Nurse Leader Honoree Stories

I wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for all that you have done for me.  20 years ago you believed in me and asked me to help co-chair a staff nursing quality council.  This was a pivotal time in my career as I then gained progressive leadership experience.  I always respect and admire the advice you give me as a leader - even when there are bad days.  In the past few years, it was also exciting for me to see you teach my daughter, another nurse, to become a leader in her own department.  Thank you for so much for being pivotal in my career and in addition helping my daughter learn as she gained her BSN.   Thank you for being a part of my life and career.  I appreciate you.

I would like to recognize Michelle Jost for her leadership skills in Nursing.  Over the years, I have seen her silent strength emerge in many ways.  Michelle has a gift for recognizing talents in her co-workers and fostering the growth of those individuals by challenging them to step out of their comfort zones.  She is always focused on empowering others, and selflessly builds her colleagues up and ensures they receive credit for their ideas and work, even if that means they may “outshine” her.  I have learned so much by working with Michelle; many lessons I will carry with me throughout my life that have implications not only in my career but in my personal life, as well.  I believe the best leaders appreciate and care for those who work for them above all else, knowing they will be rewarded in return by the dedication of these co-workers.  Michelle displays these qualities and more.  I am so blessed to be a part of her team!

Thank you for your outstanding leadership as our Chief Nursing Officer.  Your compassion, skill, and grace as a nursing leader has led our nursing division to be a high performing team of professionals!  You are admired and respected by all at Allegheny General Hospital!

Thank you for all you are doing.  I have always appreciated your mentorship and guidance as I have grown as a leader in healthcare.

Maria has been a great inspiration and mentor to me during my career at NorthShore. She has worked tirelessly to transform our healthcare system through the COVID-19 pandemic with her nursing and clinical teams. Her dedication is noteworthy. Maria always puts her nursing teams' interests first and is a true servant leader. I always know I can reach out to her for anything as a trusted advisor to get her input. She has taught me many things during my time working with her. The biggest lesson is the value of building the next generation of nurse leaders through inspirational leadership and successional planning. Thank you Maria for serving our nurse leaders and bedside nurses need continuously to ensure they are able to take great care of patients. You are greatly appreciated! ~Tommy

Thank you for your uplifting spirit, your vision, and your wisdom as you inspire and lead WellSpan nurses to achieve excellence. It has been such a pleasure and honor working with you!!

Mara, thank you for your leadership and support during this challenging time in healthcare. I am proud to stand beside you as you continue to provide hope and stability to your team. I am honored to be your partner! Betsy

Thank you for always being 20 steps ahead of me to give me a vision of what I should aspire to do. You spent time getting to know me as a leader and then navigated me into roles and places where I could learn and grow. You also taught me how to give this back to others who might be watching me. Thank you for your leadership and for believing in what I can to and who I can be.

Judi, You are a pillar of professionalism with a steadfast passion for excellence and continued growth. Thank you for all you do to support high performance in Nursing Care at Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children.

Remembering and honoring you....for your nursing and health care leadership over the years. We have worked together in four different organizations - leading U.S. and international healthcare efforts. It has been my joy, my honor, to have you as a partner; to watch you grow, learn, and thrive. You readily accept challenges; build teams; and innovate. So proud of you.

Patricia - you have been a light to me since you joined our team 2 years ago.  You have been ceaseless in your efforts to showcase the greatness of our team.  I am so grateful for the many opportunities you have given me to become involved in new projects and learn new aspects of healthcare operations.  I feel like you are my champion.  You are not just my boss, but my mentor, my sponsor, and my friend.  I truly can't thank you enough for rekindling a light in me.

Over the last ten years, I have watched you grow from a nurse manager to the Director of Patient Care Services as a transformational leader.   You have an incredible way of seeing a vision, understanding the need for change and the capability of inspiring others to execute changes in order to optimize patient outcomes.  You truly are a leader nurses chose to follow.

David Bailey has been a mentor, coach, and sponsor for me since I have met him.  He provides feedback in an open, honest, and transparent manner to grow me personally and professionally.  He has acted as a sponsor by introducing me to influential national nurse leaders and encourages me to stretch outside of my comfort zone to grow professionally.  I am so appreciative of him, his leadership, and his friendship!

Dr. Galuska is the epitome of a caring and compassionate leader.  I am so fortunate to have her as a colleague and mentor.  She has provided me with many opportunities for personal and professional growth.  She chose me to collaborate with her on a leadership symposium in Hong Kong as well as collaborating with me on my first publication.  I am so appreciative of her patience and sense of humor!!  Happy Nurses Week!!!

Mary, you have always been a "nurses' nurse" and it is not surprising that you have gone on to become an outstanding nurse leader cherished by all. I was honored to work with you on the recent achievement of your Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.  You focus on creating a healthy work environment for your nurses culminated in developing a mindfulness/self-care program that is continuing now. You did this while also achieving Magnet status, a rarity for a specialty hospital. Your staff adore you and you helped lead an initiative to convert your specialty orthopedic hospital to a COVID ready institution to support our current pandemic. I am so proud of all your accomplishments.

Meghan has been working tirelessly to ensure that every detail of caring for COVID-19 patients in the ED is perfect.  She wants to ensure that both patients and staff are safe and the care is top-notch.  She has been highly engaged, motivated, and devoted to the hospital's efforts.  This is not the first time Meghan has displayed these qualities—she was the same when we were faced with Ebola and she does this in her day-to-day work as well.  I am so proud to work with Meghan because she makes everyone around her more driven.  For these reasons, I feel Meghan should be recognized for her professionalism and leadership.

Thank you for being the most collaborative Manager I know! Jessica will cross the nursing boundaries to get the job done. If she says she will do it she does. I enjoy working with her and admire her energy, tenacity and good nature.

Nancye,
You have been a leader and mentor. I realized that this would be the situation when we did our phone screening. Everything I felt would be right about being on your team has been correct. Thank you for your leadership.

Naomi,
Thank you for leading! You have supported the ED intermittently for 8 months of the past year you navigated through a large construction project, many boarding patients, and now COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for keeping our staff safe. Thank you for working the long hours, weekends and evenings. I appreciate you.  

Thank you Linda for your almost 4 decades of service to your profession, and to the nurses of Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. As CNO for LEMC, nursing has strengthened under your leadership and excelled at taking care of our sickest and most vulnerable. We are forever indebted to you and your unwavering commitment to nursing excellence, patient care, and your community.

Thank you, LaShunna for everything you are doing for our patients, staff, and the team. Your critical care knowledge and skills and excellent leadership skills are much needed in our unit especially at this time of crisis. Your flexibility, hard work, teamwork is not going unnoticed. You are recognized and much appreciated.

Deanna, I want to recognize you for your nursing excellence and everything you do for our patients and the profession. I celebrate you for your excellent leadership, professionalism, and accomplishments. You are a health care hero admired and idealized for your courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities. I am grateful for you as my mentor all these years. Thank you for the friendship and all you are doing.

I would like to recognize Michelle Jost for her leadership skills in Nursing.  Over the years, I have seen her silent strength emerge in many ways.  Michelle has a gift for recognizing talents in her co-workers and fostering the growth of those individuals by challenging them to step out of their comfort zones.  She is always focused on empowering others, and selflessly builds her colleagues up and ensures they receive credit for their ideas and work, even if that means they may “outshine” her.  I have learned so much by working with Michelle; many lessons I will carry with me throughout my life that have implications not only in my career but in my personal life, as well.  I believe the best leaders appreciate and care for those who work for them above all else, knowing they will be rewarded in return by the dedication of these co-workers.  Michelle displays these qualities and more.  I am so blessed to be a part of her team!