BANGOR – The theme for this year’s Acadia Hospital Nurse of the Year award is Nursing Research. At a special ceremony during Acadia’s Nurses Day celebration on May 2, the 2006 Nurse of the Year Award was presented to nurse Sally Carlisle.

“Sally earned the award because she has shown great initiation and commitment in the area of nursing research and its growth at the Acadia Hospital,” said Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Marilyn Dennis.

Carlisle, who was recognized in 1993 as the first ever Acadia Nurse of the Year, has been an active member on the nursing research committee. Her contributions to research include a collaborative project between academia and Acadia as one of the co-investigators in the research study, Speaking Your Mind: Measuring the Subjective Quality of Life of Children with Mental Illness.

She co-presented that study at the Eastern Nursing Research Society’s annual conference in 2005, Grand Rounds in May 2005, and the Omicron-Xi conference in June 2005.

“I am very appreciative of the encouragement and support I have received at the Acadia Hospital to pursue these projects. I am also indebted to my past and current colleagues for their experience and guidance. These endeavors have been team efforts,” said Carlisle.

She is leading a research project titled “Improving Students’ Quality of Life through Hospital-school Liaison,” which involves collaborating with other disciplines and academia to improve patient outcomes as they transition back to school.

Among Carlisle’s other contributions to evidence-based practice and research this year has been her development of the On Track treatment approach, involving education and support for children diagnosed with ADHD and their families. She also has expanded her nursing focus to be an active participant as the nurse investigator in Acadia’s first child-adolescent drug trial.

Each year the Acadia Hospital recognizes a nurse who has demonstrated leadership, compassion and skill representative of Acadia’s mission to serve individuals living with mental illness and chemical dependency.