Veteran Nurse Honored By Marin General Hospital

San Anselmo's Barbara Tracy, RN, was named the first recipient of the Jackie Jewell Excellence in Nursing Award at Marin General Hospital for her service of more than three decades of providing exceptional patient care.

The annual award was established in 2011 to recognize a nurse who has significantly contributed to the overarching Marin General Hospital “Pillars of Excellence,” including “People, Service, Growth, Quality, Finance, Infrastructure and Community.”

Named in honor of Jackie Jewell, a longtime Marin General Hospital nurse and former director of MGH Cardiac Services, the award was presented to Tracy during the hospital’s Annual Employee Service Awards Celebration reception and dinner held this spring.

During the selection process, hospital employees were invited to submit nominations, which were reviewed by the nominee’s department head, the human resources team, and Marin General Hospital executives to determine the ultimate recipient. Department heads and other managers were not eligible.

“We could not be more pleased to salute Barbara Tracy as the premier recipient of the Jackie Jewell Excellence in Nursing Award,” said Denise Perry, Vice President, Nursing Services, MGH. “She is recognized across the board at Marin General Hospital and in the nursing community for her outstanding work as an exceptional care provider and as a beloved member of our hospital family.”

Tracy has worked for 29 years at Marin General Hospital, including her current part-time post in the Emergency Department as an assistant nurse manager and charge nurse. She previously was recognized by the hospital during a special anniversary party in 2009 for her 50 years as aregistered nurse.

At the time, Tracy was commended for her strong work ethic, her attention to detail andespecially her dedication to the needs of the patient. She has been called a “nurse’s nurse” and an “ultimate team player.”

Tracy received her nursing diploma from St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Francisco, and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City. She began her career during the “iron lung era” of the 1950s, when patients suffering from the paralytic effects of poliomyelitis often were placed in a tubular machine – or iron lung– to help them breathe.

“Barbara Tracy and I first met when she was the head nurse of the Ross Hospital ICU/CCU, and I was the head nurse for CCU at Marin General Hospital,” said Jackie Jewell, who presented the award, named in her honor, to Tracy. “We partnered on many projects to improve patient care in Marin County, and I was thrilled when she joined us at Marin General Hospital, where she became a colleague and friend.”

Jewell, who received her nursing degree from College of Marin, served 36 years at Marin General Hospital, before retiring in November 2010. 

During her nearly four decades at Marin General Hospital, Jewell provided nursing services and served in various nursing management roles throughout the hospital, notably with the cardiac program, plus the ICU, and Emergency Department. She was a medical unit manager andassistant chief nurse.

“I am so moved to be the first to receive this award in Jackie Jewell’s name,” said Tracy. “Over the years, I always have held her in very high regard, and I learned a lot from her.

“Being a nurse has been such a wonderful experience for me,” added Tracy. “I feel like I am always learning, and I get to share my experience with the wonderful new nurses who have joined us over the years. Most importantly, I have always believed it to be a privilege to interact in our patients’ lives.”