A record number of nurses are being honored for the sixth annual Cameos of Caring Awards, the program started by the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing to recognize exceptional work of these health care workers.

Forty-three nurses will be heralded at a gala Saturday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

The nurses have been nominated by 37 hospitals in the region. Among the categories is the advanced practice award to honor nurses with master's degrees who provide care to individuals, families and groups in diverse settings. A Pitt nursing school committee chose five nurses to receive that award this year.

Introduced last year was the Donate Life Award, created to acknowledge nurses who are particularly strong advocates for organ and tissue donation.

Here are the honorees:

Susan M. Berger, of Irwin, a team leader in the rehabilitation unit at Pittsburgh Mercy Health System.

Tina Biondi, of Bellevue, a staff nurse in the medical surgical unit at Allegheny General Hospital.

Karen Bischof, of Bedford, Bedford County, a clinical staff nurse at UPMC Bedford Memorial Hospital.

Marilyn Brody, of Oil City, Venango County, a staff nurse in the intensive care unit at UPMC Northwest.

Risa Candelore, of North Huntingdon, a charge nurse in the oncology unit at Forbes Regional Hospital.

Nancy M. Chisholm, of McCandless, a charge nurse in the progressive care unit at Suburban General Hospital.

Christine Colland, of Irwin, who works in the post-anesthesia care unit at Westmoreland Regional Hospital.

Patricia Cosentino, of Avella, a senior professional staff nurse at UPMC Shadyside.

Nancy Czolba, of Penn Hills, who works in the spinal cord injury unit at UPMC Rehabilitation Hospital.

Darlene Ann Dietrich, of Butler, who works on the surgical inpatient unit at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System-University Drive.

Heidilyn M. Dolinich, of Ligonier, who trains medical staff in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children's Hospital.

Amy L. Dunn, of Green Tree, a staff nurse in telemetry at Sewickley Valley Hospital.

Tammy Enders, of Cranberry, a collaborative practice nurse in the Women's Cancer Center at Magee-Womens Hospital.

Karen Ferrari, of Penn Hills, a surgical unit nurse at UPMC South Side.

Susanne Forsythe, of Imperial, an obstetrics nurse at Ohio Valley General Hospital.

Donald P. Fox, of West Leechburg, who works in hospice and palliative care at the Heinz Division of the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Dana Green, of Monessen, who works in the progressive care unit at Monongahela Valley Hospital.

Annie Hahn, of Murrysville, who works in the Diagnostic Evaluation Center at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic.

Laurie Hardesty, of Jackson Center, Mercer County, who works in the critical care unit at UPMC Horizon's Greenville campus.

Renee C. Hernandez, of North Huntingdon, who works in intensive care at UPMC Presbyterian.

Susan Perry Koloshinsky, of Greensburg, a home health care nurse at Frick Hospital.

Lorraine Kwiecinski, of Wilkins, who works at LifeCare Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Ruth Ann Lasky, of Johnstown, who works in operating room and surgical services at UPMC Lee Regional.

Maggie Lattanzio, of Allison Park, primary nurse coordinator in the progressive care unit and outpatient congestive heart failure center at UPMC Passavant.

Darlene Marcischak, of Houston, a staff nurse in the medical/surgical unit at Canonsburg General Hospital.

Kathy McPherson, of Natrona Heights, an emergency department nurse at Alle-Kiski Medical Center.

Vanessa Paskert-O'Kain, of West Mifflin, who works in the medical/surgical patient care unit at UPMC Braddock.

Bobbie Olszewski, of Sharpsburg, a nurse clinician at UPMC St. Margaret.

Anna Marie Pozycki, of Green Tree, who works in cardiac progressive care at West Penn.

Janice M. Rihely, of Rochester, a psychiatric nurse at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System-Highland Drive.

Gerald M. Saylor, of South Park Township, a member of the cardiovascular recovery team at Jefferson Regional Medical Center.

Sabrina Scarpinato, of Palermo, a floor charge nurse at UPMC Italy (The Mediterranean Institute for Transplantation and Specialized Therapies).

Mary Kay Stiver, of Hopwood, Fayette County, who works in the telemetry care unit at Uniontown Hospital.

Rachel A. Wallick, of Enon Valley, Lawrence County, who works in the medical surgical area at The Medical Center Beaver.

Hilda White, of Jeannette, a hospital and palliative care nurse at Latrobe Area Hospital.

Maureen Woleslagle, of Brookline, a staff nurse at St. Clair Hospital.

Vonnie Zabelsky, of Duquesne, works in the critical care step-down unit at UPMC McKeesport.

Advanced practice awardees

Joan M. Latsko, of Monroeville, the clinical coordinator of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at West Penn Hospital.

Kimberly A. Lombardi, of New Castle, Lawrence County director of the Womancare Center of UPMC Horizon, affiliated with Magee-Womens Hospital.

Eileen O'Toole, of Mt. Lebanon, a nurse practitioner in the division of colon and rectal surgery at Allegheny General Hospital.

Brenda Petrella, of Midland, a nurse practitioner in the emergency department at The Medical Center Beaver.

Lucy Thompson, of Shadyside, who works in cardiac intensive care at Children's Hospital.

Donate life awardee

Becky Mitchell-Perry, of Clairton, unit director of the neuroscience ICU and medical/surgical ICU at UPMC Shadyside. She created the unit-based organ/tissue donation champion campaign at the hospital to educate staff about the donation process to make donation more visible to day-to-day nursing practice.