Structural Empowerment

ChristianaCare’s mission, vision and values are the foundation of Nursing’s and HomeHealth’s strategic plans, structures, systems, policies and programs. In this mission-based environment, caregivers build a strong professional practice that supports our broad community and transforms nursing and health care in general.

Magnet 4.0: leading excellence and advancing practice

ChristianaCare is Magnet-designated three times over because, day in and day out, our caregivers serve with love and excellence. No sooner had we finished celebrating our 2020 Magnet redesignation for Christiana and Wilmington Hospitals, Ambulatory Services and ChristianaCare HomeHealth than we began preparing for our 2024 redesignation journey.

Five Nursing Excellence Experts, formerly known as Magnet Masters, are steering the process, guided by Maria Brown, MSN, RN, PCCN, CNL, nursing excellence, manager. During FY 23, these experts, representing ambulatory care, as well as our Wilmington and Newark campuses and HomeHealth, held quarterly retreats for Magnet Ambassadors. Nurses from across the health system, our 90 Nursing Excellence Ambassadors are champions for the Magnet process who help their practice areas prepare for redesignation. Each retreat focused on a different aspect of the Magnet model and featured presentations and tools to help Ambassadors boost systemwide engagement in getting ready for 2024.

Today’s leaders mentoring tomorrow’s leaders

With a goal of providing caregivers with tools needed to perform at the highest levels, our APRN Council partnered with ChristianaCare’s Institute for Learning, Leadership and Development (or iLEAD) — led by Tamekia Chisholm, MSN, APRN, PCCN-K, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC — to develop MentorLead. A leadership mentoring program, MentorLead pairs novice APRNs with experienced APRNs and novice clinical nurses with experienced clinical nurses eager to help guide and support them. Currently, MentorLead is available for advanced practice clinicians, such as APRNs and PAs, leadership and clinical ladder nurses.

Cultivating an inclusive caregiving community and experience

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) enable our caregivers to bring their complete selves to work by finding support and allyship with colleagues who share a commonality or interest. ERGs focus on diversity and inclusion across age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, backgrounds and more.

11 ERGs

1,300 Caregivers

16% from Nursing

May, the most wonderful month of the year

For the monthlong May celebration of Nurses Month, our Professional Nurse Council developed a wonderful set of activities for caregivers across all our campuses and HomeHealth to enjoy. Some of the highlights: a blood drive, step challenge and Blessing of the Hands; cuddly visits from Paws to De-Stress; virtual guided meditations and an in-person Healing Touch; special snacks and much more.

Rising on the Clinical Ladder

Last year, a team of clinical nurses, nurse managers and Nursing leadership convened to create a more efficient promotion process for our clinical ladder professional advancement program.

RN IV

Deborah Wambold, MSN, RN, CEN

RN III

Christine Anderson, MSN, RN, PCCN

Sarah Barnett, BSN, RN, CNOR

Stephanie Caldwell, BSN, RN, CCRN

Jessica Callahan, BSN, BS, RN, CEN

Megan Campana, BSN, RN, SCRN

Melissa Gandolfo, BSN, VA-BC

Toni Gilley, BSN, RN, SCRN

Carley Griscom, BSN, RN, SCRN, CPAN

Brenda Hollingsworth, MSN, RN, CCRN

Paige Kafantaris, BSN, RN, CEN, FNE

Danielle Kennedy, BSN, RN, VA-BC

Doctoral Degrees

Stephanie Kwabi, DNP, RN

Clinical Nurse 4D

Doctor of Nursing Practice

University of Delaware

Kate Shady, Ph.D., RN, OCN, CCLS

Clinical Nurse 6E

Doctor of Philosophy

Medical University of South Carolina

Hannah Manzo, BSN, RN, SCRN

Loretta McAleer Jones, BSN, RN, CCRP

Kelly Michele McGraw, MSN, BA

Jaime McLaughlin, BSN, RN, CCRN, PCCN

Nicole Morrison, BSN, RN, C-OB, EFM

Lauren Murphy, BSN, RN, CPAN

Kerry Pierce, BSN, RN, Med Surg

Maria Poprik, MSN, RN, CEN

Lindsey Safian, MSN, RN, C-OB, EFM

Amy Stier, BSN, RN, CEN, SANE-A

Amanda Spence, BSN, RN-BC

Alexandra Troutman, BSN, RN, PCCN

Ruth Ann Woerner, MSN, RN-BC

Tara Woodside, DNP, RN, CALA Patient safety program manager, Medical Group

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Wilmington University

Jenna Shaw, DNP, RN

Clinical data coordinator, Heart & Vascular Center

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Capella University

Nursing Residencies and Fellowships

As a Magnet-recognized health system and the largest private employer in Delaware, ChristianaCare promotes a culture where quality and opportunity for nurses are plentiful.

Nurse Residency Program

Our Nurse Residency Program is accredited with distinction as a Practice Transition Program by the ANCC Practice Transition Accreditation Program® (PTAP). In FY 23, we offered three nurse residency cohorts, serving units across our three campuses that hire newly graduated RNs with fewer than 12 months of nursing experience.

10 primary curriculum tracks: Critical Care, Emergency, Float Pool, Labor and Delivery, Medical, Neonatal ICU, Perioperative, Postpartum, Progressive Care and Surgical

210 RN residents hired

Nursing Fellowships

96% retention rate overall 97.86% average first year retention rate across the program (compared to 83.99% for all residencies recognized by the ANCC’s PTAP®)

ChristianaCare Nurse Fellowships are for nurses with more than 12–24 months of experience who are transitioning to new workplace settings. Currently, practice settings that hire Nurse Fellows include Post Anesthesia Care Unit, Heart & Vascular Interventional Services, Interventional Radiology or Cath Lab, operating rooms and the Float Pool ICU team.

Advanced Practice Clinicians Fellowships

15 Nurse Fellows hired annually

ChristianaCare’s Advanced Practice Clinicians (APCs) Fellowships are for recently graduated APCs seeking to deliver high-quality, exceptional care experiences for our patients.

FY 23 new APRN Fellows

4 Primary Care

1 Behavioral Health

1 Critical Care

FY 23 APRN Fellow permanent hires

1 Behavioral Health

Educating future nurses

As the region’s leading health system, ChristianaCare steers the nursing profession’s future through numerous partnerships with top-rated nursing schools. We offer undergraduate and graduate students clinical hours with excellent clinicians, and we partner with local middle and high schools to spark early interest in the nursing profession.

1,000 undergraduate students spent 66,000 undergraduate clinical hours with ChristianaCare nurses and patients in FY 23.

Middle School

Middle School Programs Brandywine School District High School Collaborative Up to 20 students yearly

Perioperative Pathway

Cecil College

University of Delaware Delaware State University

ChristianaCare Licensed Practical Nurses to Bachelor of Science in Nursing Partnership with DelTech

Student Nurse Extern Program more than 100 hired each year

Delaware State University

Nursing Scholars Program

Up to 10 scholarships each year

Appoquinimink/Middletown up to 50 hours exploring surgical services

Patient Care Technician Residency Program targets underprivileged communities in Delaware

Job Shadow 18 or older more than 100 per year

New Castle County Vocational-Technical Cooperative Hodgson High School

Ruth Shaw Scholarship Junior Board sponsored

Cecil College

Nursing Scholars

Up to five scholarships each year

Stat! It’s a special kind of field trip

Approximately 30 students from Delaware’s Talley, Springer and P.S. duPont middle schools visited ChristianaCare as part of Brandywine Lifesavers, a Brandywine School District program that gives middle school students the chance to see what it’s like to care for patients as a nurse and to be part of a life-saving team. In addition to talking with nurses who specialize in different areas, students got an up-close and in-person view of nursing in action while visiting different floors in the hospital.

ChristianaCare’s Karen Brady, MSN, RN, CNOR, NPD-BC, and Ashley Oncay, MSN, RN, CNOR, NPD-BC, captured students’ imaginations with hip implants, screws, sponges, instruments and other surgical equipment.

Awards and Recognitions

DAISY Awards

The international DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses rewards and celebrates nurses exhibiting exceptional clinical skills and compassionate care. ChristianaCare’s Professional Nurse Council selects awardees from patient, family and colleague nominations. We are proud to honor our FY 23 DAISY nurses. Congratulations!

Marian Aikens, BSN, RN 4N, Wilmington Campus

Nichelle Belton, BSN, RN Kent/Sussex Team 3, HomeHealth

Chanelle Caple, BSN, RN CVCCC, Newark Campus

Casi Chandler, ADN, RN 4W, Wilmington Campus

Shelby Crawford, BSN, RN, CCRN 2A, Newark Campus

Lindsey Gaspar, BSN, RN-BC 5B, Newark Campus

Kira Hoefler, BSN, RN-BC 6A, Newark Campus

Hyang Suk Kim, RN (Private Duty) Smyrna Office, HomeHealth

Ponnamma Mathai, BSN, RN, RNC-OB Labor & Delivery, Newark Campus

Lauren Murphy, BSN, RN, CPAN

Perioperative nurse, Cecil County Campus

Kelly Souder, BSN, RN Camden Office, HomeHealth

Vanessa Vecore, ADN, RN Labor & Delivery, Newark Campus

2023 DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award

Maureen Seckel, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCNS, CCRN-K, FCCM, FCNS, FAAN

Medical critical care quality and safety nurse specialist and sepsis coordinator, Newark Campus

2023 DAISY Leader Award

Susan Mascioli, MS, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ, LSSBB, CPPS

Vice President, Nursing Quality and Safety

2023 DAISY Team Awards

The Center for Breast Reconstruction at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute

Emergency Department, Wilmington Campus

Same Day Surgery, Cecil County Campus

The Healer’s Touch arrives

Caregivers and leadership celebrated the unveiling of The Healer’s Touch sculpture in our Cecil County Campus’s Union Hospital. The Healer’s Touch is made by the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe for The DAISY Foundation and represents the bond between nurses and their patients. It’s a tribute to the hospital’s nurses for the extraordinary skill and compassionate care they provide to patients and families.

Magnet Nurse of the Year

ChristianaCare’s FY 23 Magnet Nurse of the Year is Kate Shady, Ph.D., RN, OCN, CCLS. Shady is a clinical nurse in the Hematology/Oncology Unit and chair of the Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice professional governance council. She has disseminated research in multiple publications, including the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, on various topics, such as the acceptability of nurse-driven aromatherapy for hematology/oncology patients and barriers and facilitators for accessing health care among autistic adults with communication differences. She is also a mentor and role model for clinical nurses.

Delaware Today Top Nurses

More than 100 ChristianaCare nurses, representing all care areas and levels of the nursing practice, were recognized in the Delaware Today list of Top Nurses for 2023. Congratulations to our honorees, two of whom were also the top “vote getters” in their categories (see * below):

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse

Brittany Anderson, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CCRN, CEN

Laura Dechant, DNP, APRN, CCNS, CCRN, RN-BC, FCNS

Christina DiMarco, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC

Jennifer Entrekin, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC

Eileen Evangelista, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, AGACNP –BC

Breighanna Gray, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, CCRN

Cara Grove, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, AAHIVS

Christina Hendler, MSN, MHA, APRN, NNP-BC

Erin Mitchell, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CNRN, SCRN

Jessie Powell, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC, CEN

Juliana Rahmer, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC, CEN

Leasha Roy, MSN/MHA, APRN, ACCNS-AG, PCCN-K

Victoria Udealer, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC

Victoria Varga, MSN, APRN, FNP

Leslie Verucci, MSN, APRN, ANP-BC

Kimberly Vignola, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, AGPCNP-BC, CCRN

Kevin Wiley, MSN, APRN, FNP, ENP

Advancing & Leading the Profession

Brittany Anderson, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CCRN, CEN

Tammy Brown, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, OCN

Michelle Collins, DNP, APRN, CNS, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC, NEA-BC, LSSBB

Robyn Dougherty, MBA, MSN, RN, CCRN

Michael Knorr, MSN, RN

Susan Mascioli, MS, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ, LSSBB, CPPS

Bridget Remel, MSN, APRN, NEA-BC, AGCNSBC, NPD-BC, CCRN-K

Danielle Sarik, Ph.D., APRN, CPNP-PC

Ambulatory Care Nursing

Stephanie Bolden, MSN, RN

Heather Grogg, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC*

Jennifer Knotts, BSN, RN, OCN

Steven Larrimore, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, AGACNP-BC

Case Utilization/Management

Ashley Burroughs, BSN, RN

Christine Cianfrini, BSN, RN, CCM

Dionisia Bello, BSN, RN, CCM

Clinical Educator

Lisa DiLuzio, MSN, MSM, BS, RN, CCM

Erin Hare, MSN, RN, CCRN

Theresa McVey, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC

Kendall Scott, MSN, RN-BC, NPD-BC

Sheri A. Smith, MSN, APRN, FNP

Lesley Tepner, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, NPDBC, C-ONQS, RNC-OB

Michaelene Urban, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, ANPBC, AGACNP-BC

Jaime Zicafoose, MSN, RN-BC

Home Health/Hospice/Telehealth

Janet Kucera, BSN, RN

Jamieson Martin, BSN, RN

Kelly Souder, BSN, RN

Informatics

Raoul Fleming, MSN, RN

Debra Howard, MSN, RN-BC

Carmen Pal, MSN, MBA, RN

Dawn Robinson, MSN, RN-BC, MEDSURG-BC

Inpatient/Acute Care Nursing

Sarah Black, BSN, RN

Corrine Bowell, BSN, RN

Ellyn Bushbeck, BSN, RN

Jessica Callahan, BSN, RN, CEN

Erin Coulter, RN

Briar Dobson, BSN, RN

Shelli Doherty, BSN, RN

Samantha Doughty, BSN, RN

Kathleen Fetters, BSN, RN-BC, WTA-C

Christine Flanagan, MSN, RN-BC

Jennifer Flynn, BSN, RN, PCCN

Joshua Gorman-Zolochik, MSN, RNC-NIC

Amanda Griffith, MSN, RN, PCCN

Carley Griscom, MSN, RN, CPAN, SCRN

Ashley Harkness, BSN, RN, CCRN

Jamilia Harvey, BSN, RN

Ingrid Hausner, BSN, RN, PCCN

Oksana Iwaskiw, BSN, RN, CEN

Caroline Keegan, BSN, RN, CCRN

Marsha Krise, MSN, RNC-MNN

Joana Lapinid, MSN, RN, PCCN

Jaime McLaughlin, BSN, RN, CCRN, PCCN

Arlene Peirce, BSN, RN, PCCN

Angel Piecuch, BSN, RN

Tyesha Rodriguez-Gist, MSN, RN, CCRN

Kimberly Schoeffler, MSN, RNC-NIC

Amy Stier, BSN, RN, CEN, SANE-A

Gillian Tilley, BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN

Terry Vaughn, BSN, RN-BC, WTA-C

Jenna Wagner, RN

Gina Waithe, MSN, RN, CNOR

Deb Wambold, MSN, RN, CEN

Jennifer Wilcox, BSN, RN, CCRN

Amanda Williams, MSN, APRN, SCRN, FNP-BC

Michelle Zechman, BSN, RN, CCRN

Katie Zee, MSN, RN

Nursing Newcomer

Katie Carroll, RN

Michaela Dowling, MSN, RN

Charles Eppehimer, BSN, RN, SCRN

Lisa Harrity, RN

Amber Hiltner, BSN, RN, WTA-C, CCRN

Corinne Morgan, BS, BSN, RN

Melanie Moser, BSN, RN, CCRN

Ashley Prior, RN

Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing

Molly Bergamo, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, AGACNP-BC

Clarissa Bigelow, BSN, RN-BC

Heather Holt, BSN, RN

Ashley Kuriga, BSN, RN, PMH-BC

Quality/Safety/Risk Management

Mary Ciechanowski, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN-K

Kathleen Hackett, BSN, RN, CCRN

Karen Dudley, MS, BSN, RN-BC, NE-BC, CPHQ

Gwendolyn Ebbert, MSN, BA, RN-BC, CPHQ, LSSBB

Lynda Huselton, MSN, MSM, RN-BC, NE-BC

Rijo James, BSN, RN, CCDS*

Robin Revell, BSN, RN, CPHQ, C-ONQ

Shiann Smith, MSN, RN

Rehabilitation/Long-Term Care

Jamie Ayala, DNP, RN-BC, NE-BC

Volunteerism & Service

Adrienne Abrenica, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, FNP-BC

Irene LaVita-Harris, RN, CCRN, TCRN

ChristianaCare Way Awards

For our annual ChristianaCare Way Awards, caregivers partner across disciplines to identify opportunities for improvements and innovations that benefit our patients, caregivers and community. Groups of nurses, physicians and others develop solutions that promote optimal health, exceptional experiences and organizational vitality. Award-winning team initiatives with nurse leads, co-leads or team members are listed here.

Transformation

QI Initiative Expansion to Broaden Influenza Vaccination Coverage in People with HIV

Population Health

Community Health Worker Integration into Primary Care

Optimal Health Safety

Installing Guardrails® on the Fentanyl Infusion Freeway

Optimal Health Quality – Gold

Twiage: Prehospital Notification of STEMI

Optimal Health Quality – Bronze

Little Drops of Love: Implementation of Oral Care Best Practices for NICU Patients

Exceptional Experience – Silver

Focusing on Patient Needs through Timely Spiritual Histories

Organizational Vitality – Gold

Increasing Community Access to the Riverside Wound Care Center

Organizational Vitality – Silver

Reducing Click Burden through Optimal Conversion

Strategic Partnership

Delaware Food Farmacy: A Food as Medicine

Partnership Improving Chronic Conditions

Extraordinary People – Gold

No Experience Needed: Be a HomeHealth CNA!

Extraordinary People – Silver

Psychological Safety: A Foundation of Respect

Innovative Tools

Diggin’ In to Drop-em Down: Data to Decrease Smart Pump Alerts

Magnet Structural Empowerment

Patient Education Resource Support: A PERScription for Success in Patient Education

Magnet Exemplary

Professional Practice – Gold

Improving Validity of Hand Hygiene Surveillance

Magnet Exemplary

Professional Practice – Silver Dermal Defense

Magnet Transformational Leadership Taking the Thinking Out of Falls Screening

Magnet New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvement – Gold

Productivity Made Easy Tool Developed to Help HomeHealth Caregivers Meet Benchmarks

Magnet New Knowledge, Innovations & Improvement – Silver

Increase Compliance for Bone Density Testing

Good Catch Award

Daniel Zirolli, RN

Dot Fowler Award

The annual Dot Fowler Award honors an exemplary RN III or RN IV caregiver who demonstrates commitment to excellence in their practice area. Congratulations to our FY 23 recipient, Christina Hoddinott, MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, pictured here with Chief Nursing Officer Danielle Weber, MSN, MSM, RN-BC, NEA-BC (second from right), Tamekia Chisholm, MSN, APRN, PCCN-K, ACNS-BC, NPD-BC (far right) and members of our Education, Development & Advancement Council, who presented the award.

Excellence in Nursing Awards

Every year in May, ChristianaCare’s Excellence in Nursing Awards shine a spotlight on exceptional nurses. In FY 23, we celebrated the awards with recipients on all our campuses. In total, 135 nurses received awards.

Making the grades — again

For the third year in a row, ChristianaCare has earned Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award™ and is among the top 1% of more than 4,500 hospitals assessed nationwide for consistent, year-over-year superior clinical performance. Our Christiana Hospital and Wilmington Hospital are the only hospitals in Delaware to receive this recognition.

Welcoming babies with award-winning care

ChristianaCare earned U.S. News & World Report’s highest award for maternity care in the 2022-23 ratings for Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. Rated as a High Performing Hospital, ChristianaCare was the sole health system in Delaware to earn the esteemed honor. Christiana Hospital at our Newark Campus is the only high-risk delivering hospital in the First State offering Level III neonatal intensive care.

National and regional nursing awards

Deanna Benner, MSN, APRN, received the Stephanie Davis Waste Reduction Award and Scholarship from Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth.

Melanie Chichester, BSN, RNC-OB, CPLC, RNC-IAP, was named one of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses’ inaugural group of Fellows. She was also honored with the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, one of its most prestigious honors for those who have shown exemplary characteristics in the nursing care of women and newborns.

Mona Liza Hamlin, MSN, RN, IBCLC, received the Hamlin-Taylor Emerging Leader Award from the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. The committee re-named this award to honor Hamlin and a colleague, Emily Taylor, for their active involvement in the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding and human milk feeding.

Lija Gireesh, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, COHN-S, earned the Luminary Award 2022 from the National Indian Nurse Practitioners Association of America.

Maureen Seckel, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCNS, CCRN-K, FCCM, FCNS, was named to the American Academy of Nursing’s 2022 Class of Fellows.

Our Forensic Nurse Examiner team received the Outstanding Organization award from the Delaware Victims’ Rights Task Force for providing exemplary service, improving the quality of services to victims and influencing long-term change in the victim services field.

ChristianaCare is the only health system in Delaware to hold Beacon Awards for Excellence from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The health system’s Transitional Medical Unit/Intermediate Medical Unit earned a silver award this year. They are two of five Delaware Beacon awardees — the others who received awards in past years are our Newark Campus’s Medical Intensive Care Unit (gold), Surgical Critical Care Complex (silver) and Transitional Surgical Unit (silver).

Development Support

A gift that helps save lives

Susan Katzin recently completed treatment for lung cancer. A nonsmoker, she was lucky to catch the cancer early during a regular, life-saving screening. Inspired by their personal experience, Susan and her husband Dan are committed to raising awareness about lung cancer and recently made a $500,000 gift for lung health initiatives at ChristianaCare Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

With the Katzins’ generous support, ChristianaCare will hire a nurse to focus on lung cancer screening in the community. Based at our Wilmington Campus, the caregiver will partner with ChristianaCare’s primary care providers and community outreach partners to encourage community members to have annual low-dose chest scans and enroll in smoking cessation programs if they smoke.