Seven Local Nurses Honored with GMercyU's Annual Nursing Excellence Awards
Gwynedd Mercy University, a leader in nursing education for over 70 years, recognized seven area nurses with the 2021 Nursing Excellence Awards on Thursday, June 9.
The Nursing Excellence Awards program provides awards to nurses working in Bucks and Montgomery County communities who have been nominated by their colleagues. These awards are intended to recognize those nurses who have provided extraordinary service to patients, families, and our community.
Since March 2020, nurses have emerged as leaders and true heroes, fighting the pandemic on the front lines.
"I'm inspired by the selflessness and creativity of these 2021 award-winning nurses, who have shown themselves to be compassionate, creative, and agile in their delivery of health care, during a year like no other," Gwynedd Mercy University President Deanne H. D'Emilio, JD said.
The 2021 recipients of Gwynedd Mercy University's Nursing Excellence Awards are the following:
- Patricia B. Martin, LPN - Practice Nurse, Doylestown Health, Internal Medicine Practice
- Shumi Mazzacano, RN, AD - Staff Nurse, Doylestown Health, ICU
- Linda Molloy, BSN, RN - Staff Nurse, Holy Redeemer Hospital, Level III NICU; 1980 Graduate of Gwynedd Mercy University
- Emily Petipren, BSN, RN - Staff Nurse, Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, Critical Care
- Lamar Robinson, BSN, RN - Staff Nurse, Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, Float Pool
- Shannon Rutberg, MS, MSN, RN-BC - Lead Clinical Nurse Educator, Main Line Health, Bryn Mawr
- Danielle Walter, BSN, RN - Staff Nurse, Doylestown Hospital, Med-Surg & Telemetry Unit and then four months in a COVID Unit
Fred and Nancy Allegrezza established the Nurse Laureate awards program at North Penn Hospital in 2001. Nancy, who worked as a nurse in the cardiac rehabilitation department, wanted to do something to celebrate the loyalty and hard work of the nurses at the hospital and raise the awareness of the value of nursing in the community.
Shortly after the establishment of the awards program, the North Penn Community Health Foundation became the steward of the awards program until 2008. Through a grant made by the Foundation, Gwynedd Mercy University was then selected to manage the Nursing Excellence Awards Program.
For more than 75 years, Gwynedd Mercy University has been preparing students to become top professionals in the fields of health professions, arts and sciences, business, education, and nursing. Graduates of Gwynedd Mercy University's nursing degree programs are recognized for their depth of knowledge and responsiveness to today's critical health issues. There are more than 7,000 nursing alumni who represent the University in the community and beyond.