Three nurses at the Regional Medical Center were recently honored with awards for nursing excellence. Calvin Haynes and Karen Sutcliffe were honored as Nurses of the Year in Specialty Care and General Units/Supervisory Care, respectively.

The Nurses of the Year are selected annually by the RMC medical staff; honorees are chosen based on clinical skills, devotion and compassion.

Sylvia Ott received the Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing. Presented annually, the award is voted on by members of RMC's nursing staff. Honorees must demonstrate clinical excellence and concern for patients, family and co-workers; demonstrate leadership; possess enthusiasm while having a healthy work ethic; and honor a commitment to the RMC for two consecutive years.

Sylvia Ott

Ott, a Branchville native and staff nurse on RMC's Fourth West nursing unit since 1991, is a graduate of the Orangeburg Regional Hospital School of Nursing with a diploma in nursing.

Upon graduation, she served as a staff nurse at the Orangeburg Regional Hospital for a year and then worked in physician practices for some 15 years before taking a few years off to raise her family. She returned to nursing by joining the staff of the RMC in 1991 and until recently served as a full-time staff nurse. Currently, she works at RMC two days a week as a charge nurse, orienting the new staff on the evening shift.

Ott is certified in Basic Cardiac Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support and previously earned her certification in medical/surgical nursing.

She is the widow of Gene Ott and has three sons, one daughter-in-law and two grandchildren. She enjoys cooking for her family, working in her yard and spending time at the beach.

Calvin J. Haynes

St. Matthews native Haynes serves as unit-based educator of the Intensive Care Unit.

Haynes, who joined the RMC team as a phlebotomist in January 1999, received a bachelor's degree in biology from South Carolina State University in December 2000. He chose to pursue a career in nursing and was a recipient of the RMC Foundation's Virginia B. Johnson Nursing Scholarship. Haynes earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from South Carolina State University in 2003 and is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

He is certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support.

He and his wife, Valeria, live in Orangeburg. In their spare time, they enjoy watching movies with their children, reading and playing sports.

Karen Sutcliffe

Sutcliffe, a native of Orangeburg, joined the RMC staff as a registered nurse on Fourth East in 1991 and transferred to Fourth West in 1992.

A May 1991 graduate of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College with an associate's degree in nursing, Sutcliffe previously attended Winthrop University and the College of Charleston. During her more than 18 years at RMC, she has served in several roles, including staff nurse, charge nurse and unit-based educator for Fourth West.

Sutcliffe is a Basic Cardiac Life Support instructor.

She and her husband, Tommy, have three sons, Cole, Austin and Jake. The Sutcliffe family lives in Cordova and enjoys traveling and attending NASCAR races.

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