HHC Honors Outstanding Nurses with First Annual Nursing Excellence Awards
Oct 16, 2012
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) today honored six nurses and a nursing team with its first-ever Nursing Excellence Awards for their leadership, skill and compassion in areas including improving patient outcomes, teamwork and community service.
The nurses recognized today include the supervisor of a program that provides home visiting services for first-time mothers; a leader of changes in healthcare delivery that led to a decrease in readmission rates for heart failure patients; and a volunteer who finds time to serve her community outside of work by teaching children at Sunday school, promoting women’s issues and raising funds for distribution of food and clothing to the elderly. They come from among 8,000 men and women who provide nursing care each day in the city’s public hospitals, long-term care facilities and health centers in every borough.
“HHC nurses play a vital role in our organization’s ability to deliver quality, patient-centered care to the 1.4 million New Yorkers who rely on us for their healthcare every year,” said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. “We thank them for the passion and commitment they bring every day to care for our patients and their families.”
“This is a remarkable group of individuals who practice as staff nurses, educators, leaders, innovators , collaborators, coaches, mentors and passionate patient advocates,” said HHC Chief Nursing Officer Lauren Johnston, RN, MPA. “They touch lives every day, insisting on the best from themselves, their partners in care and the patients we serve.”
The nurses were recognized during a reception and ceremony at Harlem Hospital Center.
The 2012 Nursing Excellence Award winners are:
- Marcia Phillips, RN at Harlem Hospital Center, who received the Excellence in Home, Community and Ambulatory Care award for her work in supervising the home visiting services provided for first time mothers.
- Alma Pamandanan-Pierson, RN at Bellevue Hospital, who received the Professional Management Award for leading changes in care delivery that has led to a decrease in the readmission rate of patients with congestive heart failure.
- Elsykutty Mathew, RN, who received the Volunteerism and Service Award for the selfless service she brings to the wider community in addition to her dedicated work at Coler-Goldwater.
- Christine Iwanicki, RN, who received the award for Excellence in Clinical Nursing for her outstanding work in the Coronary Care Cardiovascular unit at Coney Island Hospital.
- Susan Domingo, RN, who received the Education and Mentorship Award for her skills as an educator who guides the growth of new and current employees at Elmhurst Hospital Center.
- Angela Grigg-Beeson, RN at Woodhull Medical Center, who received the award for Advancing and Leading the Profession for her efforts to help transform the nursing practice, focus on collaboration among disciplines and improve outcomes.
- The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Bellevue Hospital received the Team Award for demonstrating how effective teamwork is central to HHC’s strategy to achieve excellence and for their unwavering commitment to quality care to benefit some of our most vulnerable patients.
Also recognized were three HHC hospitals that have been certified as Nurses Improving Care for Healthsystem Elders (NICHE) facilities, senior-friendly hospitals designed to meet the special needs of hospitalized elder adults. HHC’s Harlem Hospital Center, North Central Bronx Hospital and Queens Hospital Center were designated as NICHE hospitals in May after partnering with the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and the New York University College of Nursing to implement a nationally recognized training program designed to bring the most current knowledge and skills in geriatric patient care to bedside nurses and hospital staff. More than 100 nurses and healthcare professionals at these three institutions have already begun to adopt age-sensitive, patient-centered best practices in elder care to help improve the health status of New Yorkers age 65 year and older.
Contact: Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.