In the lobby of Rockdale Medical Center in front of a crowd of his colleagues, emergency room registered nurse Marcus Fields was named the hospital's 2009 Nurse of the Year May 6. And even with the accolades from his peers, Fields, who has been a nurse since 2000 and has worked at the hospital since 2004, gave honor to the men and women who work by his side.

"I'm honored. But it's not just about me. It's about the whole department," Fields said.

Chief Nursing Officer Stuart Downs said Fields had often been described as the perfect example of a nurse and that Fields would rather give the credit to his department rather than take it for himself.

Fields was one of six of the hospital's nurses nominated for the awards, which is in its ninth year. The nominees previously won the hospital's monthly DAISY awards. The nominees were DeLesa Smith, who works in the clinical decision unit and won the DAISY award in October 2008; Cynthia Pignolet, who works in the Cardiac Rehabilitation department and won the DAISY award in November 2008; Heather Turner, who works in Labor and Delivery and won the DAISY award in January; Cathy Dodd, who works in Medical Oncology and won the DAISY award in February; and Missy Anderson, who works in the Intensive Care unit and won the DAISY award in March. Fields was the DAISY award winner in December 2008.
Along with a plaque and a cash award, Fields also won his own parking space for a year.

This year's annual event kicked off National Nurses Week, which runs through May 12.