WATERBURY, Conn. (May 12, 2022) – In recognition of Florence Nightingale’s birthday and the culmination of National Nurses Week, Sentinel U®, a provider of web-based simulation education technology solutions for nursing schools, hospital systems and healthcare professionals, has announced Shelby Custer, RN, and Allison Nascimento, RN, have won its inaugural Nurses Week meal delivery contest and will receive free meal deliveries for one year.

Colleagues, patients, family members and friends across the United States were invited to nominate a Registered Nurse (RN) who demonstrated a passion for the profession and a dedication to their patients. Nearly 100 entries were received, highlighting the contributions nurses make to the healthcare field.

“We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of love expressed in the nomination letters, which beautifully illustrated how professional nurses often place the needs of their patients ahead of their own families,” said Dr. Laura Gonzalez, vice president of clinical learning resources at Sentinel U. “While there were many worthy nurses, the nominations for Shelby Custer and Allison Nascimento stole our hearts.”

HonorHealth nurse Shelby Custer is constantly working to improve her community by improving her skills. After serving as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a patient care technician in a busy Level 1 Trauma Center, Custer decided to transition into nursing. While completing her BSN degree, the Phoenix, Ariz. resident continued to work full-time and care for her two young children. In 2020, she graduated during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and confidently stepped into her role as an ICU nurse. Never one to settle, Custer is currently studying to become an advanced practice nurse (APN).

Often described as a respected leader and fierce patient advocate, her nomination noted, “Shelby has shown great tenacity to achieve her goals while providing service to others. She meets her challenges head-on and never gives up even when faced with great hardship. With the rigor of her program, working full-time, and caring for two small children, shopping for and preparing healthy meals is not always a priority. She would greatly benefit [from] one of the generous meal kits.”

Allison Nascimento embodies the nurturing aspect of nursing. The devoted caregiver and Connecticut resident works as a full-time NICU nurse at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and as a part-time pediatric home care nurse. She serves on two interdisciplinary NICU committees and contributes to advancements in her unit through evidence-based projects. Even when she’s not on shift Nascimento continues to care for children, often babysitting on her days off. During the pandemic, she not only focused on the physical health of her patients, she also cared for their emotional and mental health by spending her breaks printing pictures of parents’ faces to place in the baby’s incubator and sending photos of the babies to nervous new parents who could not visit the NICU. Even after finishing her shifts, her mind was on her tiny patients as she made newborn keepsake cards with hand and feet prints.

In her heartfelt nomination, Nascimento’s mother Dorota Bielawska said her daughter exhibited “true love and empathy for children” and deserved to receive free meals because, “Allison often works late to help when [the hospital is] short staffed…and then still manages to buy dinner on the way home for us. I would love her to win because…we would have more quality time together.”

Custer and Nascimento will each receive a one-year subscription to a meal delivery service courtesy of Sentinel U. The subscription provides three weekly meals for up to four people for an entire year. The nurses and their families will have the option to choose meals from a menu of 17 delicious weekly recipes. Delivered ingredients can be prepared within 30 minutes, making it easy for busy nurses to prepare nutritious meals for their families.

Additionally, they will each receive a complimentary Sentinel U leadership bundle package to help them in their development as leaders in nursing, which includes training in interprofessional teams, nursing quality indicators, and patient management & delegation.
For more information visit https://explore.sentinelu.com/nursesweekcontest/.

About Sentinel U®

Sentinel U® is a leading provider of healthcare simulations and learning innovations for nursing students and healthcare professionals. Its authentic virtual simulations and clinical experiences are the best practice in engaging learners in real-world scenarios to gain unparalleled clinical judgement and critical thinking experience. A division of American Sentinel College of Nursing & Health Sciences at Post University, Sentinel U is an industry leader in virtual simulation education providing more than 130,000 learner experiences worldwide. To learn more about Sentinel U and its full portfolio of virtual simulation products, visit www.sentinelu.com.