At the Kenton County Fiscal Court meeting this week, the court recognized 2022 Pioneer Award honoree Terry Foster for his contributions to the county.
The Pioneer Award is given to residents of Kenton County who provide service to the community and demonstrate leadership combined with an awareness of the needs of fellow residents.
Foster graduated from Booth Memorial Hospital School of Practical Nursing in 1977 as a licensed practical nurse (LPN).
After working for four years as an LPN in both the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit, he received his registered nurse (RN) diploma from The Christ Hospital School of Nursing.
In 1997, Foster received his master’s degree in Critical-Care and Trauma Nursing from the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing and Health.
He was nominated for the award by his daughter Meredith Hitter who said she was proud of her dad and proud to be his daughter.
“When I recently asked my dad about how long he had lived in Kenton County, he said he had only lived away from here, a 10-minute drive in Anderson, Ohio, for nine years,” Hitter said. “So out of almost 65 years, he has devoted truly all his adult life to Kenton County serving the greater good.”
He has held positions of volunteer, ward clerk, staff nurse, charge nurse, critical-care instructor, clinical director, and night supervisor at the Mercy Hospitals of Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Northern Kentucky.
He has four national certifications in critical care, emergency, pediatric, and trauma nursing.
Foster was elected in 2018 to a three-year term on the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Board of Directors and, in 2021, served as the Secretary/Treasurer. He is the 2023 President-Elect of the ENA.
Foster has been featured in 10 episodes of The Learning Channels (TLC) national TV program Untold Stories of the ER, and he is the first RN ever to be featured on the physician-only based television show.
“Terry, you have a lot of fun, and your stories and wit are great, and I’ll tell you the other thing about you is you give your time unselfishly,” Kenton County Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann said.
Foster has received the Judith Kelleher Award, the highest award from the Emergency Nurses Association. He was inducted as a Fellow into the Academy of Emergency Nursing, an internationally appointed group of accomplished emergency nursing leaders from around the world.
“I feel like I have been given many gifts, and to whom much is given, much is expected, and I certainly believe that and love to give back,” Foster said.
