Holy Family University Magazine - Fall 2023

MAGAZINE

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Commemorative Edition Five Decades of Nursing Excellence

CONTENTS 3 INSIGHT President Prisco discusses the critical need for nurses 4 IN THE NEWS University news and faculty briefs 8 PREPARED AND PROUD Dean Margaret Harkins

10 FEATURE PROFILES

Holy Family Nursing: Profiles of nursing excellence

26 NURSING TIMELINE 38 ADVANCING HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY Community support of our mission 42 ATHLETICS Accolades and a new addition 47 NURSING BY THE NUMBERS 48 CLASS NOTES Alumni news and remembrances 52 FINAL EXAM Test your nursing knowledge

PINNED WITH PRIDE Look at the lapel of any nursing student and you’ll see a source of pride. The pinning ceremony, a symbolic welcoming of newly graduated or soon-to-be graduated nurses into the nursing profession, is a cherished ritual and a rite of passage.

Annually, nurses are presented with distinctive pins which symbolize the educational traditions of the schools they have attended and are often dedicated to a person who has made a significant impact on their lives. For the nurse, the pin celebrates the completion of a rigorous and physically challenging program of study.

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 1

Celebrating 50 years of Holy family University nUrsing SAVE THE DATE! Decades of Excellence: 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala Wednesday, March 20 Union League at Torresdale, 6 p.m.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Nursing Excellence Fund.

COMPLETE THE NURSING ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT FORM

FOR MORE INFORMATION Helene Baczkowski AVP Advancement hbaczkowski@holyfamily.edu 267-341-3100.

MAGAZINE

HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BIANNUALLY BY: Holy Family Marketing & Communications EDITOR Jan Giel ART DIRECTOR Sarah Merrill DESIGN Glenna Stocks, Stocks Creative

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR MAY BE SENT TO: Editor, Holy Family University Magazine, Marketing & Communications, Marian Hall, 9801 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19114 or via email to: magazine@holyfamily.edu CLASS NOTES AND CHANGES OF ADDRESS MAY BE SENT TO: University Advancement, Holy Family University, Marian Hall, 9801 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19114 or via email to: alumni@holyfamily.edu FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

CONTRIBUTORS Zachary Durham, Sarah Merrill, Zachary Nolter, Julie Rempfer ‘10

HolyFamilyUniversity

ADMINISTRATION Anne Prisco, Ph.D., President Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D., Vice President, Marketing & Communications Wendy K. Parsons, CFRE, Vice President for University Advancement

HolyFamilyUniversity

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HolyFamilyU

HolyFamilyU Holy Family University is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.

INSIGHT Dear Holy Family University Alumni, I am thrilled to address you as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Holy Family University’s School of Nursing. This milestone is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence in nursing education and the profound impact our graduates have had on healthcare in the Philadelphia region and beyond.

Recent mainstream media coverage has shed light on the critical state of nursing in our nation. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the tireless dedication of nurses, as well as the acute shortage they faced. Headlines have illuminated the challenges, sacrifices, and heroism of these healthcare professionals. As we reflect on these stories—and as you read about our amazing nursing alumni—it becomes abundantly clear that the world needs more Holy Family University nurses now more than ever. And as you read about Dean Harkins and our nursing faculty, and their tremendous knowledge of the nursing profession, it’s easy to see why our students embark on their careers so well-prepared.

According to a recent report in The New York Times (Smith, 2023), the nursing shortage in the United States has reached alarming levels, with the demand for nurses outstripping the supply. In the Philadelphia region, a study published in the Journal of Nursing Management (Jones et al., 2022) highlights the ongoing challenges in recruiting and retaining nursing professionals. Projections indicate that this shortage will persist for years to come (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021). Our responsibility is clear: We must educate and empower the next generation of nurses to bridge this gap and provide the compassionate, high-quality care our communities deserve.

At Holy Family University, our School of Nursing has been addressing this need for five decades. Our nursing program has not only stood the test of time but has consistently evolved to meet the changing demands of healthcare. Our alumni serve as living proof of our commitment to excellence, making a difference in patients’ lives every day.

As we celebrate this historic milestone, let us also look forward with hope and determination. Holy Family University’s School of Nursing has a sound foundation from which to build the next 50 years of nursing excellence. We will continue to adapt, innovate, and equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in the everevolving healthcare landscape—from certificates, to BSNs, MSNs, and doctoral degrees.

Whether you are one of our 6,000-plus Nursing alumni – or part of our 23,000 alumni— chances are you know a Holy Family University nurse or have encountered the wonderful care of our nursing alumni for yourself or your families. Nursing alumni are a group that all of us must rally around as their role in society is simply irreplaceable.

Thank you for your unwavering support and dedication to Holy Family University’s School of Nursing. Together, we will shape the future of nursing and make a profound impact on the health and well-being of our communities.

“

Our nursing program has not only stood the test of time but has consistently evolved to meet the changing demands of healthcare. Our alumni serve as living proof of our commitment to excellence, making a difference in patients’ lives every day.”

Onward & upward together in faith & family, Anne Prisco, Ph.D. President

REFERENCES Smith, J. (2023, March 15). Nursing Shortage Reaches Alarming Levels: A Call to Action. The New York Times.

Jones, A. B., et al. (2022). Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Nursing Professionals in the Philadelphia Region: A Study in Journal of Nursing Management, 28(4), 573-581.

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). Nursing Shortage Fact Sheet.

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 3

IN THE NEWS

Holy Family University Welcomes Saxbys Cafe to Campus During August 28 Ribbon Cutting ABOVE: Holy Family University President Dr. Anne Prisco joined Nick Bayer, Founder & CEO of Saxbys, for the grand opening of the newest location of Saxbys at the Northeast Philadelphia campus.

With fanfare – and flavor! – Holy Family University

RIGHT: Inaugural Student

Learning Platform (the Saxbys E.L.P.) where students

Cafe Executive Officer senior management and marketing major Beth Montgomery ’24 and members of the cheer team.

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President Dr. Anne Prisco joined Nick Bayer, founder & CEO of Saxbys, and the University’s inaugural Student Cafe Executive Officer (SCEO) senior management and marketing major Beth Montgomery in the cutting of the ribbon to open the newest location of Saxbys at the Northeast Philadelphia campus.

The new cafe is part of the Saxbys Experiential exclusively run the daily operation. Guests at the event were treated to samples of the Cold Brew Collection and grilled cheese sandwiches as part of the

brings to our campus. We are thrilled to have Saxbys

festivities.

as a partner. What a wonderful way for our students

“We began thinking almost two years ago

to gain some experience and income, while also

about what a Saxbys would mean for Holy Family

being able to stay on campus. We were reminded that

University,” University President Dr. Anne Prisco

Saxbys does not call our students customers, they call

said. “Since we are so focused on experiential

them guests. It’s the same reflection that we have as a

learning, we recognize the dynamism that Saxbys

university. They are our students and our guests.”

IN THE NEWS

Holy Family University Appoints Inaugural Executive Director for Global Initiative Holy Family University has appointed His Royal Highness Prince Adnan El-Hashemite as the University’s inaugural Executive Director for Global Initiatives.

In his role, Prince Adnan will oversee the University’s Global Initiatives & International Programs and the United Nations’ NGO status. In addition, he

LEFT: His Royal

will launch a four-course program for students in

Highness Prince Adnan El-Hashemite

global studies, among other priorities.

Holy Family University Awarded Aim & Attain Near Completer Grant Grant will assist former students in obtaining degrees Holy Family University will

credentials, obtain appro-

partner with the Bucks Coun-

priate training, immediately

ty Workforce Development

enter the job market, and earn

Board in support of a $1.3

a living wage in high-priority

million Aim & Attain Near

occupations.

Completer Grant that will

“Holy Family University is

benefit former Holy Family

thrilled to enter into this part-

University and other Pennsyl-

nership with the Bucks County

vania undergraduate stu-

Department of Workforce

dents who were near degree

and Economic Development

completion, but withdrew

as a tangible and timely way

from the University prior to obtaining their diplomas

to bring our would-be graduates to the finish line,”

or certificates.

said Holy Family University President Anne Prisco.

The grant was secured through the Bucks County

“The Aim & Attain grant provides an opportunity for

Department of Workforce and Economic Develop-

students to redefine and reimagine their future by

ment (WED). The monies were awarded from the

attaining assistance and earning a sought-after Holy

Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I).

Family University degree and the benefits that this

The program goal is for eligible students to earn

degree brings with it.”

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 5

IN THE NEWS

Hail to the Chief Holy Family University President Anne Prisco, Ph.D. had the honor of being part of a small contingent to welcome President Biden during his July visit to Philadelphia. Their brief introduction was engaging, and Dr. Prisco had the opportunity to share some insights on Holy Family. We can all take pride that the President eagerly donned an HFU Athletics baseball cap (Go Tigers!).

Holy Family University Welcomes Record-High Resident Students During Move-In Weekend Holy Family University rolled out the welcome mat for a record number of resident students during move-in weekend August 24-25. For the first time in University history, every bed is accounted for across all residence halls. And this means an exciting new schedule of student engagement activities for resident and non-resident students – from club sports, to leadership activities on and off campus, to meaningful service projects and opportunities for students to form lifelong relationships with one another. The University, rated the Safest Campus in Philadelphia for 2023, also celebrated the largest enrollment of first-year and transfer students in history.

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IN THE NEWS

FACULTY NOTES Patrick Casey, Ph.D.,

J. Barry Dickinson,

Helen Hoffner, Ed.D.,

make recommendations

The School of

co-author of “Position-

Ph.D., author of “The

School of Education

about competencies that

Education welcomed

ality and Its Problems:

Effects of the COVID-19

professor, is serving on

may need revision to

Carol Braunsar ‘04,

Questioning the Value of

Pandemic on Do-It-

the Pennsylvania De-

meet the current needs

M ‘08, D ‘16, Ed.D. and

Reflexivity Statements in

Yourself (DIY) Behav-

partment of Education

and requirements for the

David Wright, Ph.D. to

Research”, had his work

ior” had his manuscript

Advisory Committee to

Reading Specialist PK-12

our faculty. Dr. Braun-

quoted in an article on the

accepted for publication

review and update the

certification.

sar’s area of interest

politicization of race and

in the Journal of Behav-

Reading Specialist PK-12

gender in the Philadelphia

ioral Studies in Business.

Preparation Program

Jill Swirsky, Ph.D.,

and English language

Inquirer. The work was

and expertise is reading

Framework Guide-

editor of a psychology-

arts. Dr. Wright brings a

also cited in a Chronicle of

Don Goeltz, Ph.D. and his

lines. These guidelines

focused pop culture blog,

wealth of experience and

Higher Education piece on

Philly Venture Hub were

apply to all Pennsylva-

had her article “Why We

expertise in educational

ideological signaling and

featured in a case study by

nia-approved educator

Can’t Help But Love Pop

leadership.

in an article on the perils

EcoMap Technologies.

preparation programs

Culture Jerks” published

of politicizing science,

that lead to the Reading

by ReportWire.

featuring two Nobel Lau-

Specialist PK-12 certifi-

reates among the authors.

cate. The committee will

Dr. Luanne Amato’s chapter “Quality Matters as the Gold Standard for Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion in Online Learning” has been published in the edited reference book: Handbook of Research on Innovative Frameworks and Inclusive Models for Online Learning Publisher: IGI Global Publishers in June 2023 Dr. Luanne Amato and Dr. Christine Schoettle were awarded a mini- grant for research project “Using AI Tools: Best Practices in Higher Education for Faculty and Students.”

ADVANCE YOUR BUSINESS CAREER EARN YOUR MBA

LEARN MORE

holyfamily.edu/business H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 7

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

Prepared and Proud Margaret Harkins, Dean of the School of Nursing & Health Sciences

M

argaret Harkins, DNP, MBE, MSN, GNP-BC, RN-BC, dean of the Holy Family University School of Nursing & Health Sciences can spot a nurse from a mile away.

Call it her super power, one that has served her well over the past eight years during the unprecedented growth in the program.

“If I am in front of a lineup and have a chance to talk to the people, I can pick out the nurses instantly,”

Harkins said. “They are just very different, and their way about going forward in day-to-day life is very different than the average person. Nurses are a very unique group of individuals.”

Perhaps because nurses can go from the excitement of the birth of baby to experiencing end-of-life care.

“The typical lay person will never be exposed to these kinds of situations unless they have a personal family issue,” she said. “We do it on a daily basis. Our practice requires us to not only go in and grieve with a family, but then walk out of that room and prepare for another patient, who is experiencing something completely different. It takes a special individual to commit to this vocation. We can be known as a tough group, but inside, we have the compassion and the wherewithal to see that people really do need help.”

At the age of 25, her son required tremendous care after being born with a brain bleed, Harkins was the one in need of help. It was through this challenge that she discovered what would become her life’s work.

“

Our students need to know that the nursing profession has a long-standing commitment to healing and helping and putting your hand out when someone is on the ground and at their worst.

“In the first year of his life, we were at doctors constantly,” Harkins said. “I didn’t know what they were talking about. I needed to figure out how to understand the language. I saw the nurses who were taking care of my son and I thought, ‘This is amazing what they are doing’.”

Harkins launched a seven-year quest, while working as a secretary, in pursuit of an associates degree.

The path sent her to Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Chatham University, rising through the ranks as a geriatric nurse practitioner. After teaching nursing at Drexel University for 12 years (2003-15), she arrived at Holy Family University as an adjunct professor and began the ascent to full-time faculty member and program coordinator to assistant dean, associate dean, then dean.

“Being a dean provides me with an opportunity to purposely look at what we offer and to make changes that need to be made at the curriculum level,” she said. “I consider myself lucky to be in this position as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the School of Nursing, and it does not surprise me at all that our alumni are as successful as they are. When I arrived, the University had a traditional program and one cohort

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of an accelerated program. Through the very hard work of the leadership team, along with the faculty and staff, we now offer a nurse practitioner program, a doctoral program, a master’s program online, and a part-time evening and weekend program.”

Under Harkins’ leadership, the University recently introduced an online distance learning program that mirrors the in-person 14-month accelerated program that is offered at the school’s Newtown campus. After just one cohort, the program has reached 10 states.

“It’s just amazing that our name is out there,” Harkins said.

“I was attracted to Holy Family University because it was a faithbased institution with a mission and values that are exactly what nurses have. Those values — including integrity and respect — run through our veins as nurses. That’s who we are.”

It is because of the Holy Family University reputation that Harkins has worked so hard to capitalize on her ability to make change.

“The product that we put out into society has to be stellar,” she said. “As a nurse, you need to know what you are doing. We need to grow nurses who have their heads on straight, who are able to handle so many emotional things, who can deal with anxiety and tension and also the physical challenges of the job. Our students need to know that the nursing profession has a long-standing commitment to healing and helping and putting your hand out when someone is on the ground and at their worst.”

Because she has been at it for so long, Harkins can now use her years of experience to spot those who have the potential to become difference-makers in a world that faces a critical nursing shortage in a changing landscape that will be sending more

Dean of the School of Nursing & Health Sciences Margaret Harkins, DNP, MBE,MSN,GNP-BC,RN-BC

nurses into the home.

“I tell our students to get through school and get their RN licenses,” Harkins said.” There are thousands of opportunities out there for them to positively impact the healthcare system if they tough it out. Yes, it is challenging, and nurses are a tough breed. The profession is proud of that. I am proud of that.”

Harkins is here to ensure that the next generation of Holy Family University nurses will be, too.

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 9

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

1970s Forming Connections and Breaking Down Barriers

Jane McCausland Kurz '74, BSN, MSN, PH.D.

O

nce a week from early December

“I approached the CRC with the concept of

through early April in Lewes, DE, you

opening a clinic because it was a way to channel my

can find Jane McCausland Kurz,

energies to those in need and to do my part to get

’74, BSN, MSN, Ph.D. voluntarily

the word out there. The problems are big. We need

providing health assessments and tending to the aches, pains and injuries of the homeless population

Kurz long had a concern for the unhoused and

at a Day Clinic run through the Community Resource

had been cooking meals and hosting clothing

Center (CRC). After 49 years as a nurse, professor

drives over the years, but following her retirement

and administrator, including stints as an intensive

from full-time nursing in the summer of 2022, she

care staff nurse in Philadelphia and Wilmington,

knew there was another way to put her experience

DE., teaching roles at her alma mater (1982-86),

and empathy to work.

as well as at Temple and LaSalle universities and

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to address them.”

“With the homeless, everyone is focused on

administrative leadership roles at both institutions,

housing and food and clothing, but people are

it is her current outreach that is among her most

not paying attention to health,” she said. “If you

meaningful work—a labor of love launched by the

don’t have housing, you don’t have health. The

tragic passing of her son, Freddie, on June 21, 2022.

CRC offers this population many services – the

“The loss of my youngest son at age 37 to

ability to shower in a safe environment, access

fentanyl poisoning was devastating,” Kurz said.

to a washer and dryer to freshen their clothes

and of course food and shelter from 7:30 a.m.

Kurz said, “and I would say ‘Oh, we’re from the

to 4:30 p.m. - but then they are forced back into

same family!” I’d say, ‘This is so cool,’ and they

the streets at the end of the day. They don’t

probably thought I was crazy. But I do feel a

want to go to the emergency room, because that

connection with people from Holy Family. We

might require an explanation to the police. They

have a common background. We were taught to be

can’t say they are living in a tent because this is

responsible – responsible for self, responsible for

considered trespassing and is illegal. They may

others, responsible for our community, and when

have Medicaid, but no other insurance, and many

you get bigger, in graduate programs, responsible

health professionals won’t honor Medicaid. Many

for the world.”

of the homeless are actually working, but they

That’s no small challenge, but it is one that Jane

don’t make enough to cover rent. I said to myself,

Kurz and all the nurses that she has taught and

‘Let me do my part to help them remain healthy so

supervised, mentored and befriended from Northeast

they can move forward’.”

Philadelphia to the Ukraine, where she once traveled

Kurz brings bandages, compression stockings and compassion. She puts up posters, hands out slips of paper with the names of area

for a teaching assignment, are up for.

“It does not matter where you go,” she said.

“The universal trait of nurses is that they

physicians and clinics that will see

are caring individuals. They have a high

them. She forms connections and

level of intelligence and are a very

breaks down barriers.

generous group.”

“It might take weeks until they

And so, Kurz continues

actually come back and talk to me,

to generously give of herself

but they eventually will,” she said.

and from her incredible vault

“I see that as a win-win. I wish to

of experience and expertise,

be accepted, but all I can do is be

continuing to engage graduate-

present until they are open to me and my potential services.”

Kurz was first introduced to this sense of service, she says, at Holy Family University,

"I love working with students.

I love teaching.

If you have the knowledge and the passion, you should be sharing it."

level students synchronously through part-time teaching in the evening from her home.

“You need to find your purpose in life,” Kurz

where she enrolled after tending to her mother

said. “I don’t think I’m quite done yet. I love

– changing dressings and dispensing medication –

working with students. I love teaching. If you

while she battled breast cancer during Kurz’s early

have the knowledge and the passion, you

teenage years. When she returned to Holy Family

should be sharing it.”

as a professor, she assumed the role of instilling that same sense of responsibility in her students.

“Holy Family is where I tested out my teaching strategies,” she said. “I tried. I failed, I re-tried and created new networks. I worked with some great colleagues – both nursing and non-nursing. It was an exciting time. When I taught at Temple and LaSalle, every time I had a Holy Family University graduate in my class, I would just get excited,”

1970s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 11

1970s 50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

Deep Roots and Making a Difference

A

mighty oak comes to mind when

She lived to be 89 years old. “It was so important to

envisioning the family tree of Mary

her that I pursue a baccalaureate in nursing, when

Beth Edger ’78 BSN, DNP, MSN,

I showed an early interest in the field. She was wise

NHA, RN, NEA-BC, the current

enough to recognize the importance of education.”

senior vice president for patient care services and

“I enrolled at Holy Family University and I

chief nursing officer at Thomas Jefferson University

loved it,” Edger said. “My two sisters – Suzanne

Hospitals, Inc. In fact, the traits of longevity,

McCartney and Meg Donohoe – followed me to the

strength, stability and endurance, that

Holy Family School of Nursing, and they loved it.

have long been symbolized by the oak,

When my daughter, Mary Elizabeth Berenbaum,

apply perfectly to Edger and her family

graduated from Penn State and decided that she

of health care professionals, both by

didn’t want to be a lawyer, which was her original

birth and by professional choice. The

path, I pushed her to enroll in Holy Family’s

roots of that majestic Edger family

accelerated BSN program, and she loved it. It was

tree run deep in nursing and at Holy

easy for me to be the sales person for Holy Family. I

Family. Credit family matriarch

liked that the numbers were a bit smaller and that

Jean Donohoe Tribi for providing

you received a more personalized education plan.”

the strength and the example.

“My mother was my advisor and my mentor for my entire life,” said

and a handful of certifications. She finds

Edger of Jean, the mother of seven

tremendous gratification as a leader in seeing her

and a labor and delivery nurse for almost 40 years who was present at most of the births

colleagues reach career milestones that they thought were unattainable.

“I’m always pushing education and encouraging

of her 16 grandchildren,

people, including my daughter, to advance their

including at the birth of

degrees,” said Edger, whose mother-in-law, sister-

Mary Beth’s three children.

in-law and two nieces also made their marks in the

Mary Beth Edger '78 BSN, DNP, MSN, NHA, RN, NEA-BC

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Edger, a self-described “continuous learner,” went on to earn two master’s degrees, a doctorate

profession. “It just provides more opportunity for

therapist, everybody. We worked together as

you. It improves your leadership skills. I was always

a team. We were driven, and we didn’t give up.

motivated to do that, and I always had my immediate

The biggest thing is that each day, as a nurse, we

family, and especially my husband, encouraging and

make a difference in somebody’s life.”

supporting me. I tell the people that I am mentoring

Edger has now turned her attention to the next

to just take it a day at time, and I tell them that they

challenges, which will be designing future patient

can do it. It’s very gratifying to see your team grow

care models and finding innovative ways to address

and develop.”

critical nursing shortages.

Edger finds plenty of other moments for

“It’s tough to be a leader these days,” she said.

gratification in her current role where she oversees

“It’s really scary to think in the next several years

three Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

we expect to see less and less acute care in hospital

campuses. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the

nursing. We are not there yet. A lot of nurses,

experience and the outcome for the patient.

because of the burnout, because of the death and

“I try to make a difference

critical illness that they saw

every day,” she said. “Each day,

through the pandemic, have

I have a plan, but that often

left the bedside. The world has

changes because you need to

changed, but the pandemic

prioritize. When I first took

wasn’t just a lost cause. It

this role, the pandemic was just

actually gave us an opportunity

starting. My entire team and I

to do things differently and to

were there day in and day out, fit

do them better. It gave us time-

testing, rearranging schedules,

saving measures and the growth

taking nurses that were in

of telemedicine and the virtual

other areas and trying to help

nurse. At Jefferson, we have

them be a part of an ICU team, because so many

created a role called the Nurse Emeritus, where

patients were in critical care. We had to change our

we are calling on retired nurses to help us out with

orientation onboarding and learning to virtual. We

projects, with mentoring new staff. They still have

lived through a lot together. We learned a lot. After

experience and expertise, and we can’t afford to

that, we all experienced the great resignation. We

lose that.”

lost people in all kinds of roles, including people in

Because those people - like Mary Beth Edger,

industry who would bring our products and supplies.

her mother, and the long line of nurses

When we had shortages, we improvised and we

in her family - are deep-rooted in the

substituted and somehow we all got through.”

profession and have learned how to

That time, Edger admits, was the toughest time in her storied career.

“I learned that I was resilient,” she said.

be strong in the face of adversity, how to stand their ground and how to weather the

“I learned that I still have that drive to keep going.

storms of life - just like

I led a team, and together we really increased the

the mighty oak.

collaboration with all the disciplines – the medical staff, the respiratory therapist, the physical

"I'm always pushing education and encouraging people, including my daughter, to advance their degrees. It just provides more opportunity for you. It improves your leadership skills."

1970s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 13

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

1980s

The Limitless Art of Caring

N

eva White ’85 BSN, MSN, DNP learned

the body and medicine and health. I would get home

at a very young age to take the limits

from school at 7 p.m.”

off her life. Her inspiration for that mindset? Helen Keller..

“My hero is Helen Keller,” said White, the now

first saw an advertisement for the nursing program at Holy Family University.

executive director of the Frazier Family Coalition

“I’ll never forget it,” she said. “I went to check it

for Stroke Education and Prevention, a health equity

out, and I just fell in love. I loved the campus and the

collaboration between Thomas Jefferson University

feel of the school. I loved the staff. I felt at home and

and Temple University Hospital. “She has always

comfortable. It checked all my boxes. I had thought

been since I was a child. I always looked up to her

about being a physician, but nursing was more

because, though she was blind and deaf, I admired the

fascinating to me as time went on because my mother

way that she saw the world, what she gave despite her

got ill when I was going to college, and I took care of

limitations. I always saw her as an inspiration. I said to

her. And I think that was what transitioned me to want

myself, ‘If she can do it, anybody can do it.’ I meet a lot

to be a nurse. I remember when I told my high school

of people with a lot of limitations, who have struggled

counselor that I wanted to be a nurse. He got up from

and who have come through a lot. I always try to do the

the chair. He shut the door, and he said, ‘Why on earth

best that I can with what I’ve been given. Sometimes I

would you want to be a nurse, Neva? You should be a

get it right. Sometimes I don’t.”

physician.’ I said, ‘What’s wrong with being a nurse?’ I

Admitting that “no” has never been in her

think that nursing is a wonderful profession. It hasn’t

vernacular, White set her sights on a career in nursing

steered me wrong. I have been able to raise my two

after an amazing experience at Northeast High School

sons and do all the things I wanted to do. Nursing has

where she was part of an after-school first-aid team

served me well.”

that tended to sports injuries.

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It was also at Northeast High School where White

That is not to say that White wasn’t met with

“I learned how to do electrocardiograms and CPR

challenges along the way. In particular she recalls

in high school,” she said. “It was a unique program, and

her struggles in chemistry and philosophy while an

I loved it because I have always loved everything about

undergraduate.

“The chemistry courses were probably my hardest

Her most recent work with the Frazier Family

courses,” White said. “I’m the type of person where

Health Coalition ranks among her most gratifying

nothing is going to ever stop me. I never took a ‘no’. A

as it uniquely combines the efforts of two hospitals

‘no’ was always a ‘yes’ for me. In high school, algebra

in a stroke prevention program in the heart of North

killed me, but I became an algebra tutor. At Holy Family,

Philadelphia, where some of the highest rates of stroke,

I had a nun for chemistry who worked with me, and

hypertension and diabetes exist. In addition, White has

she didn’t let me fail. She tutored me. She saw that I

poured her energies into three additional programs.

wanted to be successful, so she took the time to help me

First, she is involved in a digital equity program that

through it. I couldn’t understand philosophy at first.

teaches computer literacy, allowing patients to access

‘Why do I have to take philosophy? What is that?’ But it

their medical records electronically. Second, she

helped me to think. We had a philosophy teacher who

works with patients and healthcare professionals to

really opened my eyes to how that

look at food intake from a cultural

course really made you a thinker and

perspective. Third, she is engaged in a

how it connected the dots. Between

program centered around peripheral

chemistry and philosophy, I learned

artery disease in an effort to prevent

to understand life in a different kind

limb loss.

of way, broadening the way I thought

“We are here working with this

about things. Challenges really

community -- some of the poorest,

started to excite me.

sickest people in Philadelphia - in

“As long as you were willing to

a zip code where African American

put everything in it, the professors

men are losing their legs at a rate five

at Holy Family would put everything

times higher than the rest of the city,”

they had in it,” she continued. “It was such a spiritual experience for me.

I’ll never forget the first day. We read

"I believe that nursing is the art of caring, and I believe that my purpose here on this earth is to serve and to care."

Neva White '85 BSN, MSN, DNP

Footprints in the Sand, and I just said, ‘This is where I belong. I’m not going to be alone these

she said “We are looking at high-risk issues, just trying to make a small dent to improve the lives of the people we serve.”

It is that servant’s heart that she developed at Holy

four years. I’m going to have my Holy Family family,

Family University that White hopes will highlight her

and I’m going to have God with me.’ I met friends.

nursing legacy.

They embraced me. They were endearing to me. I had

“I want people to say, ‘Neva gave it her all. She

such wonderful professors. I met wonderful nuns and

did the best she could’,” White said. “I believe

priests who were so spiritual, so godly. You could feel

that nursing is the art of caring, and I

God’s presence in them. It was such a beautiful place, a

believe that my purpose here on this

wonderful place to learn and grow. Every time I think

earth is to serve and to care. That’s

about Holy Family, it just makes me feel warm inside.”

what I’ve done, and that’s what

White went on to Virginia Commonwealth University and then to Temple University where she earned a post master's certificate as an adult nurse practitioner. She also taught nursing there for 10 years. She completed her DNP at Thomas Jefferson University and has made her mark as a diabetes and cardiovascular specialist.

I am going to continue to do. My art is caring.”

1980s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 15

1980s 50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

Finding Common Ground with Curiosity and Perseverance Beth Ann Swan, ’80 BSN, MSN, PH.D. RN, FAAN

T

he incredible view that Beth Ann Swan

least 10 minutes in this rotation.’ They even thought

’80 BSN, MSN, Ph.D., RN, FAAN

I was having seizures, but I brought the comic relief

commands from her current post as the

every week at Frankford-Torresdale Hospital.”

associate dean and vice president for

Swan will be among 23 nationwide inductees into

academic practice partnerships and the Charles P.

the prestigious Academy of Nursing Education during

and Peggy Evans Endowed Distinguished Professor

a ceremony at the National League for Nursing (NLN)

in Simulation and Innovation at the Emory

Summit on September 30, 2023, in Washington, DC.,

University School of Nursing in Atlanta could

though her daughter’s wedding will prevent her from

not be more contrary to her vantage point as an

being in the spotlight. “I told my daughter ‘You are

undergraduate student at Holy Family University.

ruining my life by getting married’,” she joked.

She also serves as the co-director of the University’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center Interprofessional

Swan, a Northeast Philadelphia native and first-

Education and Clinical Practice Office.

generation college student, from that hospital floor to

“I was the fainter,” Swan quipped as she recalled her time in Dr. Andrea Hollingsworth’s maternity

16 FA L L 2 0 2 3

The rise of the good-natured and down-to-earth

the heights she now enjoys is the stuff of Hollywood movies – think Rocky.

rotation at Holy Family. “I fainted day one, day two,

“I would have never left Philadelphia in 2020 if it

day three and finally she said, ‘You are not going to

wasn’t for this opportunity at the Emory University

pass this course unless you can stay vertical for at

School of Nursing,” she said. “It has really been an

honor and a privilege, and I just feel like I am here with

“I call it the ‘black box of care coordination’,” she

this unprecedented opportunity at the number one

said. “Someone goes to the hospital and then every

nursing school in the country. For me, it is just a dream.

domino falls. We just haven’t been able to crack that

“I love Holy Family University and I took so much

nut to say, ‘what’s it going to take when I am leaving

away from my time there – a love of learning, curiosity

the hospital? Am I going to have a safe care transition?

and perseverance,” Swan said. “I have stayed in touch

Am I going to be left alone to coordinate my own care?

with many of the Sisters. My experiences have always

My mother’s care? My spouse’s care? My children’s

stayed with me. When I was at Thomas Jefferson

care? ‘We need to be sure that every person has the

University (where she was a professor and Dean) our

same support and care around their care coordinators

celebration was always Rocky. We achieved some

and their care transitions.”

goals; we ran up the Art Museum steps. We

Swan also is ensuring that the wisdom,

did something else; we got our picture

experience and expertise that she has

taken in the South Philly Italian Market.

amassed over five decades of a truly

If you would have told me when I

accomplished career is shared out

entered Holy Family University that

with the next generation of nurses.

I would be doing all this, I would have

“I’m not sure you can be a nurse

said, ‘No, I’m going to be working

without compassion, but you also

at the Hospital of the University

have to be knowledgeable,” she

of Pennsylvania on an orthopedic

said. “Nursing is hard work, but it

floor, and that’s where I am going to

is also rewarding work. Ask a lot of

be my whole life.’ It comes back to that perseverance and the ‘eye of the tiger.’ I always bring Rocky with me.”

questions. You need to be open to the infinite possibilities that exist in nursing. I tell students that they need to find joy in their work.

Swan has called upon that Philadelphia grit to

They need to take time for themselves, practice self-

develop into a reflective and participatory leader,

care and embrace change. And above all else, when

a visionary and a luminary, like those she has long

we are out in the work place, we need to find common

admired and respected and is now joining in the

ground. I think we saw during the pandemic the

Academy of Nursing Education.

importance of that spirit of finding common ground

“Most of all, I think I have carved out this niche of being a change agent,” she said.

At Emory, Swan is leading a lot of forwardthinking around simulation, virtual reality and

in the worst possible situation.”

And as Swan can attest, it is always wise to bring a little Rocky with you.

“If we know anything about nursing, it’s

artificial intelligence. She is involved with “Project

that it is constantly changing. You have

NeLL,” a powerful suite of apps for teaching,

to be willing to go for that ride.”

learning, and practicing nursing data science.

Or that run up those iconic

The technology provides a search data repository

Art Museum steps. The

that aids nurses in finding innovative solutions.

view is spectacular

She is using virtual reality to train nurses about

from there.

care transitions, social determinants of health and what patients find when they get home after a hospitalization.

"I love Holy Family University and I took so much away from my time there – a love of learning, curiosity and perseverance."

1980s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 17

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

1980s The Power of Yes and Ringing the Bell

L

ife would be so different for Peg

the topic, and I got really knowledgeable about the

O’Grady '84 BSN, MSN, and the

topic, my ease of being able to speak to it just flowed.

thousands of patients and colleagues

The background and expertise that I received from

who have been impacted by her, if she

Holy Family gave me so much confidence.”

had said “no.” The current Administrative Director

18 FA L L 2 0 2 3

Because of this, O’Grady has made it her mission

of the Asplundh Cancer Pavilion - Sidney Cancer

for more than three decades to mirror the mission

Center, Jefferson Health System based in Willow

of Holy Family University.

Grove, PA, O’Grady never imagined that she would

“Holy Family teaches you how to take care of a

be overseeing the ambulatory care teams in this

community by giving the community experts who

now five-year-old free-standing oncology facility.

are well-trained and who do well for others. I learned

She assumed this incredible role because, when

resilience there. It is truly the nursing team who is

approached with the challenge, she said “yes.”

there with the patient in their true hour of need. You

“There was never a time at Holy Family

have to either decide that this is your mission, or you

University when someone at that institution said,

need to step aside and let somebody do it who can do

‘You can’t do that’,” O’Grady said. “At Holy Family,

it. This is not a job. This is really a career.”

I learned how to learn. I learned to articulate and

That career satisfaction is why O’Grady is ever

to write, and those are arts. I had public speaking,

eager to share advice with people who aspire to take

which I was not a fan of. I found that if I really loved

on life-changing roles through nursing.

“I can’t tell you how important it was in my

“The most gratifying thing is the look

personal career to write, to do research, to mentor,”

on people’s faces when they are done their

she said. “If you are starting out new, if somebody

treatments,” she said. “We have chimes. We have

texts you from an institution and asks you to be on a

bells. Some patients have full choirs who come

committee, to write a policy, even if you have never

in to sing to them. When patients are done their

done that before in your life, say yes. Absolutely, say

therapy, and they have all their family and their loved

yes, because you never know when that opportunity

ones with them with balloons and flowers, and they

will lead to something incredible. I never thought, in

are ringing that bell like it is nobody’s business, the

a million years, I would be running a cancer center.

look on their faces is just sheer joy. That’s the stuff

I thought I would be a surgical nurse, working 3-11

that keeps everybody here. It is not an easy job, but

p.m., have my kids, be happy, life is good.”

it is job that is incredibly fulfilling. And, absolutely

Instead, O’Grady spent

yes, I am crying along with

1983-2014 at Fox Chase Cancer

them. There is not one of us who

Center, rising in July of 2008 to

doesn’t get choked up. It you

the Senior Director for the Fox

don’t, you have lost your ability

Chase Cancer Center Partners

to emote.”

where she was responsible

O’Grady knows that these

for the clinical planning and

moments are worth relishing

research program development

because so many cancer patients

for 25 community hospital

never live to see that day.

cancer centers linked to Fox Chase. From there, she accepted

"There was never a time at Holy Family University when someone at that institution said, 'You can't do that.' At Holy Family, I learned how to learn."

“Working in oncology, you Peg O'Grady '84 BSN, MSN

a role as the Director of Nursing

have to know that you have done everything you can to get your

at Thomas Jefferson University

patients comfortable and to give

where she managed 100 nursing and support staff

them some sense of control back, not matter the

members in four locations.

outcome,” she said. “I was fresh out of school when

When she got the call in September 2016

I met the mother of a high school classmate who

seeking her interest in building a cancer center in

had cancer. Thirty-five years later to this day, on the

Willow Grove, PA, alongside Dr. Steven Cohen, she

anniversary of her mother’s passing, that classmate

answered, “Absolutely, yes!” The all-inclusive center

will send me a note, and she is just crystal clear.

now treats 400 patients a day, providing well-

‘You eased my burden.’ You can’t get better

coordinated access to surgery, medical oncology,

than that. That is what gives you a sense

radiation oncology, palliative care and survivorship.

that you are doing the right thing and

“Cancer used to be a disease of the old,” she said.

living the mission.”

“It’s not. We are getting far younger patients coming through. During COVID, patents didn’t get screened, so we are finding far later stages of the disease.”

Cancer has taken a lot from so many. Mostly, says O’Grady, it takes “every bit of control out of everybody.”

Which is why she relishes the success stories and draws strength from the fighters and the survivors.

1980s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 19

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

ASSIMILATING AND

EXCELLING OF THE MORE THAN 6,000 GRADUATES OF THE

Vinogradov’s first job out of college was in

SCHOOL OF NURSING, Yana Berman Vinogradov’s

intensive care, telemetry, open heart surgery and

’86 BSN journey to Holy Family University may have

recovery at Pennsylvania Hospital. She called on

been the farthest on record and most definitely

kindness and humor to help her assimilate.

ranks among the most fascinating.

recommendation in order for me to get that job,”

Philadelphia in 1981 as a 19-year-old Russian-Jewish

she said. “I never wanted to work on a med-surg

immigrant speaking minimal English and carting

floor, but critical care and recovery were my two

big dreams of a career in nursing. Enrolling in the

favorites. If you gave me the sickest patient in the

Community College of Philadelphia, where she

unit, with a gazillion problems and tubes, that was

met her Ukrainian husband in the line to collect

my kind of thing.”

her college ID, she found Holy Family and

Along the way, Vinogradov found another

remembers her first day on campus vividly.

calling, surprisingly, after briefly leaving nursing to

“I had been in America three years. I could

take a job at Independence Blue Cross following

communicate, but my English still wasn’t

the birth of her second daughter.

that great, and I still had to look up a

“That’s when I realized that I was pretty good

lot of words. I had a heavy accent,”

with computers, which I did not know before, and

Vinogradov said. “I discovered Holy

that I liked the whole idea of improving processes,

Family. It was Catholic. I’m Jewish.

finding a better way to get things done,” she said.

That was kind of interesting. But I

Vinogradov took her newfound skills

liked the people, and everyone was very

and returned to nursing at the University of

nice. The biggest shock to me was that my

Pennsylvania as a quality manager. Seven years

classmates were one of five kids, one of eight

later, she moved to New York City. She has spent

kids, from big Irish Catholic families. I was

the last eight years at Memorial Sloan Kettering,

an only child. I was always laughing that I was probably the only Jew at this

1980s

quality and safety.

“Enrolling at Holy Family University was the

first lecture in this big lecture hall.

best thing I ever did in terms of my education,”

They gave us so much information

she said. “Every nurse that I know who finished

and how much work we Yana Berman Vinogradov '86 BSN

where she now serves as a senior manager of

Catholic college. I remember the

on what we needed to do

20 FA L L 2 0 2 3

“Someone at Holy Family gave me a great

A native of Moscow, Vinogradov arrived in

would have.”

Holy Family University is highly regarded.”

That undeniable fact, as Vingradov can attest, is not lost in translation.

GOOD, CARING, COMPASSIONATE

LISTENER

SUSAN LYNCH ’89 BSN, MSN, RNFA, PH.D.

recovery procedures and the re-processing

REMEMBERS A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY, several

of instrumentation, Lynch praises Holy Family

weeks prior to her Holy Family University

University for developing her into a lifelong

graduation, as if it was yesterday. It was the

learner (she is currently pursuing an MBA).

conclusion of a rotation in psychology, and

“Holy Family University really instilled in

she was sitting by a beautiful azalea bush,

me the importance of research and taught me

by a pond, as she recalls, on the campus of

how to ask questions to be a change agent,”

Friends Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia. The

Lynch said. “I learned to question processes,

assignment was to sit in silence and ponder the

‘Is this really the best way to do this?’ We

life that was awaiting in nursing.

learned to utilize best practices to investigate

“This day always stuck with me,” Lynch

standards, qualities and regulations. I also

said. “We were told to sit by ourselves,

think communication and collegial

without talking to our classmates, and to

professionalism and behavior were

really think about where we wanted to go in

very important skills that I learned.

our profession. What did we want? What was

I walked away from Holy Family

important to us? And what did we need to

knowing that we are all

do to achieve these goals? It stuck with me

working together as a team,

because I have always been a planner - where

collaboratively, to provide

do I want to be one year, three years, five

quality patient safety and

years, 10 years out? Sometimes it has worked

the best patient care and

to my benefit; sometimes I didn’t quite meet

outcome.

my deadline, but I was able to pivot back

“My experience at Holy

and re-focus and re-align. But I think that has

Family was very engaging,”

always helped me get where I wanted to go in

she said. “I was engaged,

nursing. Some people thought it was crazy, and

but equally so were the

today everyone would probably just be on their

instructors, counselors,

cell phones. I thought it was a great exercise

advisors. Everyone was

that so pivotal to my future.”

engaged, and because of that,

Now the director of surgical services at

I learned to be a good,

Penn Medicine- Chester County Hospital

caring, compassionate

where she oversees, among other duties,

listener.”

pre-admission testing, operating room and

Susan Lynch '89 BSN, MSN, RNFA, PH.D.

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 21

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

SHOWING UP AND

BEING PRESENT PATRICIA NICHOLS ’98 BSN, ’10 MSN, RN, NEA-BC,

“Quitting wasn’t an option for me,” Nichols said.

CPXP HAS MASTERED THE ART OF SHOWING UP.

“I knew if I had stopped going to school, I may

It’s a skill that she developed as a student-athlete

not have gone back. It would’ve never been the

at Holy Family University as a basketball scholarship

right time. I would’ve never had enough money.

recipient and one that she perfected when she

I wanted to keep my basketball scholarship. I was

became pregnant with twins – daughter Haley

so close to the finish line. I just wanted to finish.

and son Kevin - during the second semester of her

My kids gave me the motivation to finish. I wanted

junior year. For Nichols and her now husband, Mike,

them to be proud of their mom.”

who played on the men’s basketball team, there was never an option to quit.

Nichols enlisted the help of her parents, Sue and Andy, her older sister, Jen, her brothers Drew

“Nursing. Clinicals. Basketball. Relationship.

and Mark and her youngest sister, Bernadette

It was a lot. I was 21 and having twins, “Nichols

Laukaitis, who has a freshman on the team during

remembered. “I had to figure out life so early, but

Nichols’ senior season and is now the current Holy

that’s all part of my story. It was definitely a crazy

Family University women’s basketball coach. Her

time. It took so much family and friends support

best friend, Kara Fitzgerald O’Brien, became her

to get through that. I look back now and say,

third sister.

’How did I even accomplish that?’’ I don’t think

“They would sleep over and take care of my

you realize how strong you are until you need to

kids so I could study,” she said. “I would have to

be. Through that experience, what I learned is it

get up early for clinical the next day. Everyone was

always works out. You just stay true to who you

awesome and trying to make it work. We were all in

are as a person.”

it together, and Holy Family was always a part of us.

Nichols, who always knew her true self was a nurse, credits athletics with developing the

Holy Family is us.”

With that support, Nichols finished only a

discipline, work ethic and will to stay the course.

semester behind her classmates and immediately

She even returned to competitive basketball for

landed a job as a telemetry unit nurse at Frankford

her senior year. She made lifelong friends through

Hospital. She served stints as an intensive care

the athletic program.

nurse and a critical care nurse educator before moving to Thomas Jefferson Hospital in 2010, the same year earned her master’s degree at Holy Family. She currently serves as the regional director of patient experience at Jefferson Health North.

“I learned that you always show up in the

Patricia Nichols '98 BSN, '10 MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CPXP

1990s 22 FA L L 2 0 2 3

nursing profession,” she said, “because your team needs you, and I don’t like to not be present. That’s why I think being a nurse is such a privileged job to do. People need you in so many ways. I always wanted to be that person who is helping people in the hospital and teaching and bettering nurses.”

GOOD NEIGHBOR,

GREAT START MARIA VAN PELT ’92 BSN, MSA, MSN, PH.D.

of national expert panels related to psychiatric

NEEDED TO LOOK NO FURTHER than next door

mental health and substance use.

to find her life’s inspiration.

“Having grown up and lived in Northeast

Since I was a child, I knew I wanted to be

Philadelphia my entire life, I saw things through

a nurse,” she said. “I always looked up to and

the exposure that Holy Family provided to me

admired my neighbor, Patrice Juliani, who was

that I had never seen before,” Van Pelt said. “I

a nurse. She is still, to this day, my mentor. She

saw things differently in the community as a

was always so kind and compassionate and

result of my community-based experiences and

just an incredible human being. I remember

just the important work

her showing me her textbooks and saying,

that needs to be done.

‘I’m a nurse. I study medicine.’ That sounded

I think that was also

interesting to me.”

the driving force for

“I would like to focus on mentoring and elevating leaders and supporting their

Knowing the reputation of the program and

some of my leadership

trajectory. I want to build people up, give

wanting to stay close to her Philadelphia roots,

positions, to make a

Van Pelt enrolled at Holy Family University as a

meaningful contribution

them opportunities and set them up to be

first-generation college student. She promptly

to the profession and to

failed chemistry in that first semester.

just give back.”

as successful as I have been.”

“I think having that failure and being able to

Van Pelt, who went on to earn an MSA

get the support I needed from the right people

from St. Joseph’s, an MSN from Villanova and a

at Holy Family set me up for success,” Van

Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, often

Pelt said. “Because of the strong foundational

draws on that first semester chemistry class to

knowledge that I gained at Holy Family, the

empower others.

rigor of my anatomy and physiology courses,

“When I see individuals who are striving

all of the pharmacology that I learned, I was

to be nurse anesthetists and are concerned

able to pursue an advanced degree in nurse

that they can’t do it, I say, ‘Look at

anesthesiology. Holy Family empowered me

me. I did it’,” she said. “Nurses

to embrace change and to lead. The nursing

are innovators from bedside

program prepared me to do anything that I

to bench research. I would

wanted to do.”

like to focus on mentoring

Now a clinical professor at Northeastern

and elevating leaders and

University and a former dean at the school, Van

supporting their trajectory.

Pelt is widely regarded as an expert scholar

I want to build people up,

and leader in patient safety. She has put in a lot

give them opportunities

of work, nationally and internationally, through

and set them up to be

advocacy, education and research, and policy

as successful as I

development related to the compelling need

have been.”

for clinician peer support Involvement. She serves as a state peer advisor and on a number

Maria Van Pelt '92 BSN, MSA, MSN, CRNA, PH.D.

2000s 50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

Hard on the Work, Not on the People

Chaudron Carter Short '00 BSN, NEA-BC, RN, ED.D., PH.D

S

ometimes, if you don’t see it, you can’t become it.

As the only child of Yvonne Carter,

to feel like an outcast. I became friends with all of the

growing up in the Mount Airy section of

students in my cohort, and we were a great support

Philadelphia, Chaudron Carter Short '00 BSN,

system for each other, a family. It was important to

NEA-BC, RN, ED.D., PH.D, often would accompany

have a student support system and to have people

her single mother to work at what was then Saint

understanding what you were going through. We fed off

Agnes Medical Center in South Philadelphia where

one another and succeeded together.”

Yvonne worked as a nursing unit secretary.

All these years later, Chaudron Short has succeeded

“I would see the nurses, and I would pretend like I

like few others, rising through the ranks with stops

was a nurse,” Carter Short said. “I saw people doing the

at Temple, where she started, then Penn and Cooper

role and helping, and it inspired me to pursue nursing.

hospitals. On March 20, 2023, she was elevated to the

I enrolled in nursing school as the first college graduate

role of Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) for Temple

in my family because that’s what I wanted to do. I know

University Health System (TUHS) and Temple

it sounds cliché, but I wanted to help.”

University Hospital, Inc. She is responsible for the

Carter Short is forever grateful to her mother for that exposure to what was to become her passion, her identity and her life’s work.

“I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without my mother,” she said.

24 FA L L 2 0 2 3

“I’ll be very honest,” she said. “Holy Family at the time was not very culturally diverse. But I wasn’t made

oversight of nursing services over seven campuses.

“I was always willing to take on projects and train and orient people,” Carter Short said. “Every step of the way, I created goals for myself. I wanted to be a nurse manager. Then I wanted to be a director of nursing.

Enrolling at Holy Family University, after

Then the goal was to become a chief nursing officer.

successfully transferring credits from her start at

After two and a half years as a CNO, I was asked to

community college, Carter Short didn’t necessarily see

step into this role. It is not what I had ever imagined

many nursing students or faculty who looked like her.

becoming. When my boss said he was leaving, I said, ‘No,

But she did find people there who wanted to help.

that wasn’t the plan!’ It wasn’t something that I ever

imagined, but maybe that was a good thing, because it

every day. It has not been easy, and I did not just

would have scared the heck out of me. There has always

snap my fingers and get here, but you really don’t see

been a nurse leader that I could go to and now I am that

a black CNE, so from a minority standpoint, I tell

nurse leader.”

people it’s a heavy weight. It’s not just you being the

How can you lead if you don’t know who you are leading?

Carter Short makes it her mission to get to know the people under her charge.

“Every other Wednesday, I go to orientation and

face of Temple nursing over seven hospitals. It is the face of nursing from a minority standpoint.”

This is why she embraces her responsibility to be that minority leader – so others can see it and become it.

meet all the new employees,” she said. “Then I host

“Every piece of your life and every destination is

open forums called ‘Brief with the Nursing Chief,’

meaningful,” she said. “Everything that happens is for

where I provide a state of nursing. I also open it

a purpose. I applied for roles along the way, and I wasn’t

up to questions. A lot of CNEs don’t like to do this,

chosen. I didn’t get, but it wasn’t meant. Everything

because you don’t know what’s going to come, what

that happens is for a purpose. You have to learn to put

people are going to ask, and it can very intimidating

things in your toolbox as you go. Many times, you will

if you are not prepared. I think it is important to

be like, ‘Well, what was that for? Why did I choose to

know your organization and to know what is going

do this?’ Every piece of your life is meaningful to get

on in your organization, and not just being the

you to your next destination. And everybody’s going

figure behind the door.”

to get to their destination when they are meant to, no

Truly, Carter Short could never be the figure

slower or no faster. It is nothing more, nothing less than

behind the door because she has broken so many of

hard work. I put my head down, and I grinded it out. It

those doors down.

wasn’t easy, but I did it. I hope I hold a positive image

“I know I can be very tough because my expectations

in people’s framework. I’m not going to do everything

are very high,” Carter Short said. “I also understand

perfectly. I am not a perfect being. You are not going

that we are put in these roles for a reason. Nursing is

to agree with everything that I do, and I don’t know

challenging. Healthcare is challenging. I am geared

everything, which is why I have fantastic AVPs around

toward servant leadership. I am hard on the work, but

me because they help guide my decisions. But there are

not on the people. For anyone who sits in my seat, I

times where you have to be the one to make the choice.

would want their main responsibility to be to ensure

You hope and pray you make the right one.

that my family member gets the care that is deserved. I

“I want you to be better than me,” she said. “If

expect people to do what we are asking them to do as it

I have gotten here, you can get here too. You

relates to taking care of patients in an excellent way.

can move above me. I want people to say, ‘If

“I have always desired to be in areas where I can

Chaudron has done it, I can do it too.’

make a difference,” she continued. “Temple is not an

I am humbled and I am thankful

easy place to work because we take care of a very sick

that I am in this role. I don’t

population. They may come in with diabetes, but they

take it for granted, and I

have so many other co-morbidities. And there’ poverty,

really want to make a

so you have to take care of that population differently.

difference.”

Working at Temple, you have to think about those things. To have a seat at the table to make a difference for that community is what drives me to do what I do

"I want you to be better than me. If I have gotten here, you can get here too. I am humbled and thankful that I am in this role."

2000s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 25

50

YEARS

of Nursing Excellence

1994

MASTER’S IN NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM OFFERED

April 19,

1980

CAMPUS CHAPTER OF SIGMA THETA TAU ESTABLISHED Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (Sigma) has more than 100,000 active members and 600 chapters at institutions of higher education and healthcare partners from Armenia, Australia, and Botswana to Thailand, the United States, and Wales. Sigma members include clinical nurses and administrators, academic nurse educators and researchers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and others working to fulfill the organization’s vision of connected, empowered nurse

1973

leaders transforming global

NURSING DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHED

healthcare.

1976

First class in the

FIRST MALE NURSING GRADS:

School of Nursing

1973-82

Nov. 21,

Academic Dean, Sister Mary

NURSING EDUCATION BUILDING GROUNDBREAKING

FIRST DEAN

Immaculata, '58 CSFN, D.M.L.

26 FA FALLL L 2023

1975

Daniel Arcilla, BSN James Kelly, BSN Stephen Leporati, BSN

2021

NAMED CHANGED TO SCHOOL OF NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCE

2020

1997

FULL CCNE ACCREDITATION BSN AND MSN

to reflect comprehensive approach to healthcare

COMMUNITY CARE GRADUATE PROGRAM ESTABLISHED

2002

SCHOOL OF NURSING AND RADIOGRAPHY PROGRAM COMBINE TO BECOME SCHOOL OF NURSING AND ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONS

2023

SECOND DEGREE DISTANCE PROGRAM

2019

SECOND DEGREE PART-TIME EVENING WEEKEND PROGRAM

2019

FAMILY NURSE PRACTITIONER LEADERSHIP MSN TRACK

2018

DOCTORATE OF NURSING PRACTICE DEGREE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED (first DNP graduates celebrated in 2019)

2008

NURSING LAB UNDERGOES EXTENSIVE RENOVATION

2014

SECOND DEGREE DAY PROGRAM

During the summer of 2008, the third floor of the Nurse Education Building underwent renovation for the new Nursing Simulation and Practice Laboratory.

Ribbon cutting for the new Nursing Simulation and Practice Laboratory took place on September 15, 2008.

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 27

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

FULL-CIRCLE

IMPACT KARYN BOOK BSN, '07 MSN DNP, RN, NEA-BC

bed community-based hospital with a large

ADMITTEDLY WAS MORE OF THE SOCIAL TYPE

integrated academic health system. She

- think cheerleading and field hockey - than a

manages a $109 million budget and oversees

locked-in student in high school. But a chance

approximately 1,026 full-time employees.

encounter in the seventh grade with a nurse

She earned a master’s at Holy Family after

had already solidified her career choice, and

moving to Bucks County with her husband and

she knew she had her work cut out for her.

three children.

“I was a teenager. I was nervous,” Book

“My professors on the Newtown campus

said of her hospital stay for a minor operation.

were great, and I made amazing connections

“It was that nurse who took care of me, her

with my cohort. We really grew friendships,

comforting way and the way she explained

and we still get together,” she said. “At the

everything to me, that made me say, ’This is

time, online learning was becoming more

what I want to do’.”

popular, so I liked that my program was

Her parents, though always supportive, had their doubts.

person who needed to be in the classroom,

“My mother used to say to me, ‘If you want to be in the hospital, you can always work in the gift shop’,” Book recalled, laughing. “Really, my parents told me that it was going to be hard, but they knew I could do it. I think they had always instilled in me that if you want it, go get it. Now, my mother says, ‘Look at you, you’re the chief nurse’!”

Currently, Book serves as Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer of Penn Medicine Princeton Health. In this capacity, she directs the clinical operations, evidencebased clinical practice, and research for the Nursing and Patient Care Services Division of a 324-

2000s 28 FA L L 2 0 2 3

in-person because I knew I was the type of working one-on-one. At Holy Family, you have an opportunity to have relationships with your

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professors, and they really do help you to become a better nurse.”

Book, who recently completed her DNP in Executive Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania, has developed a comprehensive, all-encompassing, big picture view of the field

“My professors on the Newtown campus were great, and I made amazing connections with my cohort.

We really grew friendships, and we still get together.” and has used her voice as a nurse in a number of important initiatives, including the re-design of a new hospital.

“I would like to be known as a nurse who, even though she is now in administration, has

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never lost sight of why we are here, and that’s for the patients,” she said, recalling that special nurse from her childhood. “I want to be known as a transformational, servant-minded leader who supports the bedside nurse and everyone around them who is caring for patients. If you are a nurse, your heart is in the right place. You always want to help, and you don’t shy away from the most terrifying, disturbing situation or

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the most-needy people. Rather, you are really drawn to that.”

Learn More:

holyfamily.edu/MFA Karyn Book BSN, '07 MSN DNP, RN, NEA-BC

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 29

2010s 50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

Welcoming Babies and Building Up Nurses

E

Meghan Griffin '11 BSN, PNP/ Janice Gibson '10 BSN, '14 MSN, NPD-BC, CCRN-K, PCCN-K ight years ago, on a day of great grief, Janice Gibson '10 BSN, '14 MSN,

“I have had other encounters like this,” Gibson

NPD-BC, CCRN-K, PCCN-K

said. “I know it sounds cliché, but we go into

accompanied her mother to a local

nursing because we want to help people. I tell these

funeral home to make burial arrangements for her

new nurses that on your worst day, you have to

father. The moment was memorable for more than

remember the one thing or two things that you did

one reason.

that was positive, because every day you are making

“We arrived at the funeral home and knocked on the

a difference in somebody’s life. It could be the most

door and a woman answered,” Gibson said. “She stood

joyous day, and it can be the worst day. You are doing

there for a minute in shock and then, she said, ‘Oh My

something that is meaningful with your life, and, at

God! You took care of my father many, many years ago

times, it transcends even your personal life. These

when he was dying, and I have never forgotten you’.”

patients are never going to forget you.”

That full-circle moment for Gibson, a former

30 FA L L 2 0 2 3

move into hospitals and other assignments.

Having the watched the dedication and drive of

critical care nurse and now coordinator of the

their mother to become a nurse (Following the birth

nursing residency program at Jefferson North,

of her children, Gibson went to community college

is one that truly validated the purpose of her life.

at night for five years and completed an accelerated

In her current role, she oversees a transition to

day program at the Episcopal Hospital School of

practice program that supports nurses as they

Nursing in 1997. It would be another 10 years before

she enrolled into Holy Family’s accelerated RN-BSN

a small part of that moment in people’s lives,

program and went on to earn her MSN), all three of

because it is so monumental.”

her children joined the profession. Her oldest son,

Both mother and daughter look back on their

Mark Gibson, works in the cardiac catheterization

time at Holy Family (they attended at the same

lab at Jefferson Abington. His wife, Ngoc Lee Gibson,

time but on different campuses) with gratitude.

is a nurse at Lankenau Medical Center. Her daughter,

“I can’t say enough about Holy Family. I love

Kristen Venango, works in interventional radiology

Holy Family,” said Gibson, who taught clinicals at

at Jeanes Hospital. Her husband, Ted Venango, works

her alma mater for 10 years and currently serves on

in the emergency department at Jeanes Hospital.

the President’s Advisory Council. The family gives

And her youngest daughter, Meghan Griffin '11

back annually to the University through the Gibson

BSN, PNP, who attended Holy

Nurse-Athlete Scholarship and

Family University on a basketball

the Christine Gibson Memorial

scholarship and is married to

Scholarship, which honors

Holy Family University assistant

Gibson’s late sister-in-law, also a

men’s basketball coach Turhan

Holy Family graduate.

Griffin, currently works as RN at

“I had so much support,”

Pennsylvania Hospital between

she said. “Everyone there was

labor and delivery, the intensive

just amazing, including my

care nursery and in the mother-

husband, Mark, who was a

baby unit. She also is a per

huge support to Meghan and

diem certified pediatric nurse

I as we journeyed through our

practitioner at the Children’s

education. The professors at

Hospital of Philadelphia.

Holy Family set a foundation

“Being the daughter of a

for me moving forward with

nurse foretold all of the benefits

my career. I loved them, and I

of being in this profession,” Griffin said. “Having

had a great relationship with them. They definitely

a mother and siblings who can relate to some of

helped me to be a better person. It was a really great

the things that I am going through is a big help.

time, especially when Meg was playing basketball.

Particularly, if it was a difficult situation, they can

We were able to go to every game. We traveled all

help you move past it, help you recharge yourself to

over. We got very close with the team and the

go back in the next day.”

parents.”

Griffin has had many gratifying moments, too.

“Holy Family Nursing definitely

“I have people say to me, ‘Oh my God! You get to

reinforced my determination to stay

do that every day?’ It is very gratifying to see new

focused,” Griffin said. “I learned

life come on a daily basis,” she said. “It is rewarding

that to get what you want, you

when families show their appreciation for your help

need to work hard, but the

and education. Or maybe they are going through a

payout is even greater

tough time right after their baby is born, and things

when you put your

didn’t really go the way they wanted, and they are

mind to it.”

even more grateful for the care you are giving them and their baby. It just feels like a privilege to be even

"Being the daughter of a nurse foretold all of the benefits of being in this profession.

Having a mother and siblings who can relate to some of the things that I am going through is a big help."

2010s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 31

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

TWICE THE

IMPACT THOMAS ALNE ‘16 MSN, BSN, CRNP, RN,

would be too. She had earned both her

ACNPC-AG, CCRN-CMC, PCCN, PHRN HAS A

bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Temple

HEART FORNURSING, so much so that he chose

University and was working as a recreational

to follow his heart into cardiology.

therapist when the couple lost their first child, a

“My first full-time job was in the emergency room at Overlook Medical Center in North Jersey,” said Alne, who earned his BSN

2010s 32 FA L L 2 0 2 3

she made a wonderful encounter with one nurse who helped her through the grieving process.

“In meeting her, I saw the therapeutic aspect

at Seton Hall Univer-

that I was used to and loved, but also that

sity and his MSN at

medical piece that I felt I was missing when

Holy Family

I was working with the people I supported,”

University, where he

she said. “Thomas told me that he really liked

currently serves on

the program at Holy Family. He really liked his

the Alumni Asso-

teachers and all the classes that he took. He

ciation Board. He is

also liked the campus and said it just felt homey.

one course away

He felt like they really set him up for success.

from completing his

I decided to enroll in the accelerated second-

DNP at the Univer-

degree program, and I ended up loving it. I

sity of South

finished in June 2022.”

Alabama. “I always

Brianna Alne '22 BSN and Thomas Alne BSN, '17 MSN, CRNP, APN, ACNPC-AG, CCRM-CMC, PCCN, PHRN

son, as a newborn. Through such a tragic event,

Now with two nurses and an eight-month-old

found the heart

daughter, Veronica, under one roof, the Alnes

interesting, so I

have doubled their impact as Holy Family nurses.

moved to the cardiac

“Patients always ask, ‘Where did you

intensive care unit at

go to school?’ Brianna said. “I do get a lot

Deborah Heart and

compliments, and people are aware of Holy

Lung Center. I really

Family’s reputation.”

liked it and found it

“I have never regretted my decision to

fascinating. I am now

become a nurse,” Thomas said. “I was lucky to

a cardiology nurse

have a lot of great teachers who really cared

practitioner at Penn.”

about us. I would tell anyone considering

Since Alne’s heart

enrolling in the Holy Family School of Nursing

was in nursing, he

that you will be well-prepared. It can be initially

thought perhaps his

intimidating, but if that’s what you want to do,

wife Brianna’s heart

you take a leap of faith and go for it.”

Chris Casello '15 BSN

Kindness First in Service to Others ALLEN ZELNO BSN, '17MSN, CRNP, FNP-C KNEW THAT HIS

Family University, I embraced the servant mentality, that we

DECISION TO PIVOT in his late twenties to a career in nursing was

are always in service to others. I don’t see my career as just a

the correct one during a chance encounter in Walmart. Zelno,

means to a paycheck. It really truly is a calling. It’s not just a

a native of the Scranton, PA area, enrolled in the second cohort

job, it’s a mission.”

of Holy Family University’s accelerated program, started his

Zelno, who hopes to return to his alma mater

career as a med-surg nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital in Allentown,

one day for a Ph.D., would offer this advice

PA, before becoming a family nurse practitioner during the

to someone like him who is questioning if

pandemic and moving on to a private family practice.

nursing is the road to pursue.

“One time a lady stopped me in Walmart just to thank me

“At Holy Family, you are not going

for making such a positive impression with her father several

to be a number,” he said. “You are

weeks before he died,” Zelno said. “She said, ‘I just wanted you

going to get personalized, one-on-one

to know you connected with him, and he was grateful for that.’

relationships with all of your professors.

I would have never known that if she hadn’t stopped me. It is so

Your four years will be a journey that you

gratifying to hear that you, as the nurse, before anyone else, are

are not going to take alone. The professors

who they remember.”

will do whatever they possibly can to

The decision to pursue nursing and choosing to do so at

help you succeed. To get through

Holy Family University has been Zelno’s personal aha moment.

a nursing program is extremely

“Enrolling at Holy Family University was the best decision

difficult. But if you do, you will be

I have ever made,” he said. “Nursing has done so much for

able to live as the best version of

me. I will always praise the profession. Most of all, from Holy

yourself.”

Allen Zelno BSN, '17MSN, CRNP, FNP-C

Finding Your Niche and Jumping In IT’S HARD TO SAY WHICH WAS MORE UNNERVING FOR CHRIS

me an opportunity to see so many more aspects of nursing than I

CASELLO ’15 BSN. Spending five hours every Thursday night

ever imagined. It helped me to find my niche in critical care.

during a lab component in his Nursing 210 course as a Holy

“Critical care is never the same day, ever,” he continued. “I

Family University transfer student alongside your future wife,

have worked with numerous heart transplant patients, and the

Kerry, ’15 BSN, or eight years later, standing in front of 40 new

care is always individualized. As nurses, we get to do that job of

nursing students as their clinical instructor.

individualizing the patient’s plan of care.”

Casella, now a staff and charge nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a part-time clinical instructor at Northeastern

Moving into education was a jump, Casello admits, but one that he took, again on a personal recommendation.

“As a critical care nurse, I find it gratifying to respond to

University, is a father of three who has obviously

emergencies, to direct responses and code blues,” he said. “In

found his confidence and his footing.

these instances, I feel I am really doing what I was meant to do.

“I came to Holy Family University on a personal recommendation because they had the most distinguished nursing program in that area,” Casello said. “Holy Family is a great place and affords you the opportunity to grow your confidence through some great

When I began teaching, it was like being a nurse for the first time all over again. Now, it just flows.”

Casello is now in pursuit of an MBA, an “after bedtime degree,” and hasn’t ruled out education as a new path.

“I don’t know what my next career move is, perhaps to become head of a department at Mass General or maybe

clinicals at some amazing hospitals

to become an educator,” he said. “I have a lot of interest in

in the Philadelphia region. It gave

education.”

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 33

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

EXPANDING FAMILY AND EXTENDING

EMPATHY

MEHWISH SADAQAT ’24 LOVES TO TALK ABOUT

future and a place to achieve what I dream. Holy

FAMILY. Her own close-knit family includes her

Family has been such an uplifting community.”

mother and siblings, who immigrated from

That dream, of being a nurse, has been with

Pakistan in 2018, and her father, who arrived five

Sadaqat since childhood and will soon be realized

years earlier to prepare a path for them. She also

in the coming months as she is on schedule

loves to talk about her Holy Family University

to graduate in May with a BSN. She has had to

family. For her, they are really one in the same.

overcome the challenges of learning a new culture

“We came here to escape persecution as

and language and in October 2022, the setback

minority Christians who were discriminated

of a terrible car accident that left her with two

against in many areas, including education. We

broken ribs and has contributed to a scoliosis

came seeking a sense of belonging,” Sadaqat

diagnosis that she now monitors. She missed a full

said of her parents, both of whom are

semester of classes while recuperating.

“I feel like that accident was a second calling

social workers,

for me and that God gave me my life back and

and her siblings.

confirmed my desire to be a nurse,” she said.

She has no other

“Nursing for me has always been a way to spread

blood relatives in

love and kindness. It is more than a profession

America. “It was a

for me. I have had this compassion since my

hard transition. Holy

childhood, because I watched my parents reach

Family University

out to marginalized communities. It is living my

gave me hope for my

parents’, my family’s purpose of serving people with empathy. My family believes in giving back for the greater good of society. We strive to be positive influences and of service to others.”

Though she is undecided about which specific area of influence that may be, Sadaqat feels well prepared to begin her professional life of service.

“The core values of this school are what attracted me here,” she said. “Holy Family University has provided me with the best practice and given me the confidence to not only care for a patient but to be of emotional support.”

Mehwish Sadaqat '24

34 FA L L 2 0 2 3

PIVOTING TOWARD

PASSION

SERVE BOLDLY. As a Peace Corps volunteer who

Somebody should handle it this way.’ I decided

was challenged to embrace this organizational

I wanted to be that person. I wanted to be that

mantra, Meghann Enright ’23 got the first taste of

advocate, that educator for others, specifically

how transformational her new life’s work could be.

in maternity. My goal is to be a labor and

“My first degree in 2006 was in marketing

delivery nurse. Hopefully I can pass my NCLEX in

and communications,” said Enright, who is set to

December and start as a nurse in January 2024.”

earn her BSN through Holy Family’s accelerated

For Enright, Holy Family University has lived

second-degree program in October. “I

up to its reputation, provided outstanding

immediately joined the Peace Corps and moved to

educators and support in a timeframe that fit with

West Africa. It was there, where I was advocating

her lifestyle and ambition and allowed to pivot

for women and children and sharing education

toward her passion.

on health, that I first became interested in, really developed a passion for, nursing.”

So, she returned to the States and enrolled in

“I just tried to take everything course by course and to stay on top of things, making a to-do list, noting the deadlines,” she said. “I knew

nursing school? No. She fell in love with insurance

it was going to be a juggling act, and I knew

and worked in the industry for 14 years.

it was going to be hard, a huge challenge that

But it was motherhood, her personal

would be very stressful. It’s been

losses and her now two healthy sons, that

all of those things, but I think

brought her heart back to nursing.

it’s just worth it in the end.

“I had both good and bad

I hope people will see

experiences in my journey to

that I have what it takes

having my kids,” she said. “I had

and that I am clearly

wonderful nurses who really held

prepared.”

my hand during very difficult times

Well-positioned,

and were there for me and just really

indeed, to serve boldly.

reiterated things that I needed to know to take care of myself and to take care of my family. I also had some experiences that really weren’t so great, and I thought, ‘This should be improved.

Meghann Enright '23

2020s H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 35

50 YE A RS O F NU RS IN G EXC EL LEN C E

A CALL TO

GIVE BACK YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT LIFE IS GOING

Three years into career as a private investigator,

TO DROP IN YOUR LAP. For Holy Family University

where he worked to uncover insurance fraud,

second-degree accelerated nursing student

Naimo was diagnosed with testicular cancer that

Christopher Naimo '23, who will complete his

advanced and required aggressive chemotherapy

BSN this October, the uncertainties that life has

and several surgeries. He developed blood clots

delivered to him have been fiercely challenging,

in both lungs, battled an unknown infection and

frightfully difficult and immensely fulfilling.

went into congestive heart failure. He was 34

Watching the Twin Towers collapse on September 11, 2001 while a sophomore in high

years old. It was frightfully difficult. On July 2, 2021, Naimo was deemed cancer free.

school, Naimo heeded a call to service and,

At 6:30 p.m. on September 8, 2022,

upon graduation, enlisted in the Army and

the Naimos received a call from their

completed two deployments to Iraq. It

adoption agency that they were

was a fiercely challenging decision.

Returning home, Naimo worked in

going to become parents overnight.

They welcomed their son, CJ,

the oil fields of Texas, helping his wife,

through what is called a “drop

Caitlin, (whom he married in 2008)

in the lap.” Fatherhood has been

through nursing school. He used his

immensely fulfilling.

GI benefits to earn an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and returned to the Philadelphia area in 2015, where he grew up, to complete

“My journey, my life has been very interesting,” Naimo said. “After 9-11, I felt a calling to serve my country. After surviving

a master’s in criminal

cancer, I felt a calling

justice at Temple

to give back. The

University.

treatment that I received at the Perelman Center at the University of Pennsylvania, the care that I received from

2020s 36 FA L L 2 0 2 3

Christopher Naimo '23

doctors and nurses and advanced practice providers gave me a second chance at life.

I don’t think, if I hadn’t been up here and at Penn, that my life would have turned out the way that it did. I want to give someone else the second chance at life that I got. That’s why I enrolled at Holy Family.

“My professors here took great pride in their teaching,” he continued. “They took pride in giving us the education that we deserved. They

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE

HEROES RN to BSN, BSN, MSN, NP, DNP

have worked hard to make us better students, to make us, hopefully one day, colleagues. It’s been challenging going to classes on nights and weekends, while my wife was finishing her DNP (at West Chester University in electrophysiology.

LEARN MORE: holyfamily.edu/nursing

Appropriately, she graduated on Mother’s Day last spring), with a new baby (and a dog that they adopted two weeks before their son’s arrival). It was hard. Life is hard, but it is achievable, if you have faith in your professors that they will get you through and that you can be successful.”

Naimo now needs to make a determination on what area of healthcare he feels called to.

“I really like critical care, so maybe I’ll work in the operating room or some sort of cardiac ICU,” he said. “I enjoy learning, and I enjoy helping. Without my wife I wouldn’t be here or in this program or in this profession. I am so grateful, and I just want to help people because so many people have helped me.”

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 37

ADVANCING HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY

Emily Schwartz ‘24 presented her research on T-Cells within the COVID-19 vaccine.

ABOVE: Karen Earley, Phil Earley, Gail (Garberina) Campbell ’82, Grace (Bennett) Wandling ‘86, and Jim Bennett, Esq., ’82 share their thoughts on exhibits at the museum.

TIGERS ON THE LOOSE 2023 ON THURSDAY, MAY 4, nearly 200 alumni and friends attended Tigers on the Loose, Holy Family University’s, annual scholarship celebration, at the Academy of Natural Sciences.

The event opened with a cocktail hour in the Academy’s North American Hall featuring a poster presentation of Holy Family students’ research projects and access to the museums’ special exhibit, Conversations With Birds.

Then, following a short program, guests enjoyed a seated dinner in the Academy’s Dinosaur Hall, surrounded by over 30 species of extinct dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus rex.

Through the generous support of our sponsors, donors, attendees, and auction winners, the event raised nearly $250,000 for student financial aid. For the complete list of sponsors, please visit holyfamily.edu/ tigersloose.

38 FA L L 2 0 2 3

ABOVE: Karen and Phil Earley with Colleen and Fred Leh ‘03 RIGHT: Linda Thatcher Raichle ‘70 and her husband John Duda with Dorothy Healy Chiarantona ‘70

ADVANCING HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY

RECENT GRANTS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (ECE) PATHWAYS funding creates a pipeline for educators to return to school and obtain their bachelor’s degree. $487,000

funds will support Student Mental Health & Wellbeing through Counseling Services. $40,000 NAZARETH FAMILY FOUNDATION has also given Holy Family funding for a Special Community Project within our ministry. $20,000

FOUNDATION has seen the success of our Collegiate Recovery Program and awarded a second year of

$487,000

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PATHWAYS

NAZARETH FAMILY FOUNDATION’S

INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS

GR ANTS R ECEI V ED

$40,000 AND

$20,000 NAZARETH FAMILY FOUNDATION

$25,000

INDEPENDENCE BLUE CROSS FOUNDATION

funding. $25,000

Teneor Votis Society “I am very grateful for all the opportunities Holy Family has given me which have greatly enriched my life as a nurse, teacher, and person. I want to help the next generation of nursing students reach their potential as professional nurses.

That’s why I’ve made Holy Family a beneficiary of my will.”

Named after the University’s motto, “I am bound by my responsibilities,” the Teneor Votis Society recognizes the generosity and foresight of those who have included Holy Family in their estate plans, either through their will, trust or as a beneficiary of a life insurance or retirement plan.

For more information on how you can have a bigger impact on our students and faculty, while still accomplishing your financial and retirement goals, please contact us or visit us online at holyfamily.planned.gifts.

Mary Wombwell, ’81 EdD, MSN, RN Professor Emeritus, Holy Family University Member of Holy Family’s Teneor Votis Society

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 39

ADVANCING HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY

ABOVE: The Class of 1973 celebrating their 50th Anniversary.

REUNION 2023 ON SATURDAY, MAY 13, alumni from six decades returned to campus to celebrate Reunion 2023.

In honor of their 50th Anniversary, the Class of 1973 was inducted into the Golden Alumni Society at a special afternoon reception. The reception included Afternoon Tea with University President, Dr. Anne Prisco, and the “Then & Now” Panel Discussion, featuring: Amelia “Millie” Cortes ‘24, Abby Dolan ’24, Sophia Paz ’24, and Julian Stewart ’25. Following the Golden Alumni Society reception, all

ABOVE: Catherine (Hoffman) McGrath ‘63 and Sister M. Eileen Therese Przybylowski ’61, CSFN commemorating their Class’ 60th Anniversary.

deceased alumni were remembered at celebrated at the Alumni Memorial Mass.

The signature evening event, Reunion en bleu, was held in the newly renovated, second floor of the Campus Library. Guests enjoyed food, drinks, dancing, and a special tour of the University Archives, hosted by Sister Brendan O’Brien, CSFN, ’75, University Archivist and Gina Palumbo, Technical Services Coordinator.

At this event, Holy Family’s Alumni Association presented the 2023 Alumni Achievement Awards to: Margaret “Peg” (Bigley) O’Grady ’84, RN, MSN, OCN; Jayda Pugliese ‘09, M’14; and Shaikha BuAli M’12, Ed.D. All alumni should save to the date for Reunion 2024, which will once again be held on campus on Saturday, April 20!

40 FA L L 2 0 2 3

ABOVE: Jenna Spadaccino ’13, Jerry Wutkowski ’13, and Sara Szymendera ’13 enjoyed a trip down memory lane in the University Archives Open House.

MEET THE ADVANCEMENT TEAM Wendy Parsons, CFRE Vice President, University Advancement wparsons@holyfamily.edu 267-341-5008 Helene Baczkowski Assistant Vice President, University Advancement hbaczkowski@holyfamily.edu 267-341-3100

ABOVE: The Class of 2013 may have graduated 10 years ago, but their friendships are stronger than ever.

LeeAnn Bushar Annual Giving Manager lbushar@holyfamily.edu 267-341-3017 Kim Caulfield Assistant Vice President for Corporate, Foundation, and Government Relations kcaulfield@holyfamily.edu 267-341-3481 Ryan Keller ‘17 Associate Director of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations rkeller@holyfamily.edu 267-341-5004

ABOVE: Students of the Golden Alumni Society “Then & Now” Panel with moderator, Bernice Purcell ’85, DBA BELOW: Alumni from the Classes of 1998-2022 couldn’t resist a photo with Mike McNulty-Bobholz M’11, Executive Director for Retention and Persistence.

Janet Linaweaver Director of Advancement Operations jlinaweaver@holyfamily.edu 267-341-5007 Amanda Medina León Director of Advancement Events and Communications amedinaleon@holyfamily.edu 267-341-3509 Mary Kay McGettigan Executive Director, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving mmcgettigan@holyfamily.edu 267-341-5017 Patti Paluch ‘10 University Advancement Operations Manager ppaluch@holyfamily.edu 267-341-5005 Julie Rempfer ‘10 Director, Donor Relations and Prospect Management jrempfer@holyfamily.edu 267-341-5014 Ryan Salyer Advancement Coordinator rsalyer@holyfamily.edu 267-341-3525 H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 41

ATHLETICS

ABOVE:

Shania Le Maitre ’23

Le Maitre Selected as CACC’s NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee

S

hania Le Maitre (Champs Fleurs, Trinidad

an NCAA-sponsored sport and must have earned

& Tobago/Holy Name Convent) of women’s

her undergraduate degree by Summer 2023.

cross country and track & field program has

Eligible female student-athletes are nominated

been selected as one the Central Atlantic Collegiate

by their member school, and each conference office

Conference’s (CACC) two 2023 NCAA Woman of the

reviews the nominations and submits its conference

Year nominees.

nominee(s) to the NCAA. Conference offices can

She is one of 164 women in the NCAA, and one of just 39 at the Division II level, to be nominated at the conference level.

42 FA L L 2 0 2 3

recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or an international student-athlete.

In October, the Woman of the Year Selection

The NCAA Woman of the Year program was es-

Committee, made up of representatives from NCAA

tablished in 1991 and honors the academic achieve-

membership, choose the top 30 honorees — 10 from

ments, athletics excellence, community service and

each division — from the conference-level nomi-

leadership of graduating female college athletes

nees. From the top 30, the selection committee will

from all three divisions. To be eligible, a nominee

determine the top three in each division, and the

must have competed and earned a varsity letter in

nine finalists will be announced in November.

ATHLETICS

From the nine finalists, the NCAA Committee

The six total medals she won in 2023, five of

on Women’s Athletics selects the NCAA Woman of

which were gold, led to her being named the 2022-

the Year, who is named during a luncheon at the

23 PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Women’s Track &

NCAA Convention.

Field Performer of the Year.

Le Maitre won a total of 13 medals at track & field

Le Maitre has earned U.S. Track & Field and

conference championships during her career, 10 gold,

Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)

one silver and two bronze, highlighted by helping lead

Outdoor All-Region honors in each of the last two

HFU to its first two East Coast Conference (ECC) indoor

years, as well as USTFCCCA Indoor All-Region

titles in 2022 and 2023. She won gold in all five events

accolades in 2023.

she competed in at those two championships and would

A 12-time track & field All-Conference nominee,

go on to be named the ECC Women’s Indoor Track &

she ran to her first All-CACC Cross Country laurels

Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year for both seasons.

at the 2022 CACC Championship.

Le Maitre has also helped the Tigers to back-to-back

Le Maitre excelled academically during all of this,

second place finishes at the Central Atlantic Collegiate

earning Dean’s List honors in all eight of her semes-

Conference (CACC) Outdoor Championship, new

ters. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Biolo-

program records, with four gold and six total medals.

gy in May after compiling a 3.97 grade-point average.

BE THE

HELP

THAT OTHERS NEED

Master of Science in Counseling Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) LEARN MORE: holyfamily.edu/psych H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 43

ATHLETICS

Holy Family University Athletics to Add Baseball in 2023-24 The Holy Family University Department of Athletics is pleased to announce the addition of baseball as its 18th NCAA Division II varsity program, effective for the 2023-24 academic year.

This follows the launch of three new varsity programs over the past year– men’s lacrosse, women’s bowling, and Esports (coed).

Baseball becomes the 14th sport that Holy Family competes in within the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) among the 17 that it offers. Last year, Holy Family University launched

ABOVE: The HFU women’s basketball participates in the university’s 2022 Trunk-or-Treat event, hosted by HFU SAAC.

Holy Family Wins 2022-23 CACC Community Engagement Award for Trunk-or-Treat Event

a state-of-the-art Esports Center, and

The HFU Department of Athletics has

“The First Annual Holy Family SAAC

plans are underway for a brand-new field-

been presented with the 2022-23 Central

Trunk-or-Treat was an event that was cre-

house, scheduled to open this summer.

Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC)

ated to promote community and a strong

“This is an exciting time at Holy

Community Engagement Award for its Stu-

family atmosphere on campus,” said SAAC

Family with the sustained growth of our

dent-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)

Advisor Bernadette Laukaitis.

athletic department,” said Holy Family

sponsored Trunk-or-Treat event held in

University Director of Athletics Tim Ha-

October.

The event, held prior to a women’s soccer match on the Thursday before Hallow-

mill. “This growth allows the university

The CACC Community Engagement

een, provided children from the commu-

to continue its tradition of developing

Award is annually presented to one insti-

nity the opportunity to come together on

student-athletes that will learn disci-

tution that best promotes the community

campus and meet HFU student-athletes

pline, preparation, strategic thinking,

engagement initiative adopted by Division

who dressed up and gave out candy from

and teamwork in their respective sports

II. This award takes into consideration one

the trunks of cars.

with their peers at an even larger scale.

activity and is judged based on the type

The children had the chance to engage

We look forward to welcoming our

of outreach program, student-athlete in-

in different activities with the student-ath-

first-ever baseball class to our campus in

volvement, athletic team involvement and

letes, before going on to the watch the

the fall.”

athletic department involvement.

women’s soccer match.

Holy Family will now move on for

“We are looking forward to making it

ested in being recruited for baseball

consideration for the NCAA Division II

even bigger and better next year, as it was

can contact the Director of Athletics at

Community Engagement Award, which will

an awesome to see all of the HFU communi-

thamill@holyfamily.edu or complete the

be announced during the NCAA’s annual

ty come together and celebrate the Division

prospective student-athlete form.

convention in January.

II mission,” Laukaitis added.

Prospective student-athletes inter-

44 FA L L 2 0 2 3

ATHLETICS

Holy Family University Hires Kyle Davis as First-Ever Baseball Coach Holy Family University is pleased to announce the hir-

ference with the experience of starting a program,”

ing of Kyle Davis is its first-ever head baseball coach.

said HFU Athletic Director Tim Hamill. “I look

The university recently announced the addition of

forward to him quickly establishing HFU as not only

baseball as its 18th varsity program, effective for the

a successful team on the field, but in the classroom as

2023-24 academic year.

well, similarly too as he has at his prior stops.”

Davis joins HFU from former Central Atlantic

Davis returned to his alma mater after spending

Collegiate Conference (CACC) member University

the previous four seasons as head coach of Valley

of the Sciences (USciences), where he was the head

Forge Military Academy & College, where he took

coach from 2019-22 after previously spending one

over as the program’s first-ever head coach prior to

season as an assistant in 2014.

its inaugural 2015 season.

ABOVE: Kyle Davis

In his first season at the helm of his alma mater,

Tasked with building the team from the ground

the Devils set Division II-era program records with

up, he led Valley Forge to a 19-18 record and a playoff

17 overall wins and 13 CACC victories, both of which

appearance in just its second season.

were more than double the season prior.

A decorated collegiate player himself, Davis is

After the 2020 season was shortened due to

USciences’ all-time hits leader in hits (170), total

COVID, USciences appeared in its first CACC Tour-

bases (222) and walks (99). A four-year captain and

nament since 2013 in 2021. Two Devils were voted

two-time All-CACC selection, he also ranks third

All-CACC First Team, giving the program two first

in program history with 32 doubles, fourth with 97

team honorees for just the second time in its history.

runs and seven triples, and in the top-10 in on-base

In 2022, the final season of the program, Uni-

percentage (.433), RBI (74) and stolen bases (25).

versity of the Sciences again won 17 games while

Davis is certified by the American Baseball Coach-

accomplishing something it never had: landing three

es Association, and he also has experience at the

student-athletes on the All-CACC Team.

travel baseball level as he served as a head coach for

The Devils also excelled academically under Da-

Tri-State Arsenal for four years.

vis, as his student-athletes earned a total of 24 CACC

He received his Bachelor of Science in Exercise

All-Academic nominations during his four years.

Sciences and Wellness Management, before going on

“Highly recommended throughout the CACC,

to earn his Master of Science in Exercise Physiology

Kyle brings a balance of having knowledge of the con-

from West Chester University.

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER IN

EDUCATION

GRADUATE AND CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS LEARN MORE holyfamily.edu/education

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 45

ATHLETICS

Greenwood Competes at NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Holy Family University’s Kenisha

She wraps up an outdoor season in

Greenwood (Jamaica) competed in the

which she won three gold medals at the

400 meter hurdles at the 2023 NCAA

Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference

Division II Outdoor Track & Field

(CACC) and was named All-Region after

Championships in Pueblo, Colorado.

posting the fastest 400 meter hurdle time

The sophomore placed 14th out of 21 in

in the East Region.

the preliminaries with a time of 1:01.54.

Greenwood qualified for the champion-

RIGHT:

ships by running the eighth fastest time in

Kenisha Greenwood ’23

all of Division II this season.

HFU Women Tie Program Record with Second Place Finish in CACC’s Restaino Cup Standings The HFU women’s second place finish in

finishes in the regular season, coupled with

the 2022-23 Central Atlantic Collegiate

CACC Tournament Semifinal appearances.

Conference (CACC) Restaino Cup stand-

Soccer also advanced to the CACC Tour-

ings is tied for the highest in the program’s

nament Semifinals for an average of 9.75

history, dating back to when the league

points after a fifth place finish in the regular

debuted the award for the first time in its

season standings.

Division II era in 2006-07.

Cross country added 10 points to the

The Tigers also finished second in 200708 and 2011-12.

The point system used for the award takes

total thanks to a fourth place finish at the

ERENCE CHAMPION CONF

CACC Championship, one position shy of the program record set the previous year.

into account each athletic program’s finish in

Lacrosse and softball contributed

both the 2022-23 CACC regular season and

averages of 8.75 points and 7.5 points,

conference tournaments. Each institution

respectively, after both qualified for the

receives a combined point total and the sum is

CACC Tournament for the third consec-

then divided by the number of women’s sports

Track & field led the way with 12 points

utive year. Lacrosse finished fifth in the

the institution competes in during the season.

after tying a program record with a second

regular season standings, while softball

Holy Family averaged 9.8438 points

place finish at the CACC Championship for

was seventh.

across its eight sports, finishing less than a half point behind champion Jefferson’s average of 10.2500.

46 FA L L 2 0 2 3

the second year in a row.

Volleyball (11.25) and women’s basketball (11) were right behind thanks to second place

Bowling rounded out the total with 8.5 points after competing at the inaugural CACC Bowling Championship.

NURSING

BY THE NUMBERS

%

5

10

24

The number of graduates in the

The number of states

The state percentile ranking

first graduating class from the

represented by students

of the Holy Family University

Holy Family University School

currently enrolled in the

School of Nursing

of Nursing in 1973: Maureen R.

University’s distance

Connors, Carolann Demarzo,

learning, 14-month

Kathleen P. Flavin, Charlene R.

accelerated program.

Mayer, Eileen D. Santaniello

6,000+

18

The number of graduates

A 91.38 +

The average score of Holy Family University School of Nursing students who passed the National Council Licensure Examination

The national percentile

from the Holy Family

(NCLEX) in the second quarter of

ranking of the Holy Family

University School of Nursing

2023 (April-June), far exceeding the

University School of Nursing

in its first 50 years.

national pass rate of 80 percent.

CLASS OF 2023 BY THE NUMBERS

416

total graduates

370

The number of nursing undergraduates who graduated in the Class of 2023 with BSN degrees

For the Undergraduate BSN Programs:

For the Graduate programs:

1. BSN Traditional

1. MSN program

2. Second degree Fast Track day

2. DNP program

3. Second degree PTEW Track

• Post BSN-FNP/DNP

4. Second Degree Distance/Hybrid track

• Post MSN-FNP/DNP

5. RN to BSN Program

• Post APRN-DNP Leadership

6. Perioperative Nursing Certificate

• Post MSN-DNP Leadership

CURRENT FACULTY

BY THE NUMBERS

16

Full-time Faculty/Administration

5

Nursing Staff

300

Adjunct clinical/lab/didactic faculty

CLASS NOTES

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS At Reunion 2023 on May 13, Holy Family’s Alumni Association honored the 2023 Alumni Achievement Award recipients: Margaret “Peg” (Bigley) O’Grady ‘84, RN, MSN, OCN; Jayda Pugliese ‘09, M’14; and Shaikha BuAli M’12, Ed.

1960s

1970s

1980s

Susan Lepis ‘65 is

Phyllis Procopio ’69

Jackie (Rafa) Wojtecki

Beth Ann (Reck)

enjoying retirement

and her colleague

‘73, Ph.D. is an

Swan ‘80, Ph.D., RN,

after a rewarding

and close friend,

Assistant Professor

FAAN, is among 23

career working for the

Christopher Wiley

and Full Time Faculty

nationwide inductees

United Nations in New

M’05, were featured

at Grand Canyon

into the Academy of

York, NY and teaching

in The Philadelphia

University. She and her

Nursing Education in

French at the Marine

Inquirer in January

husband, Tony, live in

September 2023. Swan

Academy of Science

2023. Over the last

North Fort Myers, FL.

is a professor and

and Technology in

20+ years, Procopio

Sandy Hook, NJ.

and Wiley have

Maryann Poulos

Emory University Nell

She has taken up

supported each other

Kramer ‘77 has

Hodgson Woodruff

photography and

through a wedding, a

retired after a career

School of Nursing.

making photo cards.

motorcycle accident,

as a Social Insurance

a master’s degree,

Rep with the U.S.

Susan (Thrash)

dialysis and a kidney

Department of Health

Lynch ‘89, Ph.D. is

transplant.

and Human Services.

currently the Director

administrator in the

of Surgical Services at Penn Medicine.

48 FA L L 2 0 2 3

CLASS NOTES

1990s

2000s

Maria (Magro) Van

Jim Miller ‘96, CRNA,

Kimberly Stokes

Heather (Belmonte)

Pelt ‘92 BSN, MSA,

MBA has been

M’06 was recently

Brahan ‘08, M’13 was

MSN, Ph.D. was among

named president of

appointed principal

recently appointed

58 distinguished

Lehigh Valley Health

of Copper Beech

principal of Assistant

leaders in nurse

Muhlenberg campus

Elementary School

Principal of Truman

anesthesiology

and the Northampton

within Abington

High School within

inducted into

region, which includes

School District.

Bristol Township

the American

3 hospitals. Jim and

Association of Nurse

his wife, Heather

Anesthesiology’s

(McHugh) Miller ‘94 live

Shawna (Kovalcheck)

(AANA) 2023 Class of

in Coopersburg, PA.

Naylor ‘08 is the

School District.

Fellows.

Susan (Fratrick)

PHOTO CREDIT: BRANDON BALLARD

administrative and stewardship

Barbara Zuroick

Abtouche ‘98 earned a

‘93, U.S. fleet &

Ph.D. in Organizational

safety manager at

Leadership from

AstraZeneca, retired

Eastern University

from the global

in May 2023. She is

biopharamceutical

the Vice President of

company on June

Mission Enhancement

Joe Golden M’06 was

2023.

at White Horse Village

named a 2023 CFO of

and the Executive

the Year honoree by

Liz (Velitskovich)

Director of the

Philadelphia Business

Summers ‘95 married

White Horse Village

Journal. Golden is the

Donald Summers in

Foundation.

Chief Financial Officer

May 2023. She works for Vertex, Inc. as a Product Manager

coordinator for Development and Alumni Relations for Penn State University Brandywine.

of PrimoHoagies.

Dan Kilcoyne, ‘04, CEO of MiniMelts of America, Inc., was recently featured in an article on The Spoon, detailing the company’s growth from a Dippin’ Dots alternative once available at just a few storefronts to what has become a network of more than 2000 automated kiosks.

Principal.

Save the Date!

Saturday, April 20 Holy Family University

2024 REUNION

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT HOLYFAMILY.EDU/REUNION

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 49

CLASS NOTES

2010s Boynton Beach, Florida

Heather Tennison

with their three-year-

‘16, who graduated

old daughter, Quinn,

with a BS in Business

and their one-year-old

Administration, just

son, Brian Jr.

reached her 36-year anniversary with her

Justin Rementer ‘11 is

employer, a local bank.

the Owner and Head

She is employed as a

Coach at RaidFitness,

business analyst.

LLC. Jazmine Babuch ‘19 Kristin Zarrello M’15,

works as a Toddler

LMHC, SUDP, NCC is

Teacher at Cheder

Brian McDonnell

the owner and lead

Chabad of Philadelphia.

’11 founded High

counselor at Oak and

Five Partnerships, a

Linden Counseling

Dawn Martesi M’19 has

sports marketing and

providing telehealth

been named the new

advertising firm. He

and in-person mental

principal of Mill Creek

and his wife, Melissa

health services in

Elementary School in

Moratti ’10, live in

Seattle, WA.

Levittown, PA.

Chelsea (Brown) Sharkus ‘14, daughter of Shannon Brown ‘99 (Executive Director of Holy Family University’s Library), and her husband, Robert, celebrated the birth of their baby girl, Reyna, in August 2023.

In Memoriam Virginia “Gini” (Fluehr) Campbell ‘60

Joan (Wojtkiewicz) Shaw ‘69

Joseph Bianchino ‘04

Lorraine (Kroll) Popowicz ‘61 Ph.D.

Phyllis Szal-Smith ‘74

Krista Shadle-Smith M’05

Elizabeth “Betty” (Bonanni) ‘65

Charles Blockson H’95

Cara Schoenmeier M’11

Sister Doloretta Dawid, CSFN, ‘68, Professor Emerita

Donna (Zazzarino) Baker ‘98

Joel Contreras-Francisco ‘16

William “Bo” Smigiel ‘03

Sherri (Martindell) Jokic M’17

LINDBACK AWARD RECIPIENTS Of the 60 recipients of the 2023 Lindback Awards for Distinguished Principals and Teachers, five are proud Holy Family alumni: Michael Biddle ‘99, Licinio Ferreira M’08, Michele Sorkin Socki M’06, Beth Menasion M’20, and Jennifer Motsney M’09, M’19.

50 FA L L 2 0 2 3

CLASS NOTES

2020s Steven Ambs M’21

Bridget Hauss M’23

Alexa Zapczynski

was presented with

is a teacher within

’20, M’23 married

the 2022 Bensalem

Bristol Borough

Tom DiMarcantonio

Township Police

School District.

’19 in June 2023.

The wedding party

Officer of the Year Jackee Staples M’23

and guests included

in Emotional Support

a number of Holy

Kaitlyn Meyers ’21

Services for Grades

Family alumni

received a DAISY Award

6-8 at the WIlliam

including: Emma

For Extraordinary

H. Hunter School in

(DiMarcantonio)

Nursing in April 2023.

Philadelphia.

Brandt ’14, Abigail

award in March 2023.

Clauss ’21, Dominic

Kaitlyn is a Burn ICU Nurse with Temple

Jeff Camp M’23

Kenkelen ’19, Diana

Health.

teaches at George

(DiMarcantonio)

Washington High

Kott ‘14, M’19,

Caryn Weindel ‘22 is

School within the

Jennifer Peters ’19

a Registered Nurse

School District of

and Riley Turner ’21.

at Cooper University

Philadelphia.

Hospital.

LIFE INSURANCE MEDICARE EXCHANGE

Alumni Benefits Program Did you know that Holy Family University Alumni Association sponsors an Alumni Benefits Program™ as a service to our alumni? The program offers a variety of attractively-priced products, most of which are available to alumni, students, faculty, and staff as well as their spouses, domestic partners, children, parents, and siblings.

LONG TERM DISABILITY INSURANCE REAL ESTATE BENEFITS ADVISORY SERVICES LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE TRAVEL INSURANCE ID THEFT COVERAGE AUTO/HOME INSURANCE

For more information visit HFU.MeyerAndAssoc.com or contact Meyer and Associates, the Program Administrator, at 800-635-7801 Proceeds from the program support Holy Family University’s Alumni Association

PET INSURANCE MORTGAGE SMALL BUSINESS INSURANCE

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 51

? ?NCLEX TEST YOUR

KNOWLEDGE

statement by the client would indicate

is correct?

an understanding of proper treatment?

A. “I want you to just breathe normally”

A. “I will exercise my elbow joint

B. “Take short, shallow breaths”

The nurse is educating a client with a new diagnosis of bursitis of

twice every day.”

B. “I’ll rest my elbow on the table

The National Council Licensure

to relieve pressure.”

?

Examination (NCLEX) is an exam

C. “I’ll apply moist heat three times a day.”

used to determine if recently

graduated nursing students are

safe to practice. Every nurse must pass this critical exam. Whether

D. “I will use dry ice for the first

removal of the nasogastric (NG)

tube, which instruction to the client

C. “Take a deep breath and hold it”

D. “I need you to exhale very slowly”

4

A client in the Emergency Department is experiencing

the “fight-or-flight” response, a sympathetic nervous system reaction.

48 hours.”

2

When preparing a client for the

Which of the following will the nurse The pediatric nurse receives a

expect to observe?

1-year-old child with a hip spica

A. Decreased pupil size

cast application to treat hip dysplasia.

B. Increased pulse rate

Which of the following nursing actions

C. Decreased perspiration

should be implemented for the child?

guarantee this will give you a whole

D. Increased urine output

A. Apply waterproof tape to the cast

new appreciation for the depth of

around the genital/diaper area.

knowledge of nursing professionals!

B. Keep the bed flat and turn the child

5

you are a Nursing alum or just

like a challenge, try your hand at

these sample NCLEX questions. We

from supine to prone q4 hours.

C. Use the crossbar of the cast to help

Send your response to

turn and position the child.

magazine@holyfamily.edu and

?

D. Use a hair dryer on the warm setting

we will send the first five (5) alumni with the correct responses some Holy Family University gear.

GOOD LUCK! Answers and winners will be posted on holyfamily.edu/magazine on December 1.

?

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the elbow (olecranon bursitis). Which

3

1

?

to dry the cast as soon as possible.

The nurse is educating a client with hypovolemia related to dehydration.

Which statement by the client indicates a need for further instruction?

A. “I will drink more coffee and tea throughout the day.”

B. “I can count the fluids that are in the foods I eat.”

C. “I will increase my fluid intake to at least 3 L a day.”

D. “I know that alcohol drinks can increase my dehydration.”

Make Your Impact.

Donors to the Blue & White Fund, Holy Family’s Annual Fund for student scholarships, make a significant impact in the lives of today’s students by supporting financial aid. At Holy Family, we believe that every student, regardless of their financial circumstances, should have the opportunity to pursue higher education.

Every donor makes a difference. Every gift makes an impact.

MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY! Online: Holyfamily.edu/give Mail: Office of University Advancement, 9801 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19114

52 FA L L 2 0 2 3

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CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF NURSING EXCELLENCE WITH HOLY FAMILY UNIVERSITY!

SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS!

Whether you’re a proud Nursing alum or have benefited from the care of one of the 6,000+ Holy Family University nurses in the Philadelphia region, your support is crucial. Join us in honoring this remarkable legacy by contributing to the 50th Anniversary Excellence in Nursing Fund. And, in appreciation of our amazing Nursing alumni, proudly display our commemorative “Thank a Nurse” car decal.

For half a century, Holy Family University has been at the forefront of nursing education. Our graduates have become the backbone of healthcare in our region, gracing every major hospital and healthcare institution. They embody the spirit of compassionate care and excellence in nursing and health sciences.

To ensure this tradition continues, we need your support. The 50th Anniversary Excellence in Nursing Fund has been established to drive innovation and provide scholarships for deserving students.

Innovation in New Programs and Simulation Labs In a world of rapid technological advancements, we’re investing in innovative training programs and cutting-edge technology. Our goal is to prepare the next generation of nurses to be leaders and patient-focused professionals. We’re also introducing a certified nurse assistant (CNA) certificate program to expand opportunities.

Our Simulation Labs play a crucial role in training our students. They offer a real-world nursing environment where students can apply their skills without

Join us in supporting the next generation of Holy Family nurses by making a gift today.

Scan the QR code or visit holyfamily.edu/give to contribute.

For personalized assistance or to discuss your donation, please contact Wendy Parsons at wparsons@ holyfamily.edu or 267.341.7969.

consequences. Your support will help us equip these labs for the future.

Nursing Scholarships Over 98% of our nursing students receive scholarships and financial aid, enabling them to pursue their dreams. Many of our undergraduates are the first in their families to attend college. Your donations to the 50th Anniversary Excellence in Nursing Fund can be designated for scholarships, making a profound impact on the lives of these talented students.

Show your pride and gratitude for our incredible Holy Family alumni nurses. Together, let’s ensure nursing excellence continues for another 50 years and beyond!

H O LY FA M I LY. E D U 53

9801 Frankford Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19114

Upcoming Events OCTOBER 2023

JANUARY 2024

20 Nursing 50th Anniversary

16 Spring 1 Semester Begins

Celebration

21 TigerFest Homecoming for Alumni and Families

FEBRUARY 2024 11 70th Anniversary Day of Giving

NOVEMBER 2023 5 Undergraduate Admissions

MARCH 2024

Open House

20 50th Anniversary

15 Graduate Admissions

School of Nursing Gala

Open House

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT HOLYFAMILY.EDU/EVENTS