The Iota Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha recently presented CCC campus nurse
Karmesha Duke, RN, the well-esteemed Service Award. At the organization’s Founders’
Day celebration, the Lambert, Miss. native was recognized for outstanding healthcare
services and professional expertise in 2021.
The group honored health care professionals employed in counties that the chapter serves—Quitman, Coahoma, Bolivar, and Tallahatchie.
“We give service awards bi-annually (every two years) according to a set theme; one year, we did the arts,” said Dr. Mary Williams, DNP-FNP, a former president of the graduate chapter. “Our service honorees are two recipients from each county, and they’re nominated by the Founders’ Day committee.”
Other distinguished healthcare workers also honored include Ashley Chornes, Quitman County; Dr. William Booker, Coahoma County; Dr. Robert Long, Coahoma County; Yolanda Berkley, Tallahatchie County; LaWanda Herron, Tallahatchie County; Dr. Nola Gough Davis, Bolivar County, and Dr. Degail Hadley, Bolivar County. Duke, however, could uniquely stand out from the pack with a trophy commemorating her being selected for the top honor during the ceremony.
“Since we’re in a pandemic, we felt it was fitting to honor healthcare workers, and Founders’ Day activities revolved around ‘Reuniting in Service,’” Williams added.
Duke is a two-time graduate of Hondros College of Nursing and deliberately aims to bring advocacy, compassion, and trustworthiness to her role as campus nurse at Coahoma Community College. While a charge nurse for the telemetry unit of the Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, she was bestowed the 2018 Employee of the Year naming for her hard work and dedication on the job. Duke has realized that the nursing field is what she calls a ‘work of heart.’ She is the mother of four children, Moleeka, Ethan, Destiny, and Emerly, and the wife of Patrick Duke.