Topeka's Top "20 Under 40" Jana Tenbrink

Photo by Nathan Ham

In Jana’s role at Stormont Vail Health, she provides leadership and guidance to staff nurses, charge nurses, and patient care technicians within the medical critical care department, rapid response team and intermediate care unit. One of Jana’s favorite aspects of her job is the ability to provide patient care to critically ill patients and then also be a part of the larger effort in developing new initiatives to improve patient care within Stormont Vail Health and the community they serve. Jana collaborates with a multi-disciplinary team on the Sepsis Steering Committee where she reviews case studies to identify areas of improvement, and develops tools to help both nursing and providers better identify and treat patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Jana developed a standard visualization tool that is utilized today by clinicians throughout the hospital.

Jana is an Advanced Cardiac Life Support Instructor through the American Heart Association and represents her departments on various committees within Stormont Vail Health.  She was awarded the 2016 Excellence in Nursing Leadership at Stormont Vail Health and was nominated for Nurse of the Year by the March of Dimes.

“Jana looks for ways to teach the “art of nursing” to those new to her unit. Patients and families benefit greatly because her staff is encouraged to look past the tubes and beeping monitors and find the person.”

—Jackie Howard, Iliff R Douglas MD Office