The Advisory Board, a prestigious health-care consulting firm, awarded Beth Petterson, RN, the 2007 Future of Nursing Leadership Award. The award is presented to three nurses nationally who have shown tremendous individual growth and professional development.

Petterson, a nurse in the Johns Hopkins Bayview Care Center, developed an innovative suite of patient education tools and materials to help avoid hospital readmissions due to non-compliance with medication. The solutions included a formal pharmacy education profile for each patient, a medication time chart and pill box specially designed for elder patients who take multiple medications throughout the day.

Petterson also developed a house-wide staff education program about the new discharge policies. As a result, patient satisfaction scores related to home care and education increased from the 80th percentile to the 95th percentile.