2019 Nurse Honorees

Nominating Organization: THE ARNOLD P. GOLD FOUNDATION

PhD, RN, FAAN, Visiting Professor

Polly Bednash is the Former Chief Executive Officer of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and former head of the association’s legislative and regulatory advocacy programs…

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Nominating Organization: RWJBARNABAS HEALTH

RN, BSN, MA, Chief Nurse Officer/VP for Patient Care Services • Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, RWJ Barnabas Health

Judy has grown academically and professionally over a span of the last 12 years — with her career starting in the Philippines to her current role as CNO at RWJBarnabas Health-Monmouth Medical Center…

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Nominating Organization: ORDER OF MALTA, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION

BSN, Professor, Nursing • Member, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, New York, USA

In 2003, Maureen Gibbons retired from her career as a Registered Nurse. Her career began at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital after graduating from Columbia University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing…

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Nominating Organization: FERTILITY EDUCATION OF MEDICAL MANAGEMENT (FEMM)

Nurse & Midwife • Reproductive Health Research Institute (RHRI), Santiago, Chile

Susana Paola Godoy Hidalgo has participated in voluntary working experiences since she was a nursing student, teaching health education to vulnerable populations. Initially working in communities in Santa Cruz…

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Nominating Organization: MALTESER INTERNATIONAL

Head of Nursing • Malteser International, Duhok, Iraq

As a child, Faiza had a dream — that was to become a nurse and serve her community. She pursued her early education at Al Tashania Catholic School in Mosul, Iraq. After completing secondary school…

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Nominating Organization: NYU RORY MEYERS COLLEGE OF NURSING

DNSc, RN, Assistant Professor, Nursing • Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York, USA

In early 2000s, Massachusetts surveillance data demonstrated that the Worcester community had the highest infant mortality rate in the state. Upon further examination of death certificates…

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Nominating Organization: MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS

PhD, RN, FNP-BC, Associate Professor • MGH Institute of Health Professions, Massachusetts, USA

Elissa Ladd has had a lifelong commitment to global health. As a young student and nurse, she worked with midwives in an inner-city clinic in Lima, Peru; with Cambodian refugees in camps on the Thai/Cambodian border…

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Nominating Organization: MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER

MSN, RN, NE-BC, Nurse Leader, Peri-Operative Services/Oncology • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA

Marcia Levine’s expertise in leadership, nursing and quality patient care supports her success in her current professional role as the Senior Director of Peri-operative services at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)…

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Nominating Organization: VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY M. LOUISE FITZPATRICK COLLEGE OF NURSING

PhD, MSN, ASN, Professor, Nursing • Xiangya College of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, China

Following Sister Jackline Mayaka’s graduation from Nairobi Hospital Cecily McDonnell School of Nursing, she was assigned to work at Asumbi Health Center in Homabay County, Nyanza region of…

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Nominating Organization: PHILIPS

Professional Nurse, Comprehensive Primary Healthcare • Rhiza Babuyile, Diepsloot, South Africa

Sr. Thandi Mgcina has 35-years’ experience working with disadvantaged populations in South Africa and has a passion for community health. Thandi established and ran a day clinic in Diepsloot, which was…

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Nominating Organization: RWJBARNABAS HEALTH

MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN, FAEN, Trauma Performance Improvement Coordinator • Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey, USA

Tim Murphy has been a Trauma Nurse for over 35 years. All of Tim’s clinical education has been in the field of trauma nursing and he has developed a Basic Trauma Nursing course for nurses targeted at…

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Nominating Organization: NORTHWELL HEALTH

MSN, RN, Assistant Director, Nursing • Northwell Health Syosset Hospital, Syosset, New York, USA

Nina Ng’s background as an emergency room nurse and hospital administrator has prepared her well for a myriad of different clinical and life situations. One case in particular was when Nina joined a team in 2017 to…

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Nominating Organization: MALTESER INTERNATIONAL

Head of Nursing • Malteser International, Duhok, Iraq

As a working nurse for over 9 years, Hewa Faiq Omar has many experiences and stories because in Iraq he often treated up to 100 patients per day. Yet, some stories hold a special memory that give him a sense that…

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Nominating Organization: HOLY FAMILY HOSPITAL OF BETHLEHEM

Head Nurse • Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem 

Suha Muhammad Oweineh was born and raised in a small village outside of Bethlehem called Battir, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Palestine. After finishing high school, she received a degree in nursing…

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Nominating Organization: AMERICAN NURSES CREDENTIALING CENTER (ANCC)

DNP, FNP-BC, RN, Nurse Practitioner and Internal Consultant, Family Medicine • Greater Portland Health and Maine Medical, Maine, USA

Over the past ten years, Courtney Pladsen has devoted her nursing career to advocacy, health equity, and providing holistic care to under resourced communities. As a nurse practitioner, Courtney works…

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Nominating Organization: PHILIPS

MA, RN, Program Manager for Health Hazard Evaluation for Patient Monitoring Quality & Regulatory

Catherine (Kate) Rochford was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and was determined to be a nurse from a young age. As a child with health issues, she spent a considerable amount of time…

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Nominating Organization: CATHOLIC MEDICAL MISSION BOARD (CMMB)

MSN, APRN-CNM, Certified Nurse-Midwife • Catholic Medical Mission Board, Nzara, South Sudan

Sarah Rubino earned her Bachelor of Nursing in 2013 from Wheeling Jesuit University, and in 2018 a Master of Science in Nurse-Midwifery from Frontier Nursing University, the first school in…

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Nominating Organization: CATHOLIC COMMITTEE OF NURSES AT THE UNITED NATIONS

PhD, RN, Professor • College of Saint Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA

Throughout her forty years of nursing, Eileen Specchio has worked tirelessly to spearhead efforts designed to reach and to provide nursing care to the poor and underserved living in Haiti, the Dominican Republic…

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Nominating Organization: NYU RORY MEYERS COLLEGE OF NURSING

PhD, MSN, ASN, Professor, Nursing • Xiangya College of Nursing, Central South University, Changsha, China

Honghong Wang has worked on HIV prevention and care since the beginning of HIV epidemic in China in the mid-1990s, focusing on four areas. First is HIV/AIDS training for nurses in…

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Nominating Organization: RAD-AID, INTERNATIONAL

RN, MSN, HN-BC, Chief Executive Officer • NEPA Community Health Care, Pennsylvania, USA

Mary Wetherall has dedicated her professional nursing career to holistically support and optimize healthcare delivery for both providers and patients in underserved or low-resource communities…

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Nominating Organization: HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

BSN, RN, CPN, Clinical Level III Staff Nurse, Pediatric Cardiology • Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey, USA

Michelle (Mickey) Wilder, serves as a Level III staff nurse at the Pediatric Center for Heart Disease at Hackensack Meridian Health at Hackensack University Medical Center. She began her career…

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