NEW YORK NURSE: September 2011
NYSNA award winners are being celebrated this year at Convention 2011 for their outstanding contributions to caring for the public and advancement of the nursing profession.
Susan Casadone, RNC
Susan Casadone is a release time representative for NYSNA and a registered nurse at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers. Casadone has been a member of NYSNA for 11 years and has held several leadership positions, including serving as president of her local bargaining unit since January 2000 and president of the Congress of Bargaining Unit Leaders since April 2008. She is also a member of the Delegate Assembly. In 1999, Casadone successfully organized St. John’s Riverside Hospital’s NLRB election, including the faculty at the Cochran School of Nursing, and continues to establish vital support networks and information processes for local bargaining unit members. Casadone, who is known for her sense of fairness and quick response to staff issues, is described as a true advocate for the profession who “consistently demonstrates patience and support for her colleagues.”
M. Gorete Crowe, RN
M. Gorete Crowe is a staff nurse at Westchester Medical Center in Westchester, where she has been the preceptor and resource contact of choice for the oncology/bone marrow unit for twenty-two years. Crowe has been a member of the association for 27 years and has held numerous leadership positions including serving as president of NYSNA’s District 16 for ten years, vice president for one year and director-at-large for three years. She has served on NYSNA’s Legislative Committee for four years and has been a Legislative District Coordinator working with various elected politicians. She is a former trustee of NYSNA’s Political Action Campaign (PAC) and is currently chair of the Council on Legislation, where she is a strong advocate for nursing practice in the areas of violence in the workplace, mandatory overtime and safe nurse-to-patient ratios. A colleague remarks, “Gorete’s professional and personal contributions are a life-long devotion to nursing and helping those in need.”
Dorothy Williams, RN
Dorothy Williams retired as a nurse manager in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She served as director-at-large on the NYSNA Board of Directors from 1985 to 1989, and as treasurer from 1989 until 1991. She served as chairperson of the NYSNA Nominating Committee, on the Appointments Committee, the Committee on Bylaws, and the Committee on Finance. In the 1980s, Williams served on the Board Committee to Study the Advisory Council and as the New York State Coordinator for ANA’s Commission on Assessment and Renewal. She served as an NYSNA delegate to the ANA House of Delegates for 20 years. Williams currently serves on the NYSNA Membership Committee and as a Statewide Peer Assistance for Nurses (SPAN) group facilitator. She has also served in leadership positions in post-anesthesia specialty organizations, as well as with Nurses House, and made sustained contributions to the mission and work of New York Counties Registered Nurses Association (NYCRNA – District 13). William’s colleagues, who know her as Dottie, admire her perseverance, dedication to the future of the profession and the professional nursing organization, openness, insight, honesty, and ever-present sense of humor.
Irene Macyk, RN, MS, PCNS-BC
Irene Macyk is the director of nursing education at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York in New Hyde Park. She has been a member of the Professional Nurses Association of Suffolk County (PNASC) District 19 since 2002 and is an active member of its Education Committee, where she consistently advocates for the educational support of novice nurses and promotes lifelong learning for the seasoned professional. She is an accomplished presenter who has spoken nationally on the topics of violence in the workplace, social networking and patient safety. Most recently, Macyk facilitated a successful transformation of documentation to electronic mode for her facility that was well-received by peers due to her presence at each unit to assist in the transition. She is described by a colleague as “a role model for an innovative change agent.”
Victoria Arrick, RN
Victoria Arrick is a staff nurse at Westchester Medical Center in Westchester, specializing in oncology and bone marrow transplant. She is an active advocate for nursing as is evidenced through her work on the NYSNA Functional Practice Unit of Direct Care Providers and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Clinical Practice Unit. Arrick has been a member of NYSNA for more than twenty years. As a delegate for NYSNA’s Delegate Assembly, as well as the National Federation of Nurses (NFN), Arrick collaborates with peers regarding the issues of staff nurses. She mentors new registered nurses in her field, emphasizing the Nurse Practice Act as her guide. According to a colleague, “Victoria’s level of care and skill set has been acknowledged as a benchmark by her peers.”
Margaret Armento-McDowell, RN, MS
Margaret Armento-McDowell is the president and administrator of Bermac Home Health Aides, Inc. in New Paltz. She is the current and past president of NYSNA’s District 11 and past treasurer, program chair and membership chair. She also serves as a legislative district coordinator, House of Delegates representative and member of the Council on Ethics and Human Rights. Armento-McDowell is known throughout the community for her commitment both locally and statewide, to public health and long term care. A colleague commented on “a caring and consistent theme,” in Armento-McDowell’s work “to honor and advocate for those that have no voice – primarily the frail elderly and the population that cares for them.”
Robert Herzog, DDS
Robert Herzog is a dentist in Buffalo, and a unique advocate for nurses in recovery. Herzog has devoted much of the past decade to learning about and understanding addiction and recovery in the medical profession in order to help healthcare professionals, including nurses, with substance use disorders. Herzog is an active panel member of the New York State Education Department Professional Assistance Program (PAP) and often offers his office for NYSNA SPAN advocate meetings and trainings. He has presented numerous lectures on addiction and has provided scholarships for nurses to attend the New England Professional Group Annual Meeting for Health Care Professionals in Recovery. Perhaps his most notable contribution is his facilitation of the “Caduceus Group,” a program designed specifically for recovering medical professionals (one of only four in the state). Herzog extends an open invitation to nurses to join the group; opening up a recovery program previously limited to physicians. “This professional socialization has helped develop professional pride, hope and strategies for nurses in recovery,” remarked a registered nurse familiar with the program.
Elizabeth Dollinger
Elizabeth Dollinger is graduated from St. John Fisher College Wegman’s School of Nursing in Rochester with a B.S. in nursing.She served as the co-president of her student nurses association. Dollinger’s community work is widespread and is said to have inspired fellow students to volunteer. “She has demonstrated tremendous initiative and leadership in a variety of activities to strengthen the sense of community within the school of nursing,” said one faculty member. Her efforts include coordinating fund-raising events, facilitating stress-relief and team-building activities for students and spearheading the largest school gift ever to provide benches and equipment for a medical facility in Kenya. Dollinger will work in the neurology unit at Strong Memorial Hospital after graduation and plans to obtain her graduate degree to become a clinical nurse specialist.
Editor’s note: NYSNA is also awarding Honorary Recognition, the association’s highest honor, at this year’s Convention, and a feature on that recipient will published in a future issue of New York Nurse.