JRMC honors Deb Falk for nursing education and leadership
Deb Falk was named JRMC’s 2026 Nora Melvold Paulson Award recipient, honoring the nurse who helped build the hospital’s education department.
Jamestown Regional Medical Center honored Deb Falk, RN, on May 26 with the 2026 Nora Melvold Paulson Award, recognizing a nurse whose work has shaped education, leadership and day-to-day care inside the hospital. The award puts a public spotlight on the kind of nursing that Jamestown patients depend on but rarely see: the mentoring, training and standards that happen behind the scenes.
JRMC said Falk was selected for her dedication to nursing education, clinical excellence and leadership. Colleagues credited her with helping establish the JRMC Education Department in 2021, a move the hospital says created a lasting framework for learning and professional development across the organization. That work has extended beyond her own unit, with Falk also providing CPR, ACLS and PALS instruction for local organizations and health care professionals.
The honor carries added meaning because it is peer-voted and includes an annual grant for a JRMC nurse to use at their discretion, often for education and training. JRMC said Brian and Nancy Spector established the award in 2011 through the JRMC Foundation in memory of Nora Melvold Paulson, who worked at JRMC for more than 30 years and was remembered for compassionate care and mentorship.
For Jamestown and the surrounding region, Falk’s recognition reflects more than one nurse’s career. JRMC employs more than 100 nurses and serves more than 55,000 people in south-central North Dakota, where continuity, trust and local expertise matter every day. In a rural health system, the people who teach new staff, standardize training and support ongoing professional growth often have as much impact on patient safety as the people at the bedside.
The award also fits a long-running JRMC tradition of nurse-to-nurse recognition. Recent recipients have included Megan Hillius in 2024 and Bonnie Bowen in 2025, reinforcing a culture in which peer leadership is treated as part of the hospital’s identity, not an extra. Falk’s award signals that JRMC sees nursing education as central to keeping care strong in Jamestown, Stutsman County and beyond.
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