September 9, 2026

Stephanie Saffran, BSN, RN, Honored as 2024 UM Shore Regional Health Nurse of the Year

Stephanie Saffran, BSN, RN, UM SRH Nurse of the Year

Stephanie Saffran, BSN, RN, clinical nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), has been named SRH’s Nurse of the Year. UM SRH is a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

Saffran was chosen by an independent panel of judges from over 70 nominations made by team members. The annual award recognizes nursing excellence achieved through leadership, professionalism, commitment to others and commitment to patient experience.

“I am deeply honored to be selected as Nurse of the Year for Shore Regional Health,” said Saffran. “As nurses, we touch the lives of so many patients and their families, whether it’s through direct care, listening, educating, or simply being a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on. As I continue my career in nursing, I plan to continue to promote innovative strategies to advance patient care.”

“I am incredibly proud and honored to announce our 9 category winners and our overall Nurse of the Year Award,” said Ken Kozel, CEO and President of UM SRH. “These exceptional nurses exemplify leadership in action, teamwork, professionalism and compassionate care.” 

Eight additional nurses received awards in nine categories: 

Excellence in the Art of Caring, Relationship-based Care – Juan Vazquez, BSN, RN, JET Team

Excellence in Leadership-Clinical Nurse – Ashley Higgs, BSN, RN, 2 East

Excellence in Leadership-Nurse Manager/Supervisor – Brandi Covey, MSN, RN, Ambulatory Surgery Center

Excellence in Professionalism – Jaimi Hall, MSN, RN, Birthing Center

Excellence in Teamwork/Positive Attitude – Shannon Phoenix, BSN, RN, 2 East

Excellence as Preceptor/Mentor/Educator-Clinical Nurse – Sara Andrews, RN, Acute Care Unit, Chestertown

Excellence as Preceptor/Mentor/Educator-Nurse Educator – Stephanie Blades, BSN, RN, Birthing Center/Women and Children

Excellence as a Promising Professional – Samantha Lyons, RN, 3 East


About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health 

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity, and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore

About the University of Maryland Medical System

 

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

AI Disclosure: The Spy and its writers may use artificial intelligence tools to support accuracy and clarity in our reporting.

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