CHA 2007 Healthcare Heroes Contest Essays

Numerous contest entrants provided compelling stories of how they and/or their co-workers answer the call of service to their communities every day.  

After a difficult selection process, ten winning essays were chosen.   The winners were recognized at CHA's 89th Annual Meeting on June 21, 2007 and received ten $100 prizes made possible in part by the sponsorship support of Nielsen Healthcare Group.  CHA is pleased to be able to share the 10 winning essays in their entirety below:

Essayist: Susan Dugdale

Healthcare Hero: Annamaria Mennella MSW

Connecticut Children's Medical Center

She is a healthcare hero to all of us who know her and watch her selfless, caring ways. She is our social worker, our friend. She is a mentor to those whom she supervises from our H.O.M.E. staff, a newly formed community outreach from Primary Care. she teaches them with her own gentle ways and compassionate practice. She is an outreach to the CCMC community healthcare providers and to the neighborhood community. She is often our connection to the Department of Children and Families, the Hispanic Health Council, SCAN, area schools, and other outside services. She is well known to many of our families as the person who brings donated Christmas toys to their children at holiday time. She is an always willing Spanish interpreter assisting staff in obtaining much needed information from families whose knowledge of the English language is minimal. She is a comfort to grieving parents. She is a counselor to young teens. She is Annamaria Mennella MSW in the Primary Care Center at CCMC.

It is an honor to be her friend and co-worker. Annamaria is always there to support us in spirit and with a listening ear as we minister primary care to our patients, often some of the most vulnerable young members of the Hartford community. She lifts us up with her laughter and often is the glue that brings together all the parts of a fragmented case. She contacts patient who frequently miss their appointments, reschedules, arranges transportation to and from the Primary Care Center, provides bus tokens and childcare equipment our families often cannot afford, and assists them in obtaining proper healthcare insurance for their children.

Most recently, I had the humble opportunity to watch Annamaria in action. She was summoned while en route home by one of our physicians and nurses who were preparing to remove two children from their mother, a young woman, who over years had become increasingly more negligent and incapable of caring for them due to her own mental illness. This is, perhaps, the most unimaginable situation (other than the death of a child) that any healthcare worker will ever deal with. Participants in this event feel hopeful yet uncertain of the outcome for the children while at the same time are overwhelmed with feelings of sadness and guilt at what is happening to the mother. Annamaria delivered support to this mother speaking to her firmly yet compassionately back and forth in English then Spanish. She held her while she wept, lifted her from the floor when she crumbled in despair. She made phone calls to others outside the hospital who were involved in the care of this family and attempted to arrange care for this mother with relatives after the children had been removed. Annamaria then stayed late into the evening to ensure the young woman's safe transfer to the Emergency Room for evaluation. She then sat beyond that hour to comfort and support staff members who had participated in this difficult turn of events.

Annamaria is a professional in every sense of the word whose scope of practice reaches far beyond the hours of her workday and the walls of her office. She has established rapport with families who ask for her by name. She responds with a smile to all staff members who hourly reach out to her with one dilemma or another. Annamaria Mennella is a true Healthcare Hero to all who have the privilege of knowing her.

Essayist: Michele Koss, RN,

Healthcare Hero: Maria Gasior, RN

Connecticut Children's Medical Center

Maria Gasior deserves to be honored with the 2007 Healthcare Heroes recognition award. Maria is a kind, caring nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. She uses her knowledge to bring hope to families one interaction at a time. Maria is dedicated to improving the physical and emotional health of children in the ICU, and then promoting and maintaining the health of those families. She inspires her peers by promoting the fine art of nursing.

Maria demonstrates excellence in nursing through family centered care. All her actions and interventions are guided by the needs of the family and patient. She creates a partnership with the family to achieve mutually acceptable and achievable goals. In her endeavors to provide excellent clinical care, Maria shows compassion and kindness that has no boundaries.

This year Maria has demonstrated her participation as a hero with one particular patient in the PICU. Maria took an active role and designated herself as one of the primary nurses for a PICU patient with an expected extended length of stay. Maria took care of this child almost exclusively for 18 months. Maria watched him grow and develop, and became a person that he (the patient) could count on. Maria became his hero.

Maria knew before anyone else when her little patient wasn't feeling well. She knew because she dedicated so much of herself to him. They knew each other intuitively. Not only did she physically care for this infant, she emotionally cared for him. Maria could be seen with, or reading to the baby as he sat on her lap with his binky bobbing in and out of his mouth. While it may seem that this is an expectation of nurses, Maria made it a priority, not a requirement. She enjoyed watching the young patient grow, interact, and learn. What is more, Maria took the time to teach the baby. She would spend countless hours talking to him as if he was her own child. It was heart warming to watch them interact from afar. She would speak to him so softly and he would watch her with great interest as she moved about the room.

Maria took the time to teach his family all about him. The plan was for him to go home with his mommy and daddy performing his medical care. Maria spent countless hours teaching his parents everything she knew about caring for him. She taught the family tracheotomy care, gastronomy and jejuneunostomy care. She taught them how to give a bath, how to play, how to interact with tubes connected to many places. She taught them how to be a family in a hospital setting.

Unfortunately, though, the baby was not making medical progress, and in fact began to decline in his health status. Maria was there to intervene as the subtle changes began to occur. She worked as hard as any nurse could for this patient, but disease and death were unstoppable. Maria fought as hard as she could - against the disease, against unfairness and injustice, and against the odds. Maria lost. But the patient did not. Every step of the way, he had a hero fighting with him. When he could no longer fight, he had a hero to be with his family and console them. This patient had Maria looking out for him and his family when they could no longer do it themselves.

The definition of a hero includes displays of great strength. Maria was a source of strength for this family in good and bad times. It is this quiet strength that sets Maria apart as a nurse. She seeks out the families and children who need her and she bears their burden for a while. This is only one of the many scenarios that Maria has been involved with that demonstrates her heroic capabilities.

Maria has had a positive impact on the community through her work at CCMC. She is an extraordinary individual who finds the opportunity to show compassion without boundaries. Her daily interventions to assist a sick child or family are based on improving the larger society. The information that she teaches families, the emotions that she shares, and the time spent all translate into positive effects on patient, family, organization, and community. Please recognize Maria as the Healthcare Hero that we all know her to be.

Essayist: Patricia Hedenberg, Employment Manager

Healthcare Hero: Barbara Chubbuck

Day Kimball Hospital

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things or more money in order to be happier, or so they think. Barbara Chubbuck is a person who got it right from the beginning. Having lived most of her life as a farmer's wife, she knows about the cycles of life. She learned early on that the best laid plans don't always work out the way you planned and that you can't control the weather, or the ebb and flow of life.

The story I'm about to tell is how one woman was able to forge a team whose sole function is dedicated to helping others in the community. It started over ten years ago when Barbara, an Administrative Assistant, in both the Intensive Care Unit and the hospital's Laboratory Department, organized a group to walk for the Relay for Life to raise money for cancer research. This was Barbara's way of supporting a friend who had recovered from cancer.

However, for Barbara, that wasn't enough - she needed to do more. Following a discussion with Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, the Director of the Rose Bove LaRose Oncology Center at Day Kimball Hospital, Barbara had a mission. Her goal was to help make her neighbors' and friends' stay in the hospital's Hematology-Oncology Department a little easier.

Out of that longing, a group called Well-Wishers was formed. The group consisted of hospital employees, as well as community members that take part in fundraising efforts to benefit the Oncology Center at the Hospital. The group's aim is to host events that include the entire community and create a fun atmosphere, while supporting a cause that touches many hearts.

Popular fundraising activities have included a variety show with members of the medical staff performing, as well as community members kicking up their heels as they take to the stage with healthcare spoofs on life in the hospital, and in the community, all set to popular music from the 50's.

Monies raised were used to purchase eight state-of-the-art treatment chairs for patients who receive services in the hospital's Hematology-Oncology Department.

"These new treatment chairs are designed specifically for patient comfort," said Jeffrey A. Gordon, MD.

In addition, the group has purchased a flat, electronic scale, which is lower to the ground than normal scales. Now, elderly patients do not have to step up while having their weight taken, eliminating the possibility of losing their balance. Other purchases include special foam mattresses, making the patient's rest during infusions more comfortable.

"The Well-Wishers fundraising efforts are integral to the Oncology Services at Day Kimball Hospital. The patients truly appreciate having new and more comfortable chairs to receive their treatment in. I am very proud of all the Well-Wishers and their mission of supporting Hematology-Oncology patients in Northeastern Connecticut. Their generosity is truly an example of what the local community can do to help us do what we do best: care for people with blood disorders and cancer, said Dr. Gordon."

Another event is the Annual Block Party, now in its sixth year, held at Rotary Park, in conjunction with the ARC of Quinebaug Valley's Rubber Ducky Race over the Cargill Falls.

"The block party is a great community event where everyone can participate," said Linda Garcia RN, MSN, a member of the Well-Wishers. "The whole family gets an opportunity to donate to a community-based cause while having a lot of fun."

Following the morning Deary Memorial Race and Walk, the Block Party offers a Tri-State car cruise, horse-n-wagon rides, a moon bounce, book sale, hoop shoot, crafts and games for children, and more. The Town of Putnam closes the event with a Water Fire celebration on the Quinebaug River. It's free and open to everyone and the only stipulation is that participating organizations make a donation to the Well-Wishers. Barbara is here, there, and everywhere that day, making sure that everything runs smoothly.

Her most recent idea was to offer lap robes and prayer shawls to oncology patients. She organized staff and community members to donate hand-knitted squares to be pieced together into robes or prayer shawls for patients. The accompanying card with each robe says, "each stitch a thought, each row a prayer to let you know that others care" from the community of Well-Wishers. As a recipient expressed it, "Every time I curl up with my robe, I know that others care about me and are praying for my recovery." What greater motivation is there?

"Barbara is the catalyst behind all these activities," said Tina Kerouack, staffing coordinator at the Hospital. "It's heartwarming to see all the public support," she added. "Barbara brings out the best in people. She motivates them to reach out to each other, to show that in our own small ways we can make a difference in the lives of one another. To me, that is a true hero."

Essayist: Douglas Hull, Paramedic, EMS Manager/Trauma Coordinator

Healthcare Hero: Chris Reddy, Paramedic

Windham Hospital

Windham Hospital Paramedic Chris Reddy is the unintentional hero. "I just happened to be on duty that night," he recalls. "We had the right people at the call, and I had the right tools at the right time. it all came together that night." The night in question is January 31, 2007, and it forever changed the lives of several local men. The paramedic team received a report of a structure fire in the city of Willimantic late that night, and Chris was one of the response team members.

Firefighters were on the scene of a major conflagration; the house was a loss, and sadly, its occupant, an elderly gentleman, succumbed to injuries sustained in the fire. Chris was onsite, as one of the firefighters from the Willimantic Fire Department pulled the victim from the flames and found that he had perished in the blaze. Suddenly, the fire "flashed over," singeing the firefighter in the process, and Chris began to evaluate and treat him for burns. While he was tending the burned man's injuries, Chris noticed that another of the firefighters - the department's water pump operator - had collapsed to the ground. Leaving the firefighter's side, he assessed the condition of the water pump operator. There was no pulse. Chris started CPR and hooked up a cardiac monitor, which indicated ventricular fibrillation, so he defibrillated the firefighter. Success! Pulses returned, and the victim began to respond.

Meanwhile, the burned firefighter was transported to the Emergency Department, where they discovered significant burns on his hands, face, and throat, necessitating transfer to the Bridgeport Burn Center. During the transport, a paramedic would be needed to accompany him, to assist with pain control and watch for airway swelling. Chris volunteered for the transport duty.

Chris Reddy's actions that night saved the water pump operator's life. Chris acted to ease the burn victim's transport pains, and helped ensure his recovery. During the department's annual company dinner in February, the South Windham Fire Department honored Chris and his volunteer EMS driver, Ryan Dougherty. Both men were cited for bravery, quick thinking, and exemplary conduct.

"The incident was so fresh in everyone's mind - it was exactly one month to the day - and the man who collapsed in cardiac arrest attended the dinner with his family. That was incredible to me. he was out having dinner just a month after cardiac arrest. He got to meet the rescue and fire company members who had responded to the call. It was a pretty emotional time, but I wouldn't have missed that dinner," Chris says. "It was really nice to connect with everyone and see them well and happy."

A 16-year veteran of Emergency Services, and an American Heart Association CPR instructor, Chris says, "You know, it's the big thing we've focused on in our training courses. We practice ourselves, and we tell all our students how important it its to know how to use the defibrillator. well, this was a perfect example. Without that equipment, this man would probably not have survived."

In true hero fashion, Chris claims that he was just the operator of some great equipment. But his knowledge and quick thinking played an enormous role in saving a life. To me, and to the whole fire company, Chris is a healthcare hero.

Essayist: Sharyn Mathews, Marketing and Communications Associate
Healthcare Hero: Susan Quimby, RN

Windham Hospital

A lock of his hair, a fading photograph, and the knowledge that for a brief, shining moment, our hearts beat as one… that’s all I have left of the son who occupies a small solemn corner of my being. Although never formally named, I think of him as Michael, and he’s the stillborn son I had on July 1st, 20 years ago. He was our first, and although he never drew a breath, he helped save a life. He had, as the medical world terms it, a “cord accident.” Somehow, the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and drew tight, strangling him in utero, at the gestational age of seven months. The “first responders” were the nurses on the OB floor. There were many – and many of them are still working at the hospital – and they were wonderful.

Bertha coached me through the birth, and ran to get my husband (who had gone to change into scrubs) when Michael arrived abruptly. As I woke up that first morning after, Joy (who had been our Lamaze class instructor), offered the quiet, caring, and expert attentions that started me toward recovery. “I’m so sorry about your baby,” she said. Terri’s patient and compassionate handling of the forms that had to be filled and decisions that had to be made filled my morning. Other nurses came to tell me they had clipped a lock of his hair for me, and taken a Polaroid photo of him, letting me know that, when I was ready, I could claim these mementos (I did, about 6 months after his birth). Family and friends drew in around us, kept us sane, and functional, and life went on.

Two years later, we were again expecting a baby – this time, a girl – and my doctor recommended early testing, “since the 7th month seems to be the problem.” That recommendation, and the quick thinking of Susan Quimby, the registered nurse on duty that day, saved my daughter’s life! The baby was due at the very end of July, but on June 5, I gathered up my courage and arrived at the hospital for my first nonstress test – a simple, quick procedure that would help verify my baby’s health.

At 11 AM, I walked into the OB unit and was greeted by Susan Quimby. We chatted as we worked through the paperwork, and she hooked up the equipment for the test. As soon as the monitor began to spew out data, Susan went into action. She told me that the baby was experiencing fetal distress, and that I should go downstairs for an ultrasound, to get a better look. I called my husband at his office, to alert him to potential problems. By the time the ultrasound was complete, he was at my side. And Susan never left my side. Her easy rapport with the doctors and nurses was obvious. She called my doctor, who verified that there was a problem. She did her best to calm the rising fears of a distressed new mother, all the while preparing me, the room, the equipment, and the staff, for the arrival of a new baby. My mind was racing. Was history repeating itself?

Less than two hours from the time I first arrived at the unit for testing, our daughter Sara was born, an emergency C-section. Because there was so little time, I was given a general anesthetic, and when I awoke, there was Susan. “If you want to see your baby now, wake up!” She was holding something that looked (at least from my groggy perspective) like a clear plastic shoebox. “They are taking her to the neonatal unit in Farmington. She’s tiny. She’ll need to grow a little before she can go home.”

As my head began to clear, Susan stayed with me, answering questions and tending to my medical needs. “How big is she?” I asked. “Just a little over two pounds,” Susan responded. There were so many questions in my mind. Was she really OK? What if her oxygen supply had been cut off for too long? What was a “brain bleed” and what did it mean for her? How would I ever be able to care for her? Susan remained calm, answered my questions, kept me going.

At some point that afternoon, toxemia took over. My blood pressure soared. I slept. I lost track of time. But every time I woke up, there was Susan. At one point, I realized that she was doing her charting and paperwork by the light spilling out of my bathroom, so she could “keep an eye on me” and still finish her other work. In my more lucid moments, Susan and I chatted about the baby, about my course of treatment for the toxemia, about her family and mine, about life in general. We became friends. She brought me videotapes about preemies and their care. I was in the OB unit for nearly a week, and Susan was there throughout, answering my many questions and concerns.

Fast forward, seventeen years. Sara is a healthy, bright, and active young woman, anticipating her first year at college. Reporting for my new job at the hospital, I find that Susan is still an OB nurse there. She has attended hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women during the miracle of birth over the past 17 years. One morning, walking into the building, we finally reconnected, hugged, and reminisced. Mysteriously, Susan commanded, “Come with me.”

As I followed her through the unit and into the nurses’ locker area, we talked about the intervening years. Susan had been my nurse one more time – about a year after Sara was born, we delivered David. His birth was nearly on time, and fairly uneventful, although, as you might guess, the months leading up to his birth were very stressful. Again, Susan was there throughout all the many, many prenatal tests and through the day he was born. Again, she was my “rock,” my mentor, my anchor. Now, 17 years have passed, and she is leading me to her locker. There on the locker door is Sara’s picture as a newborn! She’s left it in place for 17 years! I am absolutely blown away.

My nurse, my mentor, my friend… Susan has cherished the birth of my daughter for all these years, much as I have cherished the loving care Susan gave me so long ago. I remember those days vividly. They are so clear, and so magical in my mind. But perhaps even more magical is the way Susan touched my life – and has touched so many other lives over the years – and has allowed our lives to touch hers. Her work as an RN is obviously more than a job. It’s a calling. She makes a difference – every day – caring for new mothers and the miracles they bring into the world, and that is an amazing gift. She is definitely a healthcare hero.

Essayist: Pete Mobilia, Senior Communication Specialist
Healthcare Hero: Ibrahim Daoud, M.D.

Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center

Bringing Medical Care to the World’s Poorest Patients

Ibrahim Daoud, M.D., knows the depths of poverty in a foreign country. Growing up in Syria and Lebanon in the 1950s and ‘60s, access to medical care for him and his family was nonexistent.

“Illnesses that are commonplace and treatable here in this country could be a death sentence there,” says Dr. Daoud.

Now established in his practice as Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Dr. Daoud is bringing the miracles of surgery to developing nations as a volunteer for a Texas-based Christian missionary organization.

Over the last six years, he has participated in seven medical missions to the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. In June, he will make yet another trip to the Dominican Republic, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. On each of these journeys, Dr. Daoud and his companions pay their own travel expenses.

“I come back a different person,” he observes. “It humbles me. It makes me realize how much I have here.”

Dr. Daoud participates in medical missions organized by Medical Ministry International. On his first trip to Ecuador, he was accompanied only by his son, then a freshman in college. Since then, he has encouraged several hundred colleagues to join him on these missions. His son, who has accompanied Dr. Daoud on every trip, has been so inspired that he is now a medical student.

A typical 30- to 40-member crew on these week-long trips includes surgeons, anesthetists, nurses, technicians, and general helpers. During their stay in small villages, the group sets up a temporary hospital and performs as many as 104 operations in a five-day period.

Using supplies donated by Saint Francis, drug companies, and equipment manufacturers, and augmented by cash contributions from American supporters, Dr. Daoud’s team performs such procedures as thyroid surgeries, gallbladder surgeries, hernia repairs, gynecological procedures, and mastectomies.

Flexibility is the key to success on these missions. When he performs surgery at Saint Francis, Dr. Daoud has as many as 200 instruments on the table to choose from. In the Dominican Republic, he has only 10 to 15 instruments to work with, something that surprises the medical students and residents on his team.

“When they go there they find out that we don’t have this, we don’t have that. They find that they can get away with a lot less. They learn to be resourceful and flexible. And they come back very happy,” says Dr. Daoud.

For most of the patients in the remote villages visited by Dr. Daoud and his team, this is the first time they have ever seen a doctor. One patient who had breast cancer for five years left an impression on Dr. Daoud on his last trip to the Dominican Republic.

“The cancer was bigger than her breast,” he recalls. “She couldn’t move her arm. She was walking with her arm away from her body because the lymph glands were all swollen under her arm.”

Following surgery, Dr. Daoud says, the patient was able to return to a normal life. “This lady was so grateful that she was able to now walk with her arm by her side.”

Experiences like this have led Dr. Daoud to increase his commitment to Medical Ministry International to two trips a year. “I feel like every time I go and I come back, I feel like I want to go back again,” he reflects.

Looking a decade into the future, Dr. Daoud hopes that following retirement; he will be able to participate in even more medical missions. And looking even further into the future, with his son now finishing his first year at the Medical College of Virginia, Dr. Daoud hopes that his son will carry on these missions to medically underserved countries after he is no longer able to participate.

“He’s very inspired by these trips,” he notes. “I’m glad I was able to pass that along, too.”

Essayist: Maureen E. Murphy, RN

Saint Mary’s Hospital

The Nurses of O’Brien One

We do, as we have pledged.
Inviting those with broken spirits
and tired souls
to enter through our doors
and chance a safer haven;
out of the foggy denseness
and leeching peril,
imposed by mental illness

We are advocates of life and health;
raising a unified voice that reminds
how grand and glorious is sunrise;
how elegant the bloom of daffodils
and daisies;
how intricate the mind’s complexity;
how privileged are the breaths taken.

We are guides and guardians
lighting alternative paths
and choice,
when the world darkens and
grows small
filled with storm and despair
that threatens
to smother internal flame and
personal signature.

We are listeners and teachers
offering meds to right the
brain’s chemistry,
groups to summon a sense
of community
and bridge to support future
ventures.

We are the staff of O’Brien One.
And within our keep,
we nurse and re-energize
our patients;
fashioning new vision and
validation
of personal worth in family
and society,

and the miles of living,
still awaiting footprints
before departure from this earth.

O’Brien One is an inpatient psychiatric unit at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut. We have strong team of nurses who work with psychiatrists, social workers, mental health workers, occupational therapists, physicians, and clerical coordinators to help people get relief from their illness.

Essayist: Tom Tantillo CSPDS, CSIT
Sterile Processing Department (S.P.D.)
Eastern Connecticut Health Network

“Unsung Healthcare Heroes”

There’s a very special place that’s neatly tucked away.
Out of sight, out of mind – is something one may say.
But many folks forget, and are entirely surprised
When they come upon the place where things are cleaned and sterilized.

It’s been said that this department is often overlooked
They follow their procedures and perform them by the book.
Their knowledge is so vital, with expertise galore
It’s more than just a hiding place – oh yes it’s so much more.

When someone takes the time to search and look around
They are constantly astounded by all the sights and sounds.
There are buzzers, bells, and motors, like a high-tech modern choir.
And the dedicated Techs there are driven by desire.

To assure that there’s sterility, and everything’s done right.
They understand the work they do and the germs that they must fight.
Planting biologicals and observing their machines.
Patient safety is their goal as they disinfect and clean.

Providing special service is a focus of the staff.
Support for all Co-Workers on the Hospital’s behalf.
Sometimes it can be daunting and overwhelming, too.
But the Techs – the Unsung Heroes – all do the best for you.

It takes a certain kind of soul just like a trained magician
To jump through hoops and meet their goals like S.P.D. Technicians.
To meet their deadlines and their goals upon a daily basis
Make others in the Healthcare world decline to trade their places.

When one observes these special ones with loyalty and drive,
Assisting there behind the scenes, they dedicate their lives.
Next time you need some instruments, or patients’ special needs,
Be sure to call upon the staff of your own S.P.D.

They only ask for one thing, I know it must be mentioned.
They deserve a compliment, for all their good intentions.
After all they are just like a heart that pumps life’s blood throughout
Each Healthcare Institution, that’s what S.P.D.’s about.

Essayist: Heather Tindall, Director of Public Relations, Media Relations, and Marketing,

Healthcare Hero: Betty Karas-Bartolini, RN

Waterbury Hospital

In Remembrance, Betty Karas-Bartolini, RN

If you close your eyes, you can still see her walking down the halls in her blue hospital scrubs, greeting visitors with the boldness of a Yankee and the gentility of a Southerner. You can still hear her alto voice forming the words to one of her commonly heard “Bettyisms” as she described a particular person or incident. And as you recall these moments, you laugh all over again, because to know Betty was to find humor in the midst of even the most serious topic.

Betty Karas-Bartolini, RN, was an employee of Waterbury Hospital for more than 30 years, most recently as its Trauma Service Director in the Department of Surgery for the last 20 years. In fact, she had the distinction of being the longest practicing Trauma Coordinator in Connecticut. Betty passed away in February, after waging a tenacious battle against an illness to which she refused to bow. Her approach to her illness was characteristic of her approach to life: unflinching, indomitable, and unwavering.

Betty was a fierce, yet motherly advocate for her friends, family, co-workers, patients and kids. She was a member of, and volunteer with, the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Safe Kids. She went head-to-head with insurance companies to ensure that the latest cutting- edge drugs were made available to fight disease, and she fearlessly approached vendors seeking solutions to someone’s unmet needs. She blazed a trail for many men and women, regardless of their career paths or ages, and she took a genuine interest in advocating on behalf of issues related to women’s health and well-being – particularly women waging a battle with breast cancer. You definitely wanted Betty on your side if you were facing a difficult diagnosis, recovery, or life-changing decision!

Her counsel was always direct, but more important, it was tender and kindhearted. Her empathy knew no bounds, in part because she had probably walked a mile in those same shoes. She soared with you on the highs and hunkered down with you on the lows, as only someone who has experienced both could do. She was a force to be reckoned with in any arena, and those within her reach were swept up into the whirlwind of her compassion, her dedication, her grace, and her humanity.

She saved lives and practiced medicine with a passion, verve, and insight into the human spirit that often compelled her to call patients from her home and to work traumas in the ED on her day off. Betty even went off campus to help patients at other hospitals. Throughout the course of her career, Betty touched the lives of more than 6,000 patients. “People get into your heart,” Betty recalled last year. “Once they get in there, it’s kind of tough to let go because you want everything to work out for them.”

Betty got into our hearts in a big way. She was a talented clinician to be sure, but more important, she was a true friend and co-worker, and a surrogate mother and sister to so many who live in the Greater Waterbury area and beyond. She was the kind of woman –“like you read about” as Betty would say – who will remain with us forever.

Essayist: Patricia Veronneau, RN, Nursing Coordinator
Healthcare Hero: Gretchen Wolf, RN

Hartford Hospital

By day, Gretchen Wolf for the past 14 years has been the Nurse Manager for the Neuro-Trauma ICU with 24/7 accountability for managing all resources for a 14-bed ICU. Her unit has been a Beacon Award winner. Under Gretchen’s leadership and in collaboration with Dr. Marc Palter and the Information Services Department, Gretchen’s unit was the first to adopt Computer Provider Order Entry and Electronic Medications Administration Record. Other examples of Gretchen’s leadership were her early and continued support of hyperbaric treatment, bringing to Hartford Hospital patients yet another component of cutting edge therapy.

Kathy Korfel, RN, Clinical Leader on Gretchen’s Neuro Surgical Unit, describes Gretchen as “kind, caring, always willing to help, an outstanding teacher, willing to pitch in, always there when needed, and always providing new experiences for the staff.”

Vicie Brooks, RN, BSN, Nurse Manager of Neuro/Trauma Floor states, “Gretchen is driven by what is best for the patient, family, or staff member she is serving.”

Shirley Jakobowski, RN, Bed Manager of Hartford Hospital, states, “Gretchen is a key team member of the leadership team at Hartford Hospital, who manages and facilitates patient flow and is willing to step up to the plate to do what’s best for the patient at all times.”

Gretchen herself is one of the nurses who assists patients in the hyperbaric treatment center. Together with the staff, Gretchen views new treatment modalities as a chance to expand options for patient care. “Gretchen’s personal qualities of honesty, integrity, and commitment to the patient and their families influence and provide a role model for the professional image of nursing, says Maria Tackett, RN, Nurse Director of Neuro/Trauma at Hartford Hospital “Her leadership is underscored by the authenticity of her personhood.”

Gretchen doesn’t stop there, in addition, for approximately 20 hours a week, Gretchen volunteers as a Paramedic/EMT in Granby, CT for a semi-rural ambulance company. She responds to 911 calls from patients with life threatening and non-life threatening illness and injury requiring ambulance transportation to a hospital. She performs approximately 100 calls per year and donates 1,000 hours a year as a scheduled medic on Friday nights and Sundays. In addition, 1/3 of her calls are “scramble crew,” which means she is home doing other things and the tones go off for a second rig or additional help, she drops what she is doing (or jumps out of bed) and runs out the door to respond to the call. She precepts new EMTs to provide patient care safely and independently and currently is Vice President of Granby Ambulance.

“Gretchen is one of the most focused and dedicated volunteers we have at Granby Ambulance,” says Christopher Perkins, President and CEO of Granby Ambulance. “Her selfless dedication to the organization has not only helped to improve the quality of care given to our patients, but she has also directly saved the lives of several residents in our town.”

In Gretchen’s spare time, she founded and currently presides over the Southern New England Association of Neuroscience Nurses (SNEANN), a chapter of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (AANN). She organizes a minimum of three meetings a year; every meeting has an educational component to it with contact hours awarded. SNEANN also celebrates Neuroscience Nurses Week with a large program focusing on neurological nursing issues. Last year she did a three-hour program on Traumatic Brain Injury and this year she will do a program called, “New Innovation in Stroke Care.”

Members are from all over Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. Gretchen has about 60 members now in SNEANN. The mission of SNEANN is to ensure that the nurses caring for Neuroscience patients receive the education and support needed to provide the best possible patient care. “Gretchen does what many hope to do. She leads by example both in her role as an EMT and as Nurse Manager. Her strong desire to serve others is truly noteworthy,” says Laura Caramanica, RN, PhD, Vice President of Nursing at Hartford Hospital.

CHA salutes all of this year’s Healthcare Heroes essay contest winners, as well as the thousands of incredibly dedicated and talented healthcare workers across Connecticut for all that they do for their communities.