MILLINOCKET — Her outstanding performance has won Mary Lou Franck of Millinocket the 1998 Staff Nurse of the Year Award from the Maine State Nurses’ Association.

For Franck, nursing is a rewarding profession. “We share a lot of personal time with families from birth to death,” she said during a recent interview.

As a registered nurse for 21 years, Franck said she has seen a lot of changes in the profession. She said the relationship between doctors and nurses has changed from one of subservience to more of an active and collaborative relationship.

“Mary Lou’s concern for her patients, their education and the quality of care delivered is exemplary. She is a wonderful role model for her colleagues through her work and care and continuing her education,” said officials of the Maine State Nurses’ Association.

Franck graduated from Stearns High School in Millinocket in 1974 and graduated from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in 1977. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Maine in 1993.

For most of her 21 years as a registered nurse, Franck has been employed at Millinocket Regional Hospital. She works in MRH’s special care unit and on a per-diem basis at Eastern Maine Medical Center’s coronary care unit. She is certified in critical care nursing and is studying to be a legal nurse consultant. Earlier this year, she was inducted into the International Honor Society for Nurses, Sigma Theta Tau.

The veteran nurse maintains certification in neonatal resuscitation, basic life support and pediatric life support. She not only maintains certification for advanced cardiac life support, but also is an ACLS instructor.

Franck is a member of the Maine State Nurses’ Association, the American Nurses Association and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.