Ann Greene was named the best perioperative nurse in North Carolina.

Green receives statewide honor

It’s hard to pinpoint when these things begin. For some it begins with a textbook, a mentor, or an idea. Greene isn’t exactly sure when her dream of becoming a nurse materialized, but she knew that the profession has called to her since childhood.

Greene, a perioperative nurse at the Surgery Pavilion at Nash Health Care Systems, was recently honored as the best perioperative nurse in North Carolina by the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN). She received her award last month during an awards ceremony in Fayetteville.

“It truly is an honor,” Greene said. “It means a great deal to me.”

Greene’s career has spanned more than 30 years, and she started working at Nash General Hospital when it opened in 1971. She is a graduate of the Park View School of Nursing in Rocky Mount.

If you ask her about the most important aspect of nursing, her answer is short, simple, yet enthusiastic.

“The patient,” she says. “The patient always comes first. Nursing is a chance to make a difference in the lives of so many people.”

AORN is a professional organization of perioperative registered nurses, and it’s comprised of 40,000 perioperative registered nurses in 6,700 hospitals nationwide.