DENVER — Over 120 nurses who serve in the Denver metro will be recognized for their work in the community Saturday.

The Denver Regional Nightingale Awards honors nurses that advance the profession through leadership, advocacy and innovation.

Nurses have never worked harder than in this pandemic. That’s why this year’s awards feel more significant.

“We are tired, but we can rally and we are a resilient bunch. As strong as COVID might be, we are stronger,” UCHealth Aurora nurse Kelly McIntosh said.

McIntosh is nominated for clinical leadership. Her peers called her a tremendous leader in the cardiac unit who handled COVID-19 with “positivity, grace, true moral and personal resilience.”

“We created links for all of the patients who transferred out of the ICU and how big that chain got by the end of one of our surges, that is just a huge accomplishment. I will never forget that chain,” McIntosh said.

She credits her team not only for the nomination but for their success in the cardiac unit.

‘’They work tirelessly. They show up day in and day out and don’t ask for a fleck of recognition, so it’s easy to love them,” she said.

Nurse Kathy Casey is making a global impact. She is nominated for administrative advocacy. She developed the Casey-Fink graduate nurse experience survey that is now used around the world.

‘We measure their experience at the beginning of our residency program at six months and 12 months that helps us design our curriculum our program to support them,” Casey said.

Her survey helps design success for nurses from the classroom to clinical practice, which helps with retention that hospitals need more than ever.

“It’s hugely gratifying. I wanted to make a difference in nursing profession,” Casey said. “My mother is still alive — she has been a nurse over 70 years — and still has that passion. My passion really comes from that need to educate that next generation.”