VCU's Menafra earns Clinical Expertise Award from Virginia Emergency Nurses Association

By Michael Ford
University News Services

A trauma nurse specialist and clinical administrator at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center has been recognized statewide for excellence in clinical services.

Mary Menafra, R.N., B.A., C.E.N., T.N.S., clinical administrator, nursing education and professional development, has earned the Clinical Expertise Award from the Virginia Emergency Nurses Association. The peer recognition award honors one individual annually.

Committed to nursing practice and quality emergency care, the VA-ENA is a professional organization for registered nurses and affiliated members working in emergency settings.

"Mary has always been a winner for the VCU Health System. It is wonderful that she has now been recognized by her peers in the state," said Carol Crosby, R.N., M.S.N., CNNA, vice president, patient care services and chief nursing officer, MCV Hospitals and Physicians of the VCU Health System.

A certified emergency nurse and trauma nurse specialist, Menafra is a teacher for trauma nurse course certification and recognized as international faculty for the same. Because of her expertise in coordinating care for trauma cases, Menafra has been asked to become faculty with the Noble Training Center in Alabama, part of the United States Public Health Service's Office of Emergency Preparedness. This hospital facility, located on 20-acres of the former Ft. McClellan is the only facility in the United States devoted entirely to multidisciplinary medical training, injury treatment, and protection of health care personnel for Weapons of Mass Destruction incidents.

Menafra is married to Steve Rasmussen, a trauma nursing specialist and clinical coordinator at VCU Medical Center. They are raising three children on their horse farm in Hanover and share three dogs and five horses.