Dedicated Nurse Honored with Fourth Quarter 2025 Nightingale Award

Dedicated Nurse Honored with Fourth Quarter 2025 Nightingale Award

Bradford, PA/Olean, NY - Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) and Olean General Hospital (OGH), Kaleida Health facilities, are excited to announce Sharon Walsh, RN, a nurse on the medical-surgical unit at OGH, as the 2025 fourth-quarter Nightingale Award recipient. Walsh has been a nurse at OGH since 1998.

"With more than 20 years of dedicated service as an overnight nurse, Sharon exemplifies the compassion, resilience and quiet strength that define the spirit of nursing. Working through the night requires a unique blend of clinical expertise, emotional steadiness and unwavering commitment. Throughout her career, Sharon has demonstrated all of these qualities and more. She is the calm in a moment of crisis, the reassuring voice for anxious families and the steady, skilled professional who ensures every patient feels safe and cared for during their worst times. She is dependable, knowledgeable and remarkably patient-centered. She is the person others look to for guidance, mentorship and support, especially new nurses who benefit from her depth of experience," said her nomination.

Her nomination continued, "She takes the time to know each patient, treating everyone with dignity and respect. Her extraordinary compassion truly sets her apart. Her dedication to OGH reflects not only her professional excellence but also a profound commitment to the nursing profession and to the well-being of every patient she serves. She continues to inspire me with her compassionate heart and firm devotion to patient care. She embodies the true essence of Florence Nightingale's legacy and is richly deserving of this honor."

The Nightingale Award is the result of nominations from medical providers and other team members throughout BRMC and OGH. The prestigious award is presented quarterly to one nurse who provides exceptional patient care, excels in patient and family teaching, creates an environment of efficient, open communication with patients and serves as a role model for peers.

BRMC and OGH named the highly coveted nursing award after Florence Nightingale, who laid the groundwork for the philosophy and underpinnings of modern-day nursing. Throughout Florence Nightingale's career, she displayed qualities such as integrity, nursing excellence, compassion and service.

When asked why she became a nurse, Sharon said, "After helping a few elderly neighbors, listening to their stories and being able to help them stay in their homes a little longer, I discovered how meaningful this work could be. It's a great joy watching and caring for people who are sick and bringing them back to health."

Walsh earned her nursing degree from the Sisters School of Nursing in Buffalo, NY. Upon graduation, she joined the McGuire Group, a skilled nursing, rehabilitative and long-term care services organization, where she was promoted to supervisor after one year. In 1998, Walsh relocated to Franklinville, NY and was offered a position at OGH.

"I've never regretted my decision to spend the last 27 years at OGH. This place has been very good to me through some tough times," added Walsh. "I tell people all the time that OGH has many wonderful doctors and nurses who are very caring. This really feels like a second family to me."

Other nominees included: Kristine Powell, RN; Jill Keane, RN; Laurie Stewart, RN; Katelyn Spears, BSN, RN, OGH; Lindsey Carter, RN; Karen Sleeman, CRNP; Peggy Crumrine, BSN, RN; Jay Gleason, BSN, RN; Amanda Mezzelo, BSN, RN; Brandi Sprout, BSN, RN; Missy McAndrew-Ivanich, RN; Sara Johnson, RN; Kerri Deming, RN; Lisa Sworts, RN; Laura Balcerzak; Kristyn Wilber, RN; Ryan Huver, RN.