Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC, and David L. Reich, MD, back row, sixth and eighth from the left, respectively, gathered with all of the recipients of the 36th Annual Excellence in Nursing Practice Awards.
“We celebrate the heart of Mount Sinai, the Department of Nursing,” said David L. Reich, MD, President of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens, at the 36th Annual Excellence in Nursing Practice Awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 9. The event, held in Stern Auditorium during National Nurses Week, honored 15 individuals who were nominated by their peers for their leadership skills and support of excellence in patient care. Mount Sinai Trustee Edgar M. Cullman, Jr. congratulated the honorees and told them they were “excellent every day.”
Magnet Nurse of the Year winner, Agnieszka Mieczkowska, RNC, BSN, first became affiliated with Mount Sinai as a 16-year-old volunteer. “I am accepting this award on behalf of all Magnet nurses at Mount Sinai,” she said. “We are all in this together.”
The Mount Sinai Hospital held a series of activities during National Nurses Week that included catered breakfasts and unit rounds made by nursing leadership who thanked staff. Nurses also attended a talk with Margaret Edson, author of Wit—a Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a woman coming to terms with metastatic ovarian cancer.
“Mount Sinai is fortunate to have a bevy of experienced and compassionate nurses,” said Frances Cartwright, PhD, RN-BC, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President, Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens. “Your peers nominated more than 40 individuals for these awards. While we honor 15 individuals today, I commend the exceptional skills of all nominated.”
The 15 honorees were: Kerri Biktjorn, RN, BSN; Cynthia Bobadilla, RN, BSN; Carol Boyle, RN, BSN; Elizabeth Cariseo, RN, BSN, CHPN; Lydia Creary, RN, BSN; Ruth Directo-Arreza, RN, BSN; Beata Fanzloch; Radley Flores, RN, BSN; Katie Ip, RN, MSN, BSN; Salvatore LaVecchia; Brenda Luke, RN, BSN; Kenny Ma, RN, BSN; Agnieszka Mieczkowska, RN-C, BSN; Dominique Monsegur, RN, BS; and Carlie Regis, RN, BSN.