Year Honored: 2003

Birth: 1951

Biography

Joy Ann Bartell was the first oncology certified nurse in Sussex County. Noticing a lack of cancer-care in lower Delaware, Bartell sought to turn the part-time cancer treatment center in Lewes into “a regional medical, radiological, and surgical oncology center.” Through the Beebe Medical Center, the local medical community, and the community as a whole, Bartell created the Beebe Medical Center’s Tunnell Cancer Center. The center “encompasses support for cancer screenings, education programs, and the development of cancer survivors’ groups,” as well as treatment. Some of the programs Bartell has implemented to treat the social, psychological, and emotional effects of cancer are a wig exchange, spiritual and grief counseling programs, and support groups.

Bartell also works as an instructor at Beebe Medical Center’s School of Nursing. She worked as the Clinical Trials Coordinator and was part of the team that produced the only class of graduates in Delaware to pass the Nursing Board Exams with a 100% success rate. In 2001, she was named the Delaware Nursing Instructor of the Year. She has also been awarded the Ruby Lifesaver Award from the American Cancer Society.
In her free time, Bartell is an active member of her church, an avid participant in Relay for Life, and holds a private aircraft license. She’s also completed aeromedical nursing support training.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Sources and Additional Readings

Delaware Commission for Women. (2006). Twenty-Fifth Anniversary: Hall of Fame of Delaware Women: The Legacy Endures.