexual Assault Resource Team (SART) Instructor.

“Jessica is a leader and role model for forensic nursing in Kansas and has shown her commitment to the development of the specialty year after year,” said Jandi Head, Forensic Program Coordinator in Liberal, Kansas and the current Kansas IAFN Chapter President, who both nominated Albers and presented the award. “She has presented thousands of hours of training, extending both her knowledge and clinical skill to expand forensic nursing throughout the state. Jessica’s pioneering spirit has impacted countless patients’ lives and careers of nurses, and it has contributed to the overall specialty’s growth,” she said.

Albers was selected for the international award in recognition of exceptional contributions to forensic nursing, particularly her work focused on trauma-informed and patient-centered care, strangulation, suspect exams, sexual violence awareness and forensic nursing, as well as her dedication to evidence-based practice solutions and innovative approaches to meet the SANE shortage. Her forensic nursing expertise rests on not only clinical skills but also professional research and work in forensic science; in 2004, Albers worked as a graduate student in Iraq with the first wave of archaeologists and anthropologists who collected evidence that was used in the trial against Saddam Hussein.

Hays Medical Center’s President and CEO, Eddie Herrman praised Albers saying, “Jessica Albers embodies the excellence that defines HaysMed. Her unwavering commitment to forensic nursing and her compassionate care for patients set a high standard for our entire team. We are incredibly proud to recognize her outstanding contributions with this award.”

“Jessica is a pillar of expertise with a unique perspective of a nurse clinician and educator as well as a forensic scientist,” said Anne Boatright, MSN, RN, SANE-A, FAAN, IAFN president. “Our specialty is deepened and expanded by pioneering forensic nurses like Jessica, and it is truly an honor to recognize her contributions with forensic nursing’s highest award,” she said.

Albers earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and a Master of Forensic Science from Nebraska Wesleyan University. She is a native of McCook, Nebraska and has worked in Kansas since 2001.

 

About HaysMed

Hays Medical Center (HaysMed) is a private, not-for-profit, 200+ bed hospital providing the only tertiary-level services in the region. As the premier provider in western Kansas for specialized care, HaysMed offers a wide variety of specialty programs including cardiology, orthopedics, cancer, surgery (general, minimally invasive and robotic), ENT, pulmonology, critical care and women’s services. HaysMed is a Level III Trauma Center and a certified Primary Stroke Center.

Other services include rehabilitation, hospice, neonatal, intensive care and diagnostic imaging, as well as a Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center and a Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Center. HaysMed is proud to be one of only 20 U.S. hospitals recognized by Vizient in 2023 as a Top Performer in the Complex Care Medical Center cohort. In 2022, HaysMed was named as one of the top 20 rural and community hospitals in the country by the National Rural Health Association. Learn more at haysmed.com.

 

About IAFN

The International Association of Forensic Nurses is a professional organization of approximately 6,000 nurses from 25 countries who provide specialized healthcare for patients impacted by violence and trauma. The Association establishes the standards of practice for forensic nursing; defines and advances the global research agenda to enhance forensic nursing’s evidence-based response; develops, promotes, and disseminates information about forensic nursing science; and serves as a global network for forensic nurses to exchange ideas, serve as mentors, and enhance their practice. Additionally, the Association offers board certification for sexual assault nurse examiners who care for Adult/Adolescent (SANE-A®) and Pediatric/Adolescent (SANE-P®) patients. For more information, visit www.forensicnurses.org

https://www.haysmed.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/closer-headshot.jpg 391 363 Leanna Swart https://www.haysmed.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/HM-Logo.svg Leanna Swart2024-07-15 09:30:362024-07-15 09:38:55Hays Medical Center Nurse Receives International Award

Categories

  • All
  • Events
  • News
Haysmed Logo

ADDRESS

2220 Canterbury
Hays, KS 67601

855-429-7633

CONVENIENT CARE

3216 Vine, Suite 20
Hays, KS 67601

785-261-7065

NURSE HOTLINE

M-F 4:30PM – 8AM
Weekends & Holidays 24 hrs

1-855-Haysmed

COMPANY

About Us
Careers
Contact Us
Referrals

  • Good Faith Estimate
  • No Surprise Disclosure
  • Nondiscrimination Statement
  • Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Rights and Responsibilities
  • Copyright  HaysMed
  • Good Faith Estimate
  • No Surprise Disclosure
  • Price Transparency
  • Nondiscrimination Statement
  • Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Rights and Responsibilities

Link to: HaysMed Celebrates Registered Nurse Residency Program Graduates Link to: HaysMed Celebrates Registered Nurse Residency Program Graduates HaysMed Celebrates Registered Nurse Residency Program Graduates Link to: HaysMed Nationally Recognized for its High-Quality Stroke Care Link to: HaysMed Nationally Recognized for its High-Quality Stroke Care HaysMed Nationally Recognized for its High-Quality Stroke Care
Scroll to top Scroll to top Scroll to top