Top Nurses 2022

BY GRETCHEN CUDA KROEN The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, OHIO hen COVID-19 swept the globe, the world took note of the people who were responsible for managing an unprecedented number of critically ill patients.

In the early days of the pandemic, stories and images went viral of doctors and, to a larger extent, nurses who went to work, day in and day out, exhausted and emotionally drained, sometimes without proper masks, gowns or gloves. They were praised for bravery and lauded as heroes. And then we moved on. And so did many of them.

A large fraction of the nursing workforce quietly disappeared post-COVID-19, leaving hospitals and clinics understaffed, and creating an even greater burden on the nurses that remained.

The economics of the shortage are fairly simple: in a field where demand for nurses has been consistently rising for years, more nurses are leaving than entering the profession, creating a deficit. And the gap between demand and supply is getting wider.

Why are so many nurses leaving the profession?

What is being done to replenish their numbers? And can an already fragile healthcare system cope with the strain until we do?

Why are they leaving?

There are a number of reasons nurses are leaving, including an aging workforce that is reaching retirement, on-the-job burnout, and a shift from traditional, stable staff jobs at the hospital bedside to telemedicine and a gig-economy of short-term assignment travel nurses, say the experts.

It would be easy to blame all these changes on the pandemic, but healthcare economists and academics in the nursing profession observed and reported on aspects of the nursing shortage long before COVID-19.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has put together an entire fact sheet devoted to addressing the nursing shortage, littered with data, reports and predictions of an ever worsening shortage of nurses going back almost two decades.

For example, according to the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey, the average age of surveyed registered nurses was 52 years old, and 19% of RN’s are 65 years of age or older. About one-fifth of the respondents said they planned to retire in the next five years, leaving the U.S. short an estimated 1.9 million nurses by 2030 . This, in addition, to the growing healthcare demands of a population that is living longer.

The pandemic simply took a system that was already failing to keep up, and placed it under extraordinary, and unexpected strain.

“Really the biggest thing is the burnout is creating a high turnover,” one ICU nurse at the Cleveland Clinic told cleveland.com, asking not to be identified, for fear her comments might impact her ability to get a job in the future.

Burnout she says is driving many nurses she knows to leave the profession entirely, but many others – including her --are simply taking advantage of high salaries paid by travel nurse companies.

“The pay is double, triple, quadruple, what we make as staff,” she said. “I mean, why wouldn’t you do that?”

incentive pay to retain their nurses, and they are making up the staffing they pay many times more than the full-time staff that train them.

But even then, some hospitals find that they are having to make some hard decisions. University Hospitals in Cleveland recently decided to close its hospital facilities in Bedford and Richmond Heights. The closures were met with harsh criticism from local area residents and politicians. UH said staffing shortages – in particular nursing shortages— were the primary driver of the decision.

“We are committed to making sure that we are providing high-quality, safe care, and a part of our decision making was related to workforce shortages,” said Michelle Hereford, UH’s chief nursing executive.

Hereford said 90% of the staff was relocated to another facility where they were needed. “We are quite grateful that those people decided to stay with us and that we are able to spread those employees across other parts of the organization.”

Nursing shortages aren’t specific to Cleveland-area hospitals, Ohio hospitals or even American hospitals. In Australia, the country is so desperate for nurses, that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews recently announced his government would offer free university degrees to over 10,000 nurses and midwives.

“To our year 11 and year 12 students - choose nursing,” Andrews told Australian reporters.

In the United States there is no such national initiative, but all 50 states offer some form loan forgiveness for nursing students as a means to combat nursing shortages.

However, these programs vary widely by state. For example Ohio offers its nursing students $1,620 per year, but neighboring Michigan forgives up to $200,000 in student loans for nurses who work for two years in a federally designated healthcare professional shortage area.

And how do hospitals get them back?

Where have all the nurses gone? a field where demand for nurses has been consistently rising for years, more nurses are leaving than entering the profession, creating a

Increasing the number of nurses entering the profession

On one side of the nurse shortage equation there are large numbers of nurses who are leaving, but on the other side, there is a bottleneck in the pipeline of nursing trainees prepared to replace them.

But the problem is not a lack of nursing school applicants-- it’s that there aren’t enough spots to accommodate them.

According to the Ohio Board of Nursing annual report, in 2021 a little over 4,000 degrees were awarded by the state’s 45 accredited BSN programs. Yet over 4,000 qualified applicants were also rejected. Six schools turned away more than 200 applicants each, and the University of Cincinnati turned away over 1,000 nursing hopefuls.

By comparison to other types of bachelor’s degrees, nursing programs are small. For

would allow students to move through the program at their own pace by demonstrating mastery of specific knowledge and skills. Capper said this could potentially allow students to graduate in less than the standard four years. But the curriculum changes are still being worked out and it will likely take a year or two to fully transition to the new model.

However, the biggest impediment to increasing the number of nursing students is the lack of qualified instructors to teach them. A master’s degree in nursing is required of instructors, limiting the pool. And nursing instructors typically earn about a third less than their colleagues in practice, Capper said.

A different vision

So how do nursing schools find and pay for instructors, so they can graduate more nurses?

A hospital system in Maryland believes it may have a solution–providing clinical instruction to area nursing schools free of charge.

Lisa Rowen is the Chief Nurse Executive for the University of Maryland Medical System— a multi-hospital system in the state of Maryland much like University Hospitals, MetroHealth or the Cleveland Clinic. Rowen said she came up with the idea last December while looking for a way to alleviate nursing shortages in her hospitals.

problem. We find all those clinical instructors because they are our own nurses who are working and want to do this, and we fund it,” said Rowen. “It’s a beautiful thing because everybody benefits.”

Rowen said that the program helps solve the immediate labor shortages because student nurses help reduce the workload on the staff, but they also better prepare the students for work in a hospital setting when they graduate. But the real benefit she believes is in the long game. By providing nursing schools with the one thing that’s been preventing them from significantly growing their nursing programs -- clinical instructors --they are helping to ensure a stronger stream of future job candidates.

“What we’re trying to do is move beyond a transactional process to a transformational process. We believe this is transformational in how we educate nursing students, it’s transformational for how nursing students are embedded in our workforce and transformational for the future of nursing,” said Rowen.

And the idea, she said, is translatable from urban to rural, from East Coast to Midwest and from one medical system to another.

“That’s what we need for this nursing shortage. We need more nurses entering nursing schools, being immersed in a clinical setting, and coming out needing less orientation,” said Rowen.

“My vision is to provide all of the clinical instruction for the schools of nursing that we partner with,” she said. “And that’s my vision just for us. My real vision is that this becomes the model for the country.”

example, BSN students represent just 10% of the total number of bachelor’s degrees awarded at Case Western Reserve University - despite the fact that employment opportunities for RNs are expected to grow by 9% between now and the year 2030, adding roughly 195,000 new openings a year.

Many organizations have been calling for schools of nursing to grow their programs and increase the number of students they graduate.

CWRU, for it’s part, has increased the size of its incoming BSN class by 50% over the last year’s graduates, said Beverly Capper, a 35-year veteran nurse who runs the program. The incoming class of 145 is the largest in the school’s history, something Capper sees as a positive sign. More than 1,000 spots have been added across all the nursing programs in Ohio in the last five years.

Capper also said that CWRU takes extra steps to make sure their nurses are ready to practice following graduation by offering them opportunities to work during the summer and gain needed skills, and requiring clinical rotations shadowing nurses weekly during a full shift their senior year.

The school is also in the process of moving toward a competency-based curriculum that

The program provides hospital clinical instruction like what many students already do -- with one key difference: UMMS would recruit the clinical instructors from their own hospitals, pay their teaching salaries, and offer them to area nursing schools for free.

The program, named Academy of Clinical Essentials, was piloted just weeks later in the spring semester with seven groups of four students from the University of Maryland school of Nursing. Each of those groups was paired with a different clinical instructor in one of two UMMS hospitals.

The program was so successful, that this fall they have expanded the program to include 32 groups (128 students) from three different nursing schools, with instructors across seven different hospitals.

“The biggest problem for the schools is that they aren’t able to find enough clinical instructors or enough clinical sites, so ACE solves that

Twenty-one BSN programs around Ohio reported that they could not find enough qualified teaching faculty to fill their open positions in 2021. It’s a problem that is expected to get worse. Eleven of those schools expect to lose a total of 295 faculty and 439 teaching assistants over the course of the next five years.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Rachel Lane, nursing master’s student at CWRU, who recalls hounding the clinic for her first job as a nurses aide while she was an undergraduate. “Why not streamline that process so that the transition from learning to practice is seamless?”

The biggest problem for the schools is that they aren’t able to find enough clinical instructors or enough clinical sites.

The MetroHealth System congratulates Kathleen Kerber on a legacy of nursing leadership.

Kathleen Kerber has helped patients and nurses feel seen and heard in her 40-year career as a nurse at MetroHealth.

Through expert nursing knowledge, a deep connection with both patients and nurses, and a calm demeanor that inspires her colleagues to seek her advice, Kathleen has become one of MetroHealth’s most trusted and respected medical professionals.

While her work at the bedside is cause enough for recognition, her efforts across department lines to ensure safe and quality care for patients on ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the way she puts patients at the heart of our healthcare system with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

An authority in critical care, Kathleen’s leadership and mentoring, the classes she runs and the research she’s published mean her legacy at MetroHealth and beyond will endure.

We are proud of Kathleen’s work to elevate nursing excellence at MetroHealth.

A career devoted to hope, health, and humanity through patient advocacy.

Kathleen Kerber, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACNS-BC, CCRN Clinical Quality and Evidence Based Practice Specialist

‘I love to teach:’ Celeste Aviles shares passion for nursing with students: Top Nurses

BY JULIE WASHINGTON | The Plain Dealer

aCLEVELAND, OHIO

s the youngest of six children in a multigenerational Latino family, Celeste Aviles learned early that caring for others was fulfilling work. At age 18, she set her sights on a nursing career.

Now Aviles combines her two passions — nursing and education — as a nurse educator and medical assistant instructor at New Bridge Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology, a nonprofit training facility.

Aviles is the winner of the Nurse Educator Award for cleveland.com’s Top Nurses for her commitment to teaching and nursing.

“I love to teach; I love to learn,” Aviles said, who taught LPN students before coming to New Bridge. “I think all nurses at heart

are teachers, because when you’re nursing, you are teaching people. Whether it’s your patients or their families, you’re explaining things.”

Aviles, who is a registered nurse and holds a bachelor’s in science of nursing degree, is the first instructor to teach medical assistant training at New Bridge. The 10-month program started in January 2021 with a curriculum that she developed to ensure that students would be able to pass a certification test.

Aviles has a knack for bringing the material to life, and often stays after class to help struggling students, said Edwin Hubbard Jr., New Bridge vice president of development. “Celeste is thorough. She’s passionate. She takes the attitude of no student left behind,” Hubbard said. “She wants them to win.”

University Hospitals employees make up the current group of students studying to be medical assistants in Aviles’ class. Medical assistants, who are not considered nurses, primarily work in doctor’s offices and outpatient clinics, providing hands-on care as well as handling billing and scheduling. These healthcare workers take the patient’s height and weight, and perform EKGs and do blood draws and obtain specimens. Medical assistants do not prescribe

medication.

New Bridge’s educational programs are offered at no cost to students. Before UH filled Aviles’ classes, her students ranged from healthcare professionals to low-income people seeking better employment.

In addition to ensuring that her students have the necessary knowledge, Aviles also looks for people who view healthcare as more than just a paycheck. If she thinks a particular student has the wrong temperament, she says so.

“Medicine is hard — to care for other people, to put someone else’s needs ahead of yours. It’s not for everyone,” said Aviles, who lives in Richmond Heights. “I just try and ascertain how badly they want this and if this is really something that they want to do. A lot of people look at health care, like, ‘I know I’ll never be out of a job.’ And that’s not the right reason to go into health care.”

Part of her job is encouraging her graduates to further their healthcare careers by exploring other specialties.

“A lot of them just need the confidence to know they can do this,” she said.

Celeste is thorough. She’s passionate. She takes the attitude of no student left behind, she wants them to win.”

EDWIN HUBBARD JR., NEW BRIDGE VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT.

BY JULIE WASHINGTON | The Plain Dealer

kCLEVELAND, OHIO athleen Kerber didn’t always want to be a nurse. She thought she would be an engineer, like her father, or share her love for math as a math teacher.

Then she volunteered at the former Elyria Memorial Hospital as a candy striper, delivering newspapers and coffee to patients, and watched nurses at work.

“I thought, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do,’ ” recalled Kerber, 65, who lives in Elyria.

Those early experiences were her

springboard into a 44-year career as a nurse, most of it spent as a registered nurse at MetroHealth System. Kerber, currently clinical quality and evidence based practice specialist at MetroHealth, is the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for cleveland. com’s Top Nurses.

As a clinical nurse specialist for the medical intensive care and cardiac intensive care units, Kerber takes a bird’s-eye view of the whole hospital system to ensure nurses have what they need to deliver care.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kerber worked alongside nurses caring for the most ill COVID-19 patients.

MetroHealth environmental services aide Janice Longcoy, who has worked closely with Kerber, wasn’t surprised to hear of the Top Nurse accolade. Longcoy described Kerber as “the bomb.”

“If any nurses have problems, who do they call? Kathy Kerber,” Longcoy said. “Who rescues them? Kathy Kerber. She’s good at everything.”

Among Kerber’s biggest achievements was implementing continual renal replacement therapy, a special bedside dialysis

procedure used in the intensive care unit. In the past, MetroHealth contracted with a dialysis service to set up the equipment for patients, but the hospital wanted nurses to be able to do it themselves.

The renal machines were delivered just as the COVID-19 pandemic put hospitals in lockdown. Kerber had to work with the dialysis company and hospital engineers, train nurses while dealing with supply chain disruptions and decide how the new device would be noted on electronic medical records.

Kerber, who joined MetroHealth in 1986, feels as if her efforts to support nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her work with pharmacists on drug safety has made a difference for MetroHealth nurses and patients.

“I’m proud that when I walk around MetroHealth, I can actually look at things and say, ‘Yes, I had a part of this, and I actually made it better’,” Kerber said.

JANICE LONGCOY

Registered nurse Celeste Aviles, a Top Nurses award winner, teaches students in a medical assistant class how to properly draw blood at New Bridge Cleveland Center for Arts and Technology. She devised the curriculum and is the first instructor to teach the class at New Bridge.

Photo | Julie E. Washington, cleveland.com

Registered nurse Kathleen Kerber, clinical quality and evidence-based practice specialist at MetroHealth System, is working with clinical engineers to upgrade patient monitors to be less disruptive and noisy. The upgraded monitors will be installed in MetroHealth’s new Glick Center set to open later this year. Kerber is this year’s recipient of the Top Nurses Lifetime Achievement Award. ensures nurses care: Top Nurses

If any nurses have problems, who do they call? Kathy Kerber, Who rescues them? Kathy Kerber.

Ashley

Tina

Melody

Javon

Laura Keglovic,

Christine Lantzy,

Ruby McGlothan,

Sue

Mollee

Lauren Pietraroia,

Anne

Katherine

Morgan Wiedemann,

NURSE

Celeste

Erica

Marie

Ruby McGlothan,

Lauren Pietraroia,

Linda

Alexandra

Karen Steigerwald,

Patricia

NURSE

Ruby

Lauren Pietraroia,

Terry

TOP AWARD (CONT’D)

Tia Blakey, BSRN, Hillcrest Hospital

Veronica Boruz, RN, BSN, Fairview Hospital

Lou Ann Brown, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Ruth Brutz, RN, The Village at Marymount

Candice Burgio, LPN, Mount Alverna-Ancora

Cathy Burke, RN, Akron General Hospital

Erica Carlin, RN, MetroHealth

Allison Casey, PRN, Retired

Kimberli Cole, RN, University Hospitals

Lauren Daugherty, RN, Youngstown Treatment Services

Barb Deering, MSN,RN, NEA-BC, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

Joan Drushel, RN, University Hospitals

Rainbow Babies & Children’s

Deanna Eller, BSN, RN, University Hospitals

MaryAnne Engel, RN, BSN, Hospice of Western Reserve

Lauren First, LPN, Kemper House

Danielle Franco, RN, University Hospitals

Diana Frasure, LPN, Northern Care Institute

Donna Frindt, RN, BSN, Cleveland Clinic

Hannah Gallagher, RN, Southwest General Hospital

Carmela Garcia, RN, MetroHealth

Erica Gedridge, RN, Cleveland Clinic Fairview

Amy Gero, RN- OCN, Southwest General Hospital

Leigh Ann Graham, RN, BSN, CMSRN, University Hospitals

Danielle Graves, BSN, CNP, Hillcrest Hospital

Beth Gromofsky, MN, Cleveland Clinic

Mallory Hatmaker, MSN, CNP, Cleveland Clinic

Amy Hites, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Don Hollins, LPN, Northfield Village

Skilled Nursing & Rehab

Laura H. Hutter, RN

Deanna Jackson, RN, St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

Javon James, Licensed LPN, University Hospitals

Karen Johnson-Guy Anderson, NP, Cleveland Clinic

Laura Keglovic, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Sandy Kelling, RN, University Hospitals

Donna Koterba, MSN, RN, NE-BC, Cleveland Clinic

Gabrielle Kovach, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Susan Kramer, RN, BSN, Laurel School

Jenny Kucera, LPN, Broadmoor School

Jennifer Kunsman, RN, BSN, Home Health Nurse

Lyndsey Lackey, LPN, Huntington Woods Alzheimers Unit

Heather Lavender, BSN, University Hospitals

Kathy Lennon, RN, Brookdale Hospice

Timothy Lloyd, RN, Louis Stokes Cleveland

VA Medical Center

Jane Lokiec, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Justin Lonczak, MSN, AGACNP-BC, Cleveland Clinic

Wendy Malec, RN, Hospice of Western Reserve

Laura M. Manns-James, PhD, CNM, WHNP-BC, CNE,

FACNM, Frontier Nursing University

Marie Martin, RN, Veteran’s Hospital

Ashley Matho, RN, MSN,

Department of Veteran Affairs

Julianna Matts, RN, MetroHealth

Meredith McConville, RN, Cleveland Clinic

TOP NURSES AWARD (CONT’D)

Ruby McGlothan, RN, Cleveland Treatment Center

Amanda Meier, RN, University Hospitals

Julia Mincek, BSN, University Hospitals

David Modock, RN, Home Health Agency

Maureen Moscarino, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Mollee Nutial, RN, BSN, Cleveland Clinic Children’s

Rosemary Olmstead, RN, University Hospitals

Sharon Paizs-Wilk, DNP, Southwest General Hospital

Anne Paulus, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Cynthia Pawlak, RN, MSN, Fairview Hospital

Amy Pegman, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Shawn Pekarek, BA, BSN, OCN, Cleveland Clinic

Donna Pendley, LPN/LVN

Ann Phillips, APRN-CNS, MSN, University Hospitals

Sharon Pickett, RN, BSN, St. Mark School

Jenny Pietrick, RN, BSN, Premier Physicians

Shannon Powers, NP

Willa Pugh, RN, Jewish Family Services Association

Denise Qasem, LPN, Parma Care Center

Stefanie Radujkovic, RN, Southwest General Hospital

Keana R. Rawlinson, RN, BSN, FNP, Retired

Alisha Reno, LPN, Louis Stokes VA Medical Center

Dawn Rozelle, RN, Grace Hospital

Alexandra Ruiz, RN, BSN, MetroHealth

Roberta Samoly, RN, MetroHealth

Lisa Sayre, RN, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office

Ashley Scherley, RN, Veterans Hospital

Jennifer Shaarda, RN, BSN, Cleveland Clinic

Tiffany Sledge, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Christine Smith, RN, University of Parma Medical Center

Brian Soto, NP, One Health

Hutson Spillman, RN, Marymount Hospital

Karen Steigerwald, RN, Hillcrest Hospital

Kitty Still, LPN, Corporate Clinical Nurse

Molly Stillman, RN, University Hospitals

Rainbow Babies & Children’s

Eugenia Sweet, RN, BSN, MetroHealth

Evelyn T-Armstrong, BSN, Cleveland Clinic

Yvette Torres, RN, Danbury Senior Living

Erik Traylor, LPN

Diana Tripodo, RN, Hillcrest Hospital

Megan Volinski, BSN, MetroHealth

Genai Wacker, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN,

Southwest General Hospital

Donna Walker, RN, Cleveland Clinic

Carl Washington III, RN, Travel Nurse

Lisa Werner, RN, Brunswick City School District

Arielle J. Wheeler, BSN, Cleveland Clinic

Robin Wieland, RN, Southwest General Hospital

Kimberly Williams, RN, BSN, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center

Patricia Williams, LPN, Anna Maria of Aurora

Cherie Winter, RN,BSN, James Hospital

Deborah Wolford, RN, Elyria Treatment Services

Michelle Wymer, LPN, Danbury Senior Living

‘I like to remove barriers:’ mental Nurses

BY JULIE WASHINGTON | The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, OHIO

maggie Tolbert grew up in a small town in Alabama, where Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Blacks were not allowed to eat at the local drugstore’s lunch counter, and the local hospital was segregated.

Those experiences led to her resolve to fight for equity in healthcare and break down barriers to care during her career as a registered nurse.

“I want to make sure that no matter what your lot in life is, no matter what money you have, you have access to equal and highquality behavioral healthcare services,” said Tolbert, 64.

Tolbert is the winner of the Nurse Innovator

Award for cleveland.com’s Top Nurses for her commitment to innovation.

Tolbert is assistant chief clinical officer with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, which funds and monitors public mental health and addiction treatment and recovery services for county residents.

She is being recognized for her work as project manager for the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center, a 50-bed facility that provides a place for people with symptoms of a mental illness and/or addiction receive treatment instead of going to jail. Treatment costs are covered by Medicaid or the ADAMHS Board.

While the diversion center was in the planning stages, Tolbert was a key figure in bringing together a broad coalition that included law enforcement, mental health advocacy groups, ministers, and other community leaders to discuss what type of facility was needed and develop its standards.

“We wanted to make sure we got buy-in and that it was going to meet the needs of the community,” she said. Even though she hasn’t worked directly with patients for years, she still gets calls from the family members of former patients asking for her advice. She uses her knowledge of the available resources to identify places

that can help, even if the person has no insurance.

“I’ve worked with Maggie for over 20 years and have been so impressed with her passion and advocacy for individuals living with mental health and substance use disorders that I knew I wanted her on my leadership team when I became CEO,” Scott S. Osiecki, CEO of the ADAMHS Board of Cuyahoga County, said in an email.

She is dependable, knowledgeable and does not let anything get in her way of accomplishing her work. I’m proud of her for so many things, especially her work on the establishment and oversight of the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center. Maggie is deserving of this award and our community is better because of her dedication.”

Tolbert also has worked to ensure that ADAMHS Board services are equally available on the West Side and East Side. She started at the ADAMHS board as a clinical nurse specialist 21 years ago.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” said Tolbert, who lives in Cleveland Heights. “You’re going to still get a service. And you shouldn’t have to go 50 miles across the bridge to get that service.”

Registered nurse Maggie Tolbert is being recognized for her work as project manager for the Cuyahoga County Diversion Center, a 50-bed facility that provides a place for people with symptoms of a mental illness and/or addiction receive treatment instead of going to jail.

Photo | Julie E. Washington, cleveland.com

She is dependable, knowledgeable and does not let anything get in her way of accomplishing her work.

SCOTT S. OSIECKI, CEO OF THE ADAMHS BOARD OF CUYAHOGA COUNTY

BY GRETCHEN CUDA KROEN | The Plain Dealer

Teacher turned nurse cares for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities: Top Nurses

aCLEVELAND, OHIO typical work day for Anne Teubl, winner of the Advocacy in Action Award for cleveland. com’s Top Nurses, might begin at 6:30 a.m., teaching a new employee in one of the HELP group homes how to pass morning medications to the residents.

Teubl oversees the nursing needs for HELP’s 20 group homes, an organization that provides residential and day programs and vocational training for adults and children with intellectual disabilities. Among her many duties, she is not just a nurse, but a teacher, which is exactly where she started out.

“I never actually planned to be a nurse,” she said with a chuckle.

Teubl began her career as a full-time classroom teacher with Berea schools. But

after having her own children, Teubl looked for something with more flexibility and accepted a part-time job tutoring children in the inpatient adolescent mental health unit at Southwest General Hospital.

“It was a very rewarding position,” Teubl said. “I absolutely loved working at the hospital.”

In her spare time, Teubl said she sewed costumes and outfits for her children, winning awards for her creations.

That was until one day, Teubl recalled, that her sister – a nurse herself at Fairview Hospital – said to her, “You know if you can sew like that, then you can absolutely start an IV.”

That was the push Teubl needed to make the leap from teacher to nurse, and ultimately to the nurse, nurse-educator and advocate for the many children and adults with disabilities she is today.

Teubl has worked at the Cleveland Clinic on the medical surgical floor, at the former Deaconess Hospital in the psychiatric unit, and then for a company called Welcome House, where she was the director of nursing, overseeing its group homes for 23 years. When the company changed direction in 2016, Teubl made the move to HELP, where she has remained for the last six years and counting.

As the only nurse for the company, Teubl is

responsible for its group homes of residential and non-residential clients.

She does physical assessments on all the residents, talks to their doctors and pharmacists, manages medications and coordinates their care because she said, “Most of our clients don’t have any family members doing that, and so we are their family.”

She also teaches the other caregiving staff how to take vital signs, give medications and provide basic medical care.

She is known to go the extra mile: sitting up overnight with a dying patient, so that younger, less experienced staff, don’t have to shoulder that burden alone.

“I really am passionate about this field,” said the 69-year-old who said someday she will retire, but she has no immediate plans to do so. “I’m very proud of what this company does.”

She also is humble.

“This is a very small and unique field in nursing,” said Teubl. “I was just shocked, because I never, in a million years thought that this would happen to me.”

Congratulations to

Photo | Cuda Kroen, cleveland.com

As the only nurse for the company, Teubl is responsible for its group homes of residential and non-residential clients.

Each day at work Katie experiences joy in taking care of people. As a nurse, she is dedicated to helping people who are sick and vulnerable to feel cared for. Katie stays motivated through gratitude from her patients. She has a genuine warmth about her that makes patients feel comfortable and gives them a sense of normalcy during a bad moment in their life. Katie makes deep connections with her patients. She pays attention to the details and care that each patient needs and communicates effectively with the doctors.

Katie continues to strive to be knowledgeable about her career by continuing her education. She focuses on increased professional autonomy, leadership opportunities, and career growth potential. At the end of each shift, Katie gets in her car and reflects on the past 12 hours. Each time she is overjoyed with the feeling of fulfillment which lets her know she has chosen the right career path.

Ruth cares for her patients guided by the following values: Compassion and competence so they may celebrate life.

Ruth became a nurse due to her love of science and people. As a Memory Care Floor supervisor, she takes pride in helping her patients with memory loss and supports their families as they cope with the loss of a loved one. She is there for them through their distress.

Ruth’s diligence, cheerful outlook, and caring personality have a major impact on her patients and their families. Getting positive feedback and encouragement from her patients keeps her motivated throughout the day.

Over the past two years, care protocols have had to be changed and enhanced to keep her patients safe and well cared for. Being a nurse is a tough job that asks a lot of the ones who do it every day. But working with patients and making a difference in their lives makes it worth it for Ruth.

For the past 25 years, Joan has brought her unique and individualistic approach to caring for babies. Joan stays motivated by focusing on knowing that she can make a difference in the lives of the children she cares for. Remembering a parent’s smile and thank you, helping a child’s development, or helping parents be more comfortable with their child’s care is what drives Joan in her daily work. She treats each patient with respect and deeply listens to their needs. Joan is always observant and looks for ways to connect with the families of her patients in different ways. Joan believes just starting a conversation on non-medical subjects can open the door for deeper conversations and enhance her level of care. One of Joan’s proudest moments as a nurse was having one of her patients, now in high school, write her a letter and tell her she wouldn’t be alive without the care Joan provided for her as an infant.

Gabrielle was inspired to become a nurse by a doctor who treated her very ill brother with compassion, support, and determination while she was in middle school. This impacted Gabby and created her dream of becoming a nurse herself. Gabby carries these same skills into her own work and treats her patients diligently and with the upmost respect. She gives them hope and encouragement, while providing emotional support. Gabby makes sure each patient knows she won’t abandon them or their treatment plans.

As a home health nurse in the last two years there has been a major expansion in the services offered to patients at home and Gabby’s daily duties have drastically expanded. However, getting to work with patients and families each day, and advocating for their wellbeing is Gabby’s passion and provides her with the reassurance that she has chosen the right career.

Since the young age of 4, Susan had dreams of going into the medical field after watching and admiring her father who was a surgeon. After high school she attended Arizona State University and received her BSN.

As a school nurse at Laurel School for the last 21 years, Susan’s students keep her motivated and dedicated to her job. Her goal for each student is to be independent and confident in their ability to care for themselves. To enable them to do so, Susan created a protocol and implemented training for all students on how to care for students with type 1 diabetes. Susan’s number one priority is to keep the students safe, healthy, and cared for.

For Susan, school nursing is the single best job in the world. Watching her students grow and mature has been one of the greatest joys of her life. She hopes future nurses will continue to love what they do and carry the same dedication and innovation that Susan has throughout her career.

JOAN DRUSHEL, RN, MSN, CNP University Hospitals Rainbow Babies, Nurse, NICU Step Down

GABRIELLE KOVACH, RN Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic Home Health

SUSAN KRAMER, RN, BSN School Nurse, Laurel School

KATIE ABRAHAM, RN, BSN Southwest General Hospital, Registered Nurse

RUTH BRUTZ, RN

The Village at Marymount, Memory Care Unit Supervisor

The desire to become a nurse was sparked by the nurses of her childhood. For the past 15 years, NM Matho has worked for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and was promoted in 2020 to Nurse Manager of the largest communitybased outpatient care facility in the Cleveland, OH VA network. She provides excellent and compassionate care to the heroes of our nation and leads a team of 40+ staff members.

Her proudest moments at work are the everyday moments when her team members reach their full potential. She works tirelessly to ensure the safety of her team and that of America’s Veteran patient population. NM Matho devotes hours beyond her tour of duty to complete taskings, nominate employees for award recognition, and ensure that everyone who depends on her receives what they need to be the best they can be at their job.

Lisa’s role at the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office quickly became the perfect fit for her 20 years ago as it exemplifies primary care nursing for individuals facing many challenges. Lisa stays motivated by remembering each patient has a story, and each patient has the potential to benefit from their time in jail. She tries to empower the inmates to make healthier choices that could prevent them from reincarceration while improving their quality of life and health status.

Her patients don’t come to her to improve their health status.

She sees people on some of the worst days of their lives. She and her team focus on stabilizing patients with substance abuse disorders, unstable chronic care conditions, and mental health disorders, while also identifying and caring for new healthcare conditions they never knew they had. To see the most challenging patients, turn their lives around, and say thank you reaffirms why she chose a career in corrections. She always reminds them to thank themselves as they did the hardest work.

One of David’s proudest moments as a nurse was when he was asked to teach his skills to other nurses. Moments like these keep his passion for nursing alive, along with providing mentorship to other nurses who may be struggling. Mentoring others and walking alongside them as they further their skills and careers are what drives David.

David was encouraged by his father to further his education and attend college. At school, he realized his love for sciences and decided to study nursing.

As a home health nurse, David focuses on staying in tune with patients, whether that is virtual or in-person. He always has an open ear for his patients. Not just as a care provider, but also as a friend to the elderly patients he cares for. His cheerfulness and engaging personality are a bright light for those he works with and cares for.

Genai’s interest in the healthcare industry started at a young age but flourished when she had her first child who needed advanced medical attention. She was inspired by his team of doctors and nurses to follow her lifelong dream of becoming a nurse. Genai completed her education and became a nurse 20 years ago. Since then, she loved every day of her career.

Genai goes above and beyond caring for her patients. Hearing a sincere thank you makes her hard work worth it. Her patients remind her that she is still human, doing the best job in the world. There is nothing else she’d rather do than help the people who come into her care. The last two years have shown Genai how tough, resilient, and dedicated nurses are. No matter what comes her way, Genai continues to put her best foot forward each day.

Patricia fell in love with the field of nursing at the young age of 18. As a Clinical Manager, the safety and well-being of her patients and staff members is her number one priority. One of Patricia’s proudest nursing moments was saving the life of a newborn baby while she was working in Saudi Arabia.

In her daily work at Anna Maria of Aurora, Patricia works closely with the families of her residents to ensure they are informed and have a person to lean on. Helping others keeps Patricia motivated and is the driving force behind her work. Patricia hopes each nurse will keep compassion in their hearts and treat their patients as they would like to be treated.

HELP’s Mission HELP Foundation empowers individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through residential, day support, vocational, and summer education programs to choose services and opportunities as respected and valued members of the community.

HELP’s Vision

HELP supports pathways that give every individual the chance to thrive and reach their full ability, contributing to a vibrant, inclusive community

Pat has dedicated 40+ years to helping others, selflessly sharing her compassion, kindness and positive energy along the way. Today, Anna Maria’s residents, families and staff thank you, Pat, for your service, leadership and commitment!

Pat Williams is just one of the many extraordinarily caring people who comprise the Anna Maria of Aurora family here at our five-star campus. Family-owned and operated for three generations, Anna Maria provides a Senior Living experience more focused on the needs of your loved one.

For more information: Call 330-562-0600 or visit our website at AnnaMariaOfAurora.com

LISA SAYRE, RN Health Service Administrator, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office

GENAI WACKER, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN Clinical Quality and Evidence Based Practice Specialist, Southwest General Hospital

PATRICIA WILLIAMS, LPN Anna Maria of Aurora, Clinical Manager

ASHLEY MATHO, BSN, MSN RN

Nurse Manager for Primary Care at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs – Parma, OH

DAVID MODOCK, RN

Home Health, Nurse Educator and Clinical Software Analyst

Anna Maria of Aurora congratulates Patricia Williams, LPN, one of just 10 Northeast Ohio nurses named as a 2022 Top Nurse Award recipient by The Plain Dealer.

Congratulations to HELP’s Manager of Nursing Services, Anne Teubl, for winning The Plain Dealer Top Nurses “Advocacy in Action” award. We are proud of your accomplishments.

Why become a nurse at Cleveland Clinic?

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Exceptional nursing careers. Extraordinary benefits.

Further your nursing career. Visit clevelandclinic.jobs to learn more.

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