Ball State University nursing alumni who have made significant and exceptional contributions to the nursing profession through education, service, and community involvement are eligible for our Outstanding Nursing Alumni Award.
Nominate Someone
Anyone may nominate a candidate for the award. When the nomination is received, the nominee will be notified of the nomination and requested to complete a personal information form.
To nominate a candidate for the Outstanding Nursing Alumni Award, please complete the information below. Submission are due annually by January 15.
Submit Nomination
Outstanding Nursing Alumni Award Winners 2018
Tamera (Overmyer) Brown, BS’95, MS’10
Tammy is a Clinical Nurse Specialist for wound and surgical units at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, where she has served for 22 years. She has led many projects and teams, always striving to provide the best help care for the patients. She has also mentored and coached nursing staff to excel and to provide the most evidence-based care to their patients.
Programs she has administered for wellness include the Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Team at Ball Memorial. She led the Pain Management Team with champions from each unit for best pain management practices for patients.
Tammy also participates in monthly prevalence studies at Ball to reduce pressure injury harm, and assists with several teams to enhance workflow, better costs and outcomes for the facility and its patients. She is a volunteer for the American Red Cross and the IU Health Community Service.
Tammy was named a Worldwide Leader in Healthcare and Top Registered Nurse by the International Nurses Association.
Tonee Pieroni BSN’81, MSN’98
Tonee is currently a general cardiology NP at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. Her previous positions include manager and nurse practitioner of CHF Clinic, and these positions at IU Health Ball Memorial: Director of Quality Management; Clinical Operations Manager of Quality Management; and Utilization Review Nurse. Tonee is a member of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses, Coalition of Advance Practice Nurses of Indiana and Advanced Providers of IU Health BMH.
She has been active in her local church, working with youth and teaching Sunday School for more than 20 years, and has served on church boards, helped to plan mission trips, and done general church work. She received the Catch Me Carding Award at Ball Memorial and was the first Advanced Practice Nurse to be granted Clinical Privileges there. Tonee was instrumental in establishing its Nurse Practitioner Section of the clinical staff and served as its first chairperson. Additionally, Tonee wrote the business plan for the CHF Clinic at Ball, and following hospital board approval, implemented the clinic’s start-up. She provided ongoing comprehensive care for the patients, who saw a greater than 90% reduction in hospitalizations and who gave a 99% “excellent” rating for overall satisfaction of care.
Emerging Professional Nursing Alumni Award 2018
Shelbi (Williams) Augustinovicz BSN’13
Shelbi is a practicing nurse on PCU and weekend plan charge RN at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. She recently finished her master’s degree and started teaching part-time in the Ball State School of Nursing.
Shelbi is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, her Unit Based Council, the Night Shift Advisory and the Staff Education Advisory boards. As a volunteer, she assists the Unit Based Council in putting together Christmas backpacks for those in need at an Albany elementary school, and she has assisted at the Merciful Help Center in Carmel.
Shelbi has also assisted with the components of Nursing Grand Rounds at BMH to educate staff on proper procedures for patients. Her interest in education and precepting new staff keeps her on the lookout for new opportunities to assist either on the floor or at meetings. She has received two Daisy Nominations and four Employee Appreciation Awards.
Outstanding Nursing Alumni Award Winner 2017
Dlynn Melo, MS, RN BSN’77 MS’96 (CICS) spent many years early in her career providing direct patient care on the intensive care and medical-surgical units at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. She has since become an accomplished leader with experience in project management, health information technology, and staff education. She was innovative in her field and was able to successfully embed technology into the patient care infrastructure at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital in her role as the Director for Clinical Informatics. Dlynn also is very community-minded and has been very active in volunteerism within the Muncie community.
Emerging Professional Nursing Alumni Award 2017
Nadia Savabi, MS, RN, FNP BSN’11 MS’17 worked as a Registered Nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at IU Health Riley Hospital for Children. She completed her FNP degree in October of 2017 and is currently practicing as a Nurse Practitioner at Hendricks Regional Health.