NYC Health + Hospitals Celebrates 32 Nurses at Annual Nursing Excellence Awards
Nurses were nominated by their colleagues in honor of their achievements and commitment to patients
Barbara A. Lowe, board member and former NYC Health + Hospitals nurse, was honored with the Josephine Bolus Nursing Champion Award, the system’s highest honor for supporters of nurses and the nursing profession
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health nursing staff presented with Structural Empowerment Award for their commitment to higher performance
Dec 05, 2022
Hyunju Seok, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse, Labor/Delivery, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
NYC Health + Hospitals today honored 32 nurse professionals from across the health system as part of its annual Nursing Excellence Awards. The honorees were selected from a record 560 nominations and include nurses from each of the systems’ facilities and clinical service lines, including acute care, post-acute, correctional health services, community care, and Gotham Health. 24 nurses were recognized for Excellence in Clinical Nursing, and 4 nurses were recognized systemwide for their efforts in leadership, volunteering, education, mentorship, and home or ambulatory care. Another 4 nurses received the DAISY Award for Nurses Advancing Health Equity, created by the DAISY Foundation to honor nurses who go above and beyond in caring for patients and families who are disadvantaged demographically, psycho-socially, or economically. The third annual Structural Empowerment Award was presented to the nursing leadership and staff at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health for their commitment to achieving higher performance levels, including increases in certification rates and other notable metrics. In addition, the third annual Josephine Bolus Nursing Champion Award, NYC Health + Hospitals’ highest honor bestowed upon supporters of nurses and the nursing profession, was given to Barbara A. Lowe, a retired nurse executive and public health educator and a current Board Member of NYC Health + Hospitals.
“Nurses are the foundation of any hospital,” said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. “Today, we celebrate some of the stars of our nursing team, and I want to thank them for their dedication and care to our patients.”
“The nurses recognized each year with our Nursing Excellence Awards truly represent the pinnacle of the nursing profession, displaying a commitment to our professional practice environment that goes above and beyond conventional expectations of what it means to be a nurse,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive Natalia Cineas, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN.“The committed nurses who we celebrate today are propelling our public health system into the future of patient-centered care with their passion, professionalism, talent and pioneering innovation, creating an atmosphere where excellence expands and thrives.”
To learn more about the Nursing Excellence Awards or any of this year’s recipients, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/nursing-excellence-awards-2022.
The 2022 Nursing Excellence Award honorees included:
BRONX
Joyce Dukes, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Behavioral Health
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Bibi Khan, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Edith Santa, RN
Junior Public Health Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Belvis
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Hyunju Seok, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Labor/Delivery
NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Sonia Suazo, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Behavioral Health
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
BROOKLYN
Keisha Amazan, RN
Head Nurse, Behavioral Health|
NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Sharon Ceres, BSN, RN
Head Nurse, Post-Acute Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/McKinney
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Stephanie Fields, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
The DAISY Foundation Health Equity Award
Bernadette Hyppolite, BS, RN
Head Nurse, Ambulatory Surgery
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health
Excellence in Nursing Leadership
Ma Irishpastor (Irish Hugo), BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Critical Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Nana Kikoria, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Labor and Delivery
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Natisha Pitter, BSN, RN
Supervisor of Nurses
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, East New York
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Anthony Wiggins, BSN, RN
Supervisor of Nurses
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Cumberland
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
MANHATTAN
Evgeny Ermolov, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Emergency Services, Adult
NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Belarmino Esperanza, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Post-Acute Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Sara Lemus Guttierrez, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Post-Acute Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Jacqueline Juele-Schuster, BSN, MS, RN, NP, CWS, COCN-AP
Nurse Practitioner
NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter
The DAISY Foundation Health Equity Award
Ophelia Labugen, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Abigael Saavedra, BSN, RN
Head Nurse, Operating Room
NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Patricia Scatliffe-Richards, RN
Staff Nurse, Behavioral Health
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Gouverneur
The DAISY Foundation Health Equity Award
Hyewon Shin, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Ambulatory Surgery
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Cecilia Smith, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem
Excellence in Home, Community and Ambulatory
Rosilimol Varkey, BSN, RN, GRN, RAC-CT, NICHE
Head Nurse, Post-Acute Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
QUEENS
Gemma Balagtas, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Critical Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
Excellence in Volunteerism and Service
Sheikh Ilias, BSN, RN, CCRN
Staff Nurse, Critical Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Nancy Joseph, BSN, RN
Head Nurse, Behavioral Health
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Suja Mohan, MSN, CCRN, CEN
Director of Nursing, Emergency Department
NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens
Excellence in Education and Mentorship
STATEN ISLAND
Hyun Kyung Na, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse, Post-Acute Care
NYC Health + Hospitals/Sea View
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
Jennifer Yepez, BSN, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health, Vanderbilt
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
COMMUNITY CARE
Salamatu Abass, RN
Head Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Community Care
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
CORRECTIONAL HEALTH SERVICES
Susan Brady, RN, PMHMP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services
The DAISY Foundation Health Equity Award
Win Mouk, RN
Staff Nurse
NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services
Excellence in Clinical Nursing
SOUTH BROOKLYN HEALTH NURSING LEADERSHIP (Structural Empowerment Award)
- Manjinder Kaur, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer
- Wilfredo Yap, DNP, RN, AMB-BC, NEA-BC, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer
- Althea Senior-Morris, MSN, RN, Associate Executive Director
- Seun Ajibade, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing
- Victorina Carrion, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing
- Elizabeth Clyde, BSN, RN, Director of Nursing
- Marjorie Daly-Walsh, MS, RN, CCRN, Director of Nursing
- Sangeetha Mani, BSN, RN, Director of Nursing
- Nicole McBarnette, MS, RN, CPPS, Director of Nursing
- Susan Mikus, MSN, RNC-OB, EFM-C, Director of Nursing
- Leonid Mirakov, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing
- Susana Novak, MSN-MHA, CNOR, RN, Director of Nursing
- Kalliopi Parginos, MS, RN, AGCNS-BC, APRN, Director of Nursing
- Faye Scott, MSN, RN, Director of Nursing
Josephine Bolus Nursing Champion Award
Barbara A. Lowe, MS, RN
Retired nurse executive and public health educator
NYC Health + Hospitals Board Member
MEDIA CONTACT: 212-788-3339; PressOffice@nychhc.org
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NYCHealthandHospitals or Twitter at @NYCHealthSystem.