Emonson Awards
Nominations Due: August 25, 2025
We are pleased to be accepting applications for the Emonson Awards 2025.
The Emonson Award is presented annually to a nurse, resident, and faculty member who best represents the mission and spirit of UNC Children’s. These annual awards highlight professionalism among all those who work to further child health.
Background on the Emonson Awards and Lectureship
James Emonson was a patient at UNC Children’s who passed away in the hospital in May 2005 of an infectious complication of his immune deficiency. The Emonson family, with support from family, friends, and the Caterpillar industry, where both parents were engineers, funded the Emonson Educational Fund. The money the Emonsons had set aside for James’ future education was a part of their gift to UNC. The Emonson Awards, recognizing annually the nurse, resident, and faculty member who best represents the mission and spirit of the Children’s Hospital, were established in 2006. The Lectureship was established later and was focused on highlighting the professionalism in children’s care that they saw happen daily among everyone who helped care for James. Fred Henderson and Jake Lohr were two of the original physicians heavily involved in James’ care. The approach to thoughtful, interdisciplinary care that the family recognized then continues to this day at UNC.
Please send nominations for this award to Jaime_Cooke@med.unc.edu by August 25th.
Nominations can be up to 500 words. Final award decisions will be made by the Children’s Executive Council. Preference will be given to people who have not previously won the award but exhibit the characteristics above.