Bedford Nurse Excellence Award winner loves caring for her community

“Team members regularly describe her as the nurse they want in the room when their own family member is the patient.”

Nurse Excellence Award honoree, Jane Crosby, RN, is a Clinical Specialty Coordinator with the IU Health Bedford Emergency department who has spent the past 41 years caring for her community at this hospital.

“The best thing is, I still get to do bedside nursing as part of my leadership job,” she shares. “I love being in contact with them and seeing if there is anything I can do for them. If I can get one smile a day, I am good.”

Jane is also a source of expertise for her team, holding Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC) certification and actively pursuing Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN) certification.

Her Nurse Excellence Award nomination says, “When a trauma activation hits the department, or a patient decompensates unexpectedly, team members look for her — because her presence at the bedside changes outcomes. Her assessments are sharp, her anticipation of the next step is seldom wrong, and her calm under pressure steadies an entire room. In a critical access hospital where the first minutes of a trauma or resuscitation often determine the patient's trajectory, that kind of expertise is not a luxury; it is a safety net for the community we serve.”

Part of her responsibilities is ensuring the rest of the team meets the national standard for trauma nursing care.

Her nomination says, “She teaches the evidence, demonstrates it at the bedside, and evaluates her colleagues' competence against it. Few contributions advance excellence in practice more concretely than ensuring every nurse on the unit has been trained and validated by someone of her caliber.”

Jane also guides the future of nursing by pairing with new nurses and helping them develop into the excellent caregivers they are meant to be. She helps them understand the why behind what they’ve been taught, connecting bedside practice to evidence and to the patient in front of them, transforming orientation from a checklist into genuine clinical development.

“New nurses hold a special place in my heart—I remember being that nurse,” shares Jane. “They are so eager to learn and grow in their career.”

“Generations of this department's nurses trace their clinical judgment back to her,” describes her nomination. “Jane exemplifies the IU Health Value of Excellence by refusing to let good practice be accidental. She pursues the standard, teaches the standard, and models the standard.”

“I believe I was put here for a reason, in this hospital and it is to take care of my community,” says Jane. “I have lived here all my life, and these people are my people. My mentor still works here. My father-in-law retired from here as a physician. My children were born here. It really is my home.”