NEW YORK NURSE: April 2009
Tanya Drake was recently honored at the 9th Annual Rockland Community College Foundation Leadership Awards luncheon, an event recognizing individuals whose contributions made a significant impact on the lives of students at SUNY Rockland Community College. Drake, a professor of nursing and president of the Professional Nurses Association of Rockland County District 17, is a published author who serves on the board of advisors of the Rockland County American Cancer Society, volunteering many hours as logistics co-chair of the ACS Relay for Life. Previous awards include the Long Island University Top 50 Nursing Alumni, Rockland County Excellence in Nursing, National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Award for Leadership and Teaching Excellence, and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service.
Jacqueline Rose Hott was honored earlier this month with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Adelphi University School of Nursing and the Alpha Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. Hott is a clinician specializing in sex therapy, an educator, researcher, and a well-published author. She served as dean of the Adelphi School of Nursing and presently serves on its advisory board. Hott served in the past as president of the Northeast Psychological Association, vice-president of the Visiting Nurses Association of Long Island, a clinician with the Behavioral Health program at NYU, and an executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Region Nursing Association. Currently, she is an active member of the Hadassah Nurses’ Councils.
Harriet Feldman, dean of Pace University’s Lienhard School of Nursing since 1993, has been re-elected the 2009 chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the national nonprofit agency that exclusively accredits baccalaureate and higher-degree programs in nursing. Feldman will also participate as a member of Harvard’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) in June. Feldman serves on U.S. Representative Nita Lowey’s (D-NY) Health Advisory Committee and is an active emeritus member on the board of Nurses Educational Fund, Inc. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, and past editor of the journals Nursing Leadership Forum and Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice.
St. Catherine of Siena ICU nurse and president of NYSNA’s Delegate Assembly, Barbara Crane, along with Mary Finnin, past ANA treasurer and current secretary on the NYSNA Board of Directors, were pivotal in the recent passing of a resolution banning Bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles and sippy cups in Suffolk County. Both gave testimony in March before the County Legislature, voicing their concerns over the use of BPA—a plastic hardening chemical—in everyday products such as baby bottles and food-can liners. BPA poses significant risk to human development with specific concerns to the impact on children and fetuses. The resolution passed the legislature unanimously, despite heavy protest. Suffolk County, which is larger than nine U.S. states in population and economy, is the first government in the U.S. to ban BPA. Crane also sits on the NYSNA and ANA board of directors. Finnin is a past president of the Professional Nurses Association of Suffolk County/District 19, and has served as a delegate to the ANA since 1970.