Salute to Nurses Continued

 

Nurses at the Respiratory Special Care Unit at Memorial Hospital Pembroke offer specialized, round-the-clock inpatient care for patients with acute or chronic respiratory disorders that often result from heart and lung conditions/diseases. Additionally, nurses also assist those recovering from stroke, major surgery or trauma-related burns and automobile accidents.

 

“The nurses on 2 North care for their patients as if they were their own family,” said Judy L. Frum, Memorial Hospital Pembroke’s Chief Nursing Officer. “They not only heal the body, but work to improve the patient’s emotional and spiritual health as well.”

 

Respiratory Special Care nurses are highly trained and a critical part of the multidisciplinary team that ensures all aspects of patient care is being provided. Their success rate weaning patients off ventilators is among the best in the nation.

 

 

Renee Sereix, a nurse at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, calls herself a “lifer” in the Memorial Healthcare System.

 

Having worked for the Department of Behavioral Health for nearly 28 years, Sereix takes pride in knowing that the very best care is being provided to patients. “We’re a well-oiled machine,” said the 1987 graduate of Florida International University. “Our administrators, doctors and nurses communicate effectively, keeping everyone in-sync with patients and families and enabling us to fulfill high expectations.”

 

Sereix says she enjoys the comradery with her fellow nurses and the significant input they have in patient care. “Seeing the patients improve is why we do what we do. I wouldn’t let my own family be treated anywhere else.”

 

Kathy Vazquez is an emergency room nurse at Memorial Hospital Miramar, a fully accredited acute-care facility.

 

“I love the fast-paced nature of the ER and the immediate results you see from your work,” said the graduate of Nova Southeastern University, Broward College, and McFatter Technical College. “We’re all adrenaline junkies, you have to be to do this kind of work, but what I appreciate most is the teamwork of the staff.”

 

Vazquez began her nursing career in 2003 and joined the Memorial Healthcare System on a full-time basis three years later. Currently pursuing a master’s degree that MHS is underwriting, she fulfills many roles at Memorial Miramar, from being its unofficial educator to spending time on the floor, clinical manager, and even the therapy dog handler. “I love it all and am really blessed to be here.”

 

 

Ana Rosa Espinosa is Administrative Director for Oncology Clinical Services at the Memorial Cancer Institute.

 

A nurse for 34 years, Espinosa has a degree in nursing from Barry University, a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and Six Sigma Green Belt from the University of Miami, and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.

 

“I’ve been fortunate to have had mentors who encouraged me to seek higher education and work to my full potential,” Espinosa said. “The more we know about all aspects of the care process, the better we’ll serve patients.”

 

Espinosa says her time at the Memorial Cancer Institute has been the most professionally satisfying of her career. “I’ve joined a team of leaders that work together to provide excellent cancer care. It’s a family environment where nurses are empowered to bring maximum value to patients and the organization.”

 

 

Jennifer Reilly-Miller is Director of Nursing at South Broward Community Health Services, primary care facilities that are part of the Memorial Healthcare System (MHS).

 

Reilly, a graduate of Barry University currently pursuing an MBA degree, oversees care at multiple primary care facilities recognized as Patient Centered Medical Homes, as well as the Memorial Adult Day Care in the South Broward hospital district. A nurse for nearly two decades, Reilly focuses on enhancing primary and preventive care within the SBCHS practices and is active in the community providing health screenings with her team.

 

Having spent most of her professional career with MHS, Reilly appreciates the whole continuum of care the healthcare system provides and its patient-centered care philosophy that involves patients and their families in health care decisions.

 

 

Donna Friedewald directs the disease management telehealth program for Memorial Home Health Services, which provides family-centered care to patients in their own homes.

 

A graduate of Nova Southeastern University and Jackson Memorial Hospital’s School of Nursing, Friedewald started her career in 1983. She joined the Memorial Healthcare System nine years later and helped open Memorial Hospital West, serving as its first director of Emergency and Critical Care Services. Friedewald transferred to home health in 2001 and has overseen Memorial’s home telehealth program for the past three years.

 

“Our goal is to assist those with an illness or injury get to the next level of care without having to go back to the hospital,” Friedewald said. “Very often the best place to do that is in the patient’s home, where they are comfortable and surrounded by who and what they care about most.”

 

 

Cheryl Rubin is Director of Patient Care Services at Memorial Manor, a nursing facility that provides long-term chronic convalescent care and short-term rehabilitative care for its residents.

 

A graduate of Alfred State College, Syracuse University and Florida International University, Rubin began her nursing career in 1973 and has been part of the Memorial Healthcare System for more than 26 years. She helped open Memorial Manor in 1989, oversees all clinical services, and is “directly responsible for much of our success,” according to Memorial Manor Administrator William A. Edelstein, MHA.

 

Rubin gets professional satisfaction from implementing systems and operations that have yielded positive outcomes for the residents at Memorial Manor. “The Memorial Healthcare System is a wonderful organization to work for. They support our efforts and enable the nurses to be the best we can be for those we serve.”

 

 

In 2014, Memorial Regional Hospital made history by becoming the first hospital in Broward County to perform an adult heart transplant. At the heart of all the excitement was Teresa Bueno, the hospital’s clinical manager for the Mechanical Circulatory Support and Adult Heart Transplant Program at Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute

 

“I am extremely privileged and humbled to work with an elite team of gifted professionals,” she said. “My biggest reward is to see our patients thrive and enjoy their lives.”

 

Teresa Bueno, DNP, MSN, ARNP-BC, CCTC, CHFN, joined Memorial Cardiac & Vascular Institute in 2014 as hospital officials made a strong push to start the adult heart transplant program. She has more than 22 years of professional experience in the field and provides care to adult transplant candidates, recipients and their families. She participates in transplant related research projects and mentors transplant clinical staff to promote high quality patient care and continuous improvement.

 

 

Sheila Yakymiw is a nighttime clinical manager for rehabilitation at Memorial Regional Hospital South.

 

Yakymiw, a 1974 graduate of the nursing program at Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia, is the charge nurse on her floor, coordinating staff operations, admissions, patient care, and physician communications. The “no-nonsense” philosophy of the Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) is what she appreciates most about Memorial South. “It’s a breath of fresh air here compared to other places I’ve worked. The expectations and standards are high for nurses, but we’re able to work without roadblocks and with the necessary resources to provide the highest quality care. It makes it much easier to fulfill our mission to heal the body, mind, and spirit of those we touch.”

 

Yakymiw had been a nurse manager for more than 25 years, but says she is happiest providing bedside care for rehab patients.

 

 

Dr. Patrick Heyman was the first full-time faculty member in the School of Nursing at Palm Beach Atlantic University and helped to establish the program. Prior to coming to PBA, he worked as a nurse practitioner in private practice. Today he serves as associate dean of the school. He presently is working with Palm Healthcare Foundation and the Nursing Shortage Consortium of South Florida on the possibility of bringing Palm Beach County’s successful general healthcare orientation to Broward and Dade counties. The orientation, housed at hcstudentsfl.org, is used by more than 4,000 healthcare students a year in Palm Beach County including nursing students, allied health and medical residents. He is also teaching in PBA’s new DNP program and heading up its Masters of Science in Nursing in Health Systems Leadership.

 

 

Dr. Diane Esposito, assistant professor of nursing-psychiatric at Palm Beach Atlantic University, is an ANCC board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner who has worked in a variety of settings: psychiatric emergency room, child and adolescent inpatient mental health, outpatient psychiatric private practice, and treatment of chemical dependency in residential settings. She has worked as a nurse educator, teaching nursing students in clinical practicum focused on mental health as an adjunct faculty with Palm Beach State College since 1996 and at PBA since 2008. She presently is chair of a planning committee that is exploring the concept of a Volunteer Nursing Corps in Palm Beach County. The Palm Healthcare Foundation recently provided a planning grant to PBA’s School of Nursing to assess the need for and willingness of Palm Beach County nurses and community organizations to form a Volunteer Nursing Corps to address care transition, in-home care, care coordination and other population-based health needs.

 

 

Rebecca Lee, DNP, CRNA, is the assistant program director and assistant professor of Anesthesiology at Barry University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Born in Hong Kong and raised in New York City, Lee completed her undergraduate nursing studies at Queensborough Community College in New York and the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Before joining Barry’s Masters of Science in Anesthesiology Lee worked as an assistant Nurse Manager of a thirty-two bed post-anesthesia care unit at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

 

Lee received her Masters of Science in Anesthesiology from Barry in 2000 and her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the University of Miami, School of Nursing and Health Studies in 2012. Lee’s scholarly work and interests include situation awareness, simulation, and the non-technical skills of anesthesiology that promote patient safety and benchmarks in quality education in student nurse anesthetists. While a full time practicing nurse anesthetist, Dr. Lee was the Clinical Coordinator and Facilitator for student nurse anesthetists from the Adventist University in central Florida. During this time, she was tasked with mentoring students that required clinical remediation.

 

 

Terri Rocafort, MSN, ARNP, ANP-BC, is a certified Adult Nurse Practitioner who joined Barry University’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences as an assistant professor and the interim director of the Nurse Practitioner and Doctor of Nursing Practice Specializations. Originally from central Illinois, Terri earned a diploma in Nursing from St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing in 1983. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nursing from Florida International University in 1993 and 1998, respectively. Rocafort holds active memberships in the Palm Beach County Nurse Practitioner Council, National League for Nurses, and Florida Nurses Association. She is also a certified inpatient obstetric nurse.

 

Rocafort is a PhD student where her research interests involve the education and learning processes of Generation Y nursing students, focusing on the transition to practice and competence. She has a special interest in interactive learning strategies, online learning, and evaluation of nursing education specifically responding to the Institute of Medicine, Future of Nursing.