Paul David Meek, a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, was honored recently as a National Nurse Hero for his volunteer rescue work during flooding in northern Shawnee County.

Meek was recognized along with nine other nurses from across the country at the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing convention in Baltimore. All 10 of Nursing Spectrum’s Nurse Heroes are nurses who saved or attempted to save a life under adverse conditions that were not a part of their work duties.

Of the 75 people rescued, 56 were residents of the Rossville Manor Nursing Home.

Wearing a wetsuit, Meek, along with his team, worked for 17 hours to rescue adults and children. No lives were lost, and there were no serious injuries.