NYC Health + Hospitals Celebrates 31 Nurse Professionals and Kings County Nursing Staff as Part of Its Annual Nursing Excellence Awards
Nurse professionals were nominated by their colleagues in honor of their achievements and commitment to patients NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County nursing staff presented with Structural Empowerment Award
Dec 03, 2021
NYC Health + Hospitals today honored 31 nurse professionals from across the public health care system as part of its annual Nursing Excellence Awards. A total of 465 nominations were submitted from across the system and the 31 honorees were selected from this pool by a panel of nurse leaders. Those selected for the recognition are nurse trailblazers who demonstrate leadership in various capacities. The 2021 Nursing Excellence Awards honor 23 nurses with “Excellence in Clinical Nursing” awards, representing each of NYC Health + Hospitals’ facilities and clinical service lines, including acute care, post-acute, correctional health services and Gotham Health. This year’s awards also include four system-level awards, recognizing one nurse chosen from the entire system who has demonstrated excellence in a specific area: “Excellence in Home, Community, or Ambulatory Care;” “Excellence in Education & Mentorship;” “Excellence in Nursing Leadership;” and “Excellence in Volunteerism and Service.”
“I truly believe that our nurses are at the heart of our mission to care for every New Yorker without exception,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “Every day, our nurses reach beyond their routine duties to ensure patients are tested, vaccinated and taking better charge of their own health and the health of their families.”
“Our Nursing Excellence honorees exemplify what it means to be a healthcare hero and this is a great opportunity for us to shine a light on their extraordinary work,” said Chief Nursing Executive for NYC Health + Hospitals Natalia Cineas, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “We express our gratitude to them, and all of our nurses, for the skill, professionalism, and compassion they provide for our patients every day.”
NYC Health + Hospitals is the first health system to present the DAISY Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity, created by the DAISY Foundation to honor nurses whose work advances health equity, mitigating health disparities that are caused by social determinants of health. This award recognizes individual nurses or nurse-led teams, who go above and beyond in caring for patients and families who are disadvantaged demographically, psycho-socially, or economically. Four nurses – one each from our acute care, post-acute, correctional health and Gotham Health facilities – are receiving the inaugural DAISY Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity.
The second annual Structural Empowerment Award was presented to the nursing leadership and staff at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. This award recognizes a single facility within the greater public health care system that has demonstrated a commitment to achieving higher performance levels, including promoting, encouraging and supporting infrastructure creation leading to sustained and substantiated increases in certification rates and other notable metrics.
A highlight of the Nursing Excellence Awards is the presentation of the second annual Josephine Bolus Nursing Champion Award, renamed in 2020 in honor of the very first recipient of the Nursing Champion Award in 2013, former NYC Health + Hospitals Board Member Josephine Bolus. The 2021 Josephine Bolus Nursing Champion Award is being presented to DAISY Foundation co-founders Bonnie and Mark Barnes, who are delivering this year’s keynote address during the Nursing Excellence Awards. The Josephine Bolus Nursing Champion Award is NYC Health + Hospitals’ highest honor bestowed upon supporters of nurses and the nursing profession, and recognizes Drs. Bonnie and Mark Barnes for their deep and unwavering commitment to recognize and support nurses all over the world.
The 2021 Nursing Excellence Award honorees included:
BRONX
- Karen Garcia, MSN-Ed, RN, CEN, TCRN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Silvia Romero, RN
Staff Nurse
Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Belvis
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Sharon Simmonds, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Hyacinth Simpson, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Rosa Vargas, BSN, RN
Accountable Care Manager
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award
BROOKLYN
- Fredrick Adeyemi, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Corine Armand, MS, RN, FNP
Family Nurse Practitioner
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, East New York
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Jawwad Butt, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Vernita Ellison Brown, MSN, BSN, RN
Head Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Cumberland
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Kendra Kartheiser, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County
The DAISY Foundation’s Health Equity Award - Nicola Madou, MSN, MPH, RN
Head Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Chandrapatti Singh Reddy, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award
MANHATTAN
- Barbara Browne, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Pediatric Emergency Department
NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Tina Hackman, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Yi-Hsiang Hsiao, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Patra Lee, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Milana Leviyev, BSN, RN
Head Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler
The DAISY Foundation Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity - Maria Luisa Patria, BSN, RN
Head Nurse, Oral Surgery
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Sonia Reyes Mendoza, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Jasmine Slater-Small, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Blesilda Zapanta, MSHS, BSN, RN, CNOR
Assistant Director of Nursing Peri Operative Services/Chief Nurse Operating Room
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
Excellence in Nursing Leadership Award
QUEENS
- Linda Bulone, RN, OCN, CCRC
Research Nurse Manager, Cancer Center
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
Excellence in Volunteerism and Service Award - Jasmine Samuel, MSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Justin Yi, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award
STATEN ISLAND
- Alex Apostol, BSN, RN
Head Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Sea View
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Xiaowei Ling, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award - Tayyaba Mughal, BSN, RN, CCRN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt
The DAISY Foundation Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity
COMMUNITY CARE
- Keenfan Rebecca Sze, MSN, MPA, RN, FNP
Associate Executive Director, Community Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Community Care
Excellence in Home, Community, or Ambulatory Care Award
CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES
- Verne Corey Baptiste, LPN
Licensed Practical Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health
The DAISY Foundation Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity - Joseph Oyibotsa, MSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health
Excellence in Education & Mentorship Award - Julissa Ramos, MSN, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health
Excellence in Clinical Nursing Award
KINGS COUNTY NURSING LEADERSHIP
Opal Sinclair-Chung, MSNE, MSA, RN, Chief Nursing Officer
Marife Patagan, EdD, MAN, RN, Deputy Director, Director Med/Surg
Jennifer Trotman, MS, RN, Certification in Bioethics and Medical Humanity, Associate Executive Director, Behavioral Health
Shyla Roshin, DNP, RN, Director of Nursing, Behavioral Health
Hyacinth Charles, MSA, RN, Director, Ambulatory Care
Silvanus Michel, MS, RN, CCRN, Director, Critical Care
Susana Consolacion, MAE, RN, CNOR, Director, Peri-Operative Services
Vera Appiah Agyemang, MSN, RN, CNM, Director Maternal Child Health
Diahann Singh, MSN-E, RN, Director, Emergency Department
Julianne Gentile, MS, RN, ANP-BC, Director, Education and Research
Fe Villar Jacolbe, MA, RN, RN-BC, PMP, Director Quality Improvement and Pathway to Excellence
Cee-Ann Boatswain, MSN, RN, Director, Informatics
Eugene Vaknansky, MSN, RN, FNP, Director, Staffing and Finance
Ann Marie Williams, MSA, RN, CNOR, Associate Director, Peri-op Services
Myrna Foster, DNP-C, MA, RN, Associate Director, Nursing Administration
Laura Shamailov, MSN, MPH, RN, Associate Director, Behavioral Health
The nurses honored are among the more than 9,000 nurses at NYC Health + Hospitals who provide care throughout the system’s hospitals, post-acute care centers, community health centers and neighborhood clinics, home care, and the correctional health system, throughout the five boroughs.
To learn more about the Nursing Excellence Awards or any of this year’s recipients, visit /nursing-excellence-awards-2021/.