Alumni Newsletter

Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

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Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

Alumni Newsletter A Publication for Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse Graduates •

A Message from the Interim President Hello fellow alumni, I would like to introduce myself as the Interim President of the School of Nursing Alumni Board. Tamara Yankowski has resigned her position as President due to personal reasons. As the current Vice President I have assumed the President’s responsibilities until our next elections can take place. I am a Class of ’77 graduate who began my professional career at Samaritan Hospital in 1977 at Samaritan Hospital in the OBGYN unit and worked as a staff nurse for 19 years. I left the inpatient OB unit to develop and implement a MOMS (Medicaid Obstetrical Maternal Service) Program at Samaritan Hospital providing health supportive and educational services to this out-patient pregnant patient population. My role expanded from patient educator to nurse manager responsible for the daily operations of the MOMS Program, Pediatric Clinic, and a Primary Care Practice. I am still with Northeast Health (NEH), now in the Primary Care Network as a Director of three of our nine NEH Primary Care sites. This is our second issue of the newly formatted newsletter. Once again, many thanks to Dan O’Connell for all his hard work bringing this issue to print. I would like to encourage input from any alumni on current nursing topics or about the work you are currently involved in. We would love to share your successes with fellow classmates.

April 2008

From the Director’s Desk: Good News in the Numbers! In the past decade, enrollment in nursing programs across the United States has been on an interesting roller coaster. Baccalaureate, AD and diploma programs alike all experienced a significant downturn in enrollment, bottoming out around 1999. Happily for us, and for the future of nursing in general, enrollment has taken a significant and healthy upturn. Each semester at the Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing, we have the capacity to enter 27 new students. For the last few semesters, the entering class has been fully enrolled. Every August we enter a new class of practical nursing students, and that program has also seen increased enrollment. (Figure I below) What has caused the increased interest in becoming a nurse? No one knows for sure. At the national level, increased attention to the nursing shortage and a certain degree of economic uncertainty have perhaps combined to prompt people to enter nursing. Here at the school we have enhanced our marketing strategies and have more aggressively recruited at local high schools and college fairs. So, for the first time in years, we actually have a waiting list. The August 2008 class is full, and the class for January 2009 is filling rapidly. Moreover, the attrition rate of entering students has significantly declined. Again, there is the question: why are more students succeeding in the program? Did we lower the bar? No. In fact, the bar was raised in 2000 when we began requiring students to achieve at least an 80% in the nursing courses. In 2004 we implemented an entrance exam which has ensured a certain level of academic competence. As the decade has passed, the full time teaching faculty has stabilized, so those who are teaching bring more experience and expertise to the teaching/learning relationship. These are some of the factors which help to ensure the success of our students. The bottom line is this: can our graduates pass NCLEX, (“the boards”) and are they good nurses? We are extremely proud of our graduates; they are caring and competent beginning practitioners. And we have a first-time NCLEX pass rate of nearly 100% for several consecutive semesters, much better than the state-wide pass rate of 85%. So we are alive and very well indeed! Our best “advertising” continues to be word of mouth, so send your children, friends and neighbors our way! Susan Birkhead, Director

The May dinner meeting will be held at Samaritan Hospital - perhaps a little less challenging to find than the location for the last meeting! Our guest speaker will be Susan Birkhead, MPH, RN Director of the Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing. She will provide us with some updates regarding our old alma mater and give us a tour of the new “high tech” classroom. Details regarding the May meeting are included in this issue.) On behalf of the Alumni Board members, thank you for your continued support and participation. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting in May. Bring an old classmate with you and reminisce about the “good old days” as a Samaritan nursing student. Joy Aloan, Interim President

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Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

Ad-Hoc Committee on Communications Development of Phase III, creation of a website has begun. At the January ’08 meeting of the board, various features and the overall components of the website were reviewed and approved. Permanent committees within the board are reviewing and updating forms that are used to apply for scholarships and assistance and the adhoc committee is working to develop text and content for other features. When preliminary drafts are approved by the board, meetings will be scheduled with Northeast Health Foundation staff, who will assist with the development process and the Information Technology (IT) staff of Samaritan Hospital who will be responsible for technical development. A considerable amount of analysis and detail work needs to be completed before a projected completion date can be estimated. When the ad-hoc committee completes its work, meetings with IT staff will be held to determine if the conceptual design of the website is feasible. Hopefully, when the next issue of the newsletter is published more specific detail about the website will be available. During the conceptual design of Phase III, your suggestions for on-line communication with your Alumni Board are requested. Please send any comments you may have to my attention at the Alumni Office by June 1, 2008. As always your input to our development and modernization are most welcome. Respectfully submitted, Dan O’Connell, Chair

Alumni Newsletter

Memorial Celebration In this issue we celebrate the lives of Marie M. Douglas, Class of ’35 and Mary E. (Betsy) Finkel, Class of ’46, two Samaritan School of Nursing Alumni who were remarkable for the lives they lived as nurses and in their everyday activities with family and friends in the community. Marie’s entire professional life was spent at Samaritan; first on staff and then on the School of Nursing faculty. Betsy began her professional life at the VNA in Albany, N.Y. and then returned to Samaritan as a staff nurse and as a volunteer with the hospitals Auxiliary for 30 years. Each of them served on the Alumni Board; Marie as President and Betsy as Treasurer and Communications Committee Chair. Both led active lives in the Troy community with dedicated service in numerous ways. It was a joy to know and work with each of these special alumni. May they rest in peace! Florence Strang

Pharmacy Update: Preventing Look-Alike, Sound Alike Medication Errors With drug names like cefazolin, cephalexin and cefoxitin medication mix-ups are just waiting to happen. There are more that 30,000 trademarked drugs and 9,000 generic drugs on the market and many of these drugs have similar and confusing names.1 According to the Food and Drug Administration the similarities in these drugs’ names may account for 10% of all medication errors.1 The vast majority of those errors did not cause patients any harm, but several hundred did. Primidone-prednisone was one of a handful of mix-ups that may have contributed to a patient’s death.2 Poor handwriting, transcribing an order incorrectly, unfamiliarity with drug names or new medications are some of the factors that create opportunities for confusion and medication related errors.1,3,4. The following tips can help prevent these errors:1,3,4. ➞

write prescriptions clearly by printing the name of the drug in BLOCK LETTERS

➞

avoid using abbreviations-spell out the name of the drug, for example, HCTZ = HYDROCH LOROTH IAZI DE

➞

when repeating back the verbal drug order spell the name of the drug

➞

include more information about the drug ordered, for example, generic name, reason for prescribing the drug

➞

verify you have the correct drug by comparing the name, dosage form and strength of the drug in the med-cart/pixus with the order on the cardex and chart

➞

become aware of drugs with look-alike or sound-alike names • bupropion and buspirone • Novolog and Novolin • dobutamine and dopamine • taxol and taxotere

Think Spring!!

• Humalog and Humulin • Zestril and Zetia • hydralazine and hydroxyzine • Zyprexa and Zyrtec • Lantus and Lente It is important for the staff at Samaritan Hospital and all primary care facilities, to help prevent drug related errors. If you have any questions regarding a medication or drug order please feel free to contact the pharmacy. A pharmacist is always available and happy to answer your questions. Respectfully Submitted, Stephenne McFadden PharmD Candidate Samaritan Hospital Pharmacy Department References: American Society of Heaith System Pharmacists. Medication safety issue brief: look-alike, sound-alike drugs. Hospital & Health Network 2005 Oct;79(10). Goldstein J.: Confusion Over Sound-Alike Drug Names Can Hamm Patients. Wallstreet Journal. 2008 Jan 29. Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/01/ 29/confusion-over-sound-alike-drug-names-can-harm-patients/. Look-alike, sound-alike medications. Phammacist’s Letter/Prescriber’s Letter 2008;24(2):240282. Dispensing ErrorAlerts. Pharmacist’s Letter/ Prescriber’s Letter2003; 19(11):191116

Alumni Newsletter

Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

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Committee Reports (Scholarships & Assistance) Editor’s Note: The introductory paragraphs only in each committee report are repeated in each issue of the newsletter to provide scholarship and other important information to new graduates.

Courtesy Committee:

Seber Committee:

The Courtesy Committee maintains a separate financial account within the Alumni. Monies to finance the account are derived from the annual dues. Therefore, the amount available to the committee depends on the Sustaining (dues paying) Membership or donations made by alumni or other interested persons.

The Seber Scholarship Committee is available to women who desire to become Registered Nurses and to female and male Registered Nurses who desire to do graduate study in nursing. (the award from this fund for people who wish to become an RN is restricted to women only based on stipulations in the donors Last Will and Testament). Applicants are required to document a need for financial assistance in order to receive an award. Awards are dispersed for Spring and Fall semesters.

In 2007, 18 condolence donations have been made to the Leora Belknap Scholarship Fund and so far in 2008, 2 donations have been made in memory of deceased alumni or members of their immediate family. The Infirmed List currently is comprised of 21 alumni. Cards are sent to these members at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. If anyone has knowledge of an alumni who should be placed on the Infirmed List or a grad who is recently deceased and should have a donation made to the Belknap Fund, please notify Karen Henchey at (518) 283-4967 or committee members; Kathy Davis 273-4503, Donna Reed 674-2569, Ellen Dunn 283-0431 and Diane Dare 783-8790. Karen Henchey, Chair

District Liaison: The district committee acts as a liaison between the Samaritan Alumni Association and the Capital District #9 of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). All bills proposed in the NYS Legislature and newly enacted laws and other pertinent information affecting the nursing profession is brought to the attention of the alumni membership. Current issues in committee remain that same as during our last reporting period; Mandatory Overtime, Safe Staffing (nurse/patient ratios), Education Advancement (requires RN’s to attain a BS degree in nursing within 10 years of the initial licensing), and Work Place Violence. For further information, you can visit NYSNA’s legislative advocacy website at NYSNA.org. The committee is continues to seek another member. If you should be interested, please contact me by writing to the Alumni Office at Samaritan or call me at (518) 283-4967. Karen Henchey, Chair

Mosley Committee The Winifred A. Mosley Fund was created in 1985 through monies left to the Alumni Corporation by Winifred A. Mosley, ’26. The Mosley Funds are used for communication activities, to improve attendance and participation in the membership meetings, and for charitable donations. The committee holds two meetings a year before the May and November Alumni Meetings. We arrange for various guest speakers to present information on current nursing or medical topics. The committee welcomes suggestions for guest speakers or alumnists who would like to present and restaurant locations for our future dinner meetings. New member participation on this committee is always welcome. Our next dinner meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 5:30pm in the Pattison Board Room at Samaritan Hospital, 2215 Burdett Ave., Troy, N.Y. Susan Birkhead, MPH, RN Director of the Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing will be our guest speaker. She will talk about current topic of interest in the school and provide a tour of the “New High Tech Classroom” donated by Dr. James Slavin and Dr. Monica Mottolese in honor of Dr. Thomas and Patricia Mottolese. Dinner will be provided for $12.00 for members and $20.00 for non-members. Please see reservation form in this newsletter. Joy Aloan, Chair

Applicants must be Samaritan School of Nursing (SON) graduates who are members of the Alumni Inc. in good standing (dues paying members) or female students in the Registered Nurse program of the SON who receive a recommendation from the Director of the School of Nursing. Applications may be obtained from any Seber Comm. Member or by written request to the committee chairperson, % of the Alumni Office, Samaritan Hospital, Troy, NY 12180. The chairperson may also be reached at (518 326-9075). Six scholarships totaling $3000 were awarded for the Spring ’08 semester. Shirley DeCamp, Chair

Welsh Committee: The Welsh Fund was established in 1968 by the last will and testament of Blanche C. Welsh. The purpose of fund is to aid or help sick and/or disabled nurses with their medical expenses. A maximum of $200 may be paid to a member in a calendar year. Each application must be accompanied by a copy of the doctor’s bill or hospital bill, as required by our accountants. Welsh Fund payments are retroactive for one year. Applicants must be in good standing with the alumni association. For more information regarding the Welsh Fund or an application please feel free to contact the Welsh Committee Chairman. Christina Yerdon RN, MSN, ACNP Welsh Committee Chair [email protected]

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Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

Alumni Newsletter

Bits & Pieces: Blanche Blesser Audette, ’39 of Rexford, NY reports that after moving around the country with her husband while he was employed by GE she has retired from her position as GE’s dispensary nurse in Syracuse.

Ruth Swanker Spence, ’41 of Gainesville, FL is on a tennis team at “87” and won her first tournament.

Lillian Wolfgruber, ’47 of Spring Hill, FL now 82 is enjoying a long, busy, happy life. She volunteers a couple mornings at the church. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and a few great-grandchildren (14 of them). She is amazed at how medicine has advanced through the years.

Florence Groeschel Strang, ’51 of Troy, NY participates on the SON Alumni Board and is very pleased with the new format of our newsletter. She recently lunched with Wilma Dedicoat Bork ‘ 51 at Verdiles while she was visiting in Troy.

Virginia Doring Heislein, ’53 of Salem, NH retired from the School of Nursing several years ago. Her family has a “calling” for the health profession. Her youngest daughter is a chemo-ongology nurse in Worchester, Ma. One daughter-inlaw is an RN at Mass. General Hospital and the other teaches PT at Boston University. Her niece is an RN in WI. Her oldest granddaughter will be attending BC for nursing.

with Saratoga County Public Health. She winters in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and enjoys her freedom and friends.

Nancy Sirigiano Post, ’64 of Anaheim Hills, CA retired for many years and is enjoying traveling with her husband. She enjoys being with her 2 grandchildren -1 and 2 I/2 years old.

Georgene Watson Beaver, ’65 of Aurora, CO is semi retired as of Oct. 2006 and works at an Ambulatory Surgical Center in Englewood, CO. She enjoys her three beautiful grand-daughters ages - 6, 21/2, and 1 year.

of Westlake Village, CA works as a consultant for Quality Risk and Case Management.

of Tampa, FL is working on the postoperative unit at Memorial Hospital in Tampa, FL. She is expecting her 12th grandchild. She sings with the Tampa Oratorio Singers.

Sandra Vanderheyden Harris, ’66 of Clifton Park, NY retired in July 2007. She is enjoying babysitting for her grandchildren, Kerry (5 years) and Ryan (3 years) while her daughter, Tammy teaches third grade.

Robin Campbell, ’68 of Queensbury, NY is the Nurse Education Coordinator for Hudson Headwater Health Network. She works 2 days a week and is enjoying life with her retired husband Paul.

of Clifton Park, NY is working at Albany Memorial Hospital as the evening Coordinator of Surgical Services.

Diana Carpino Lafave, ’70 Patricia Brady Gorham, ’58 of Gilbert, AZ retired in 1999 as a Nurse Practitioner in women’s health care with Drs. Marshall, Cheung, and Diamond. She moved to Arizona to be near her grandchildren.

Joycelyn King, ’61 of Reno, NV is selling antiques at “Aunt Emma’s Place and Uncle Georges’s Junk” in the Reno Antique Mall, at shows, and flea markets.

Patricia Pennell Willson, ’62 of Saratoga Springs, NY has retired after 22 years at Saratoga Hospital and 17 years

of Albany, NY recently became the Course Chairperson for the Behavioral Health Curriculum for the Samaritan and Memorial Hospital’s Nursing Schools.

Sandra Meeham Farnam, ’74 of Middletown, CT is working fulltime in CCU at Middlesex Hospital. She is soon to be a grandmother.

Diane Mertrude, ’75 of San Diego, CA is working in a Medical/ CCU unit. She also works at UCSD in San Diego in a unit that performs GI procedures.

Helen Thayer Millard, ’66

Sandra Rozell, ’70 Margaret Gere Lane, ’57

Diana Whalen O’Brien, ’73

of Basking Ridge, NJ is working as a CM on an Ortho/Neuro Unit. She just had her first grand-daughter.

Michele Hancox, ’71 of Muskego WI shares that her daughter, Elizabeth Madsen married Derek Gerstbrein on June 23, 2007. “Excellent job on the newsletter! ! !”, she comments.

Gerry Brown Moss, ’71 of Worcester, MA works per diem through a nursing agency. She had a very successful knee replacement in May 2007 and will have the other knee done in January 2008.

Micki Trombly Basal, ’75 of Voorheesville, NY is currently the Director of Nursing at St. Catherine’s Center for Children in Albany, NY. She returned to school. She is a Bereavement Counselor and is opening a Center for Loss and Healing at St. Catherine’s.

Louise Guay Brooks, ’76 of Darwin, MN has her first granddaughter, Brooke Anne.

Sandra Sawyer Lucas, ’76 of Hope, RI is the Director of Education at Kent Hospital in RI and works with Nancy Whalen Crawford, ’75.

Andrew Irish, ’76 of San Jose, CA is now the QA/PI Manager for Hospice of the Valley in San Jose, CA.

Cathleen Gilhooley Hamel, ’77 of Troy, NY is attending the Sage College’s Doctoral Nursing Program.

Geraldine Jones Nabozny, ’78 of Valatie, NY shares that her oldest son has returned from Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer in Dec. 07 and is now in his first year of medical school at Rochester.

Debra McCallen Jeffs, ’78 of Altamont, NY has established a second household in Little Rock, AR in January 2008 to assume a new position. She will be the Director of Nursing Education at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Clinical Associate Professor at the

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Alumni Newsletter

Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

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Bits &Pieces...Continued from page 4 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Nursing. She is currently in remission after being treated for nonHodgkin’s lymphoma since July 2007.

Anne Didio Swota, ’81 of Clifton Park, NY is presently working for Koda Middle School as the school nurse and is raising two teenagers with her husband.

Nancy Decaro Magliocca, ’82 of LaGrangeville, NY is the Director of Inpatient Mental Health Services at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie. She has two children - 12 and 15.

Anne Von Fricken Coonrad, ’84 of Troy, NY is a prosecutor for the Rensselear County DA’ s office and works as staff nurse in Samaritan Hospital’ s ED. Her daughter will graduate from Sage with a BSN in December 2007.

Eileen Donlon Arenson, ’87

Tamara Auclaire Yankowski, ’92

of Lords Valley, PA recently relocated from Oregon to Pennsylvania. She has been in the OR for l8 years. She has worked as a Nurse Practitioner specializing in adult and geriatric medicine for the last l0 years. She has three children ages 4, 7, and 9.

of Waterford, NY works as an RN at St. Peter’s Hospital in the NICU. She is enjoying her first grandchild, Jordan Michael born on Sept. 23,2007.

Dawn Hamel Lemire, ’95

Jessica Tracy Plackis-Useman, ’88

of Rensselaer, NY is now working for GHI HMO after 12 years with Capital Cardiology.

of Green Mountain Falls, CO works as a home care nurse in foster home taking care of medically ill foster children.

Angele Dix, ’04

Colleen Jose Kayser, ’88 of Richmond, VA welcomed Zak Kayser on April 5, 2007. She is relocating to NJ in July and will be taking time off from work to raise her kids.

Mary Quinn Mulligan, ’88 is a weekend alternative on an ortho unit. She is married to Neil, daughters Caitlin 7 and Keira 3. She is a Brownie Troop Leader.

Cara Bailey Nolan, ‘ 85 of Wadsworth, OH enjoyed a mini reunion this August with Linda Parker O’Connell and Mary Ellen Snell Winchester and their families in the Adirondack Mountains in N.Y.

Tracy Lewis, ’90

Colleen Doring D’Amico, ’85

Lisa Wagoner Piscitella, ’90

of Watertown, CT recently started a new position as the Clinical Information Systems Education Consultant at Waterbury Hospital teaching physicians and residents how to use computerized electronic health records.

of Troy, NY is working as the RN Homecare Coordinator at Eddy Cohoes Rehabilitation Center. She celebrated her 10th wedding anniversary on Nov. 8, 2007. Her daughter, Jenna is now 7 years old.

of Troy, NY gave birth to her first child, Annalind Margaret Spanswick in Dec. 2007. Linda Lewis, ’82 became a first time “Nana” to her child.

of Latham, NY is working at EVNA with the PI team and assists with float nursing for the Albany Team.

Condolences: Patricia O’Brien Dragonetti, ’57 on the loss of her husband, John J. Dragonetti on December 24, 2007.

Judith Thompson Polnak, ’76 on the loss of her father Milford Thompson.

Proxies If you cannot attend the May ’08 Annual Meeting, please complete the enclosed proxy card and return it to the alumni off1ce by May 1, 2008. The vote of 10% of sustaining and life members is needed to provide a quorum in order to conduct business and elect a Board of Directors. Since a majority of the membership cannot attend the meeting, it is important to return your proxy. Thank you

Dinner Meeting When:

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Where:

Samaritan Hospital, Pattison Board Room (2nd Flr - old wing), 2215 Burdett Ave., Troy, N Y.

Guest/Speaker: Susan Birkhead, MPH, RN Director, Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing who will talk about “What’s New at the School” and give a tour of the School of Nursing’s new “High Tech Classroom”. Program:

5:30 Gathering (Wine & Beer) • 6:00 Tour/Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings! 7:30 Alumni Meeting • 8:00 Foundation Meeting

Annual Meeting Reservation Please return with $12 00 (member) or $20.00 (non-member) fee payable to Joy Aloan, 12 Sharpe Road, Wynantskill, NY 12198 by May 9, 2008. Guest Speaker/Guide: Susan Birkhead, Director, Samaritan School of Nursing All reservations must be honored - Cancellations should be made by May 9th to Joy Aloan at 283-1298.

Print Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Class: ________________________

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Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing

Alumni Newsletter

50th Reunion Class Of 1957 Held Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007 at Longfellows and Sunday, Oct 7, 2007 at Sargo’s Saratoga Springs, NY

The way we were!

The way we are! (Front L - R) Rita Hart Tuck, Shirley Wright Schweikert, Beverly Hyatt Kinne (Rear L - R) Pat O’Brien Dragonetti, Beverly Miller Brown, Eleanor Lowell McGreevey, Joan Boice Willey, Marilyn Ellioitt Blom, Maureen Shea Shannon, Lorraine Blain Sasko.