AMANDA TANNER

Emergency Room Assistant Nurse Manager Glen Cove Hospital/Northwell Health

Amanda Tanner was always the nurse when playing cops and robbers as a child. It was her job to bandage up the wounded robber. But she didn’t pursue nursing until after serving as a critical care emergency medical technician for the Rocky Point Fire Department, a decision to honor her grandfather, an ailing firefighter. When transporting people she saw firsthand what nurses do. Tanner decided she wanted to join the noble profession as a medical professional too.

After working as a nurse at New York University Langone Hospital she came to Glen Cove Hospital where she’s been an emergency room assistant nurse manager for a year.

“When people come to the hospital you see them on their worst day,” she says. “I try to improve things for them, calm them down, give them some compassion. For me being able to make a difference and seeing a patient walk away better than when they came in is gratifying.”

Amanda loves the community-feel of Glen Cove Hospital. So many people who work at the hospital also live in the community so they are invested in the care they give to patients. “We are tucked away in this nestled area,” she says. “I drive 40 minutes to get here but I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.”

Sarah Zay

Nurse Educator Glen Cove Hospital/Northwell Health

Sarah Zay has been a nurse educator at Glen Cove Hospital for nearly three years. She is proud to work at GCH and even lived in the city initially to help her transition into her role. Although she moved to Suffolk County, Sarah says she doesn’t mind the long drive to work.

She cites her mother, a nurse for over 40 years, as her inspiration. “I believe nursing is a calling that you feel in your bones,” Sarah says, “It’s not a job. It’s a profession, a career. Helping people every day — there’s nothing greater than that.”

What Sarah loves most about being a nurse is the patients. As a nurse educator helping nurses move forward with their professional development she has been given even more to love about the profession. “Seeing these nurses grow is seeing the future of the profession. It comes full circle and comes back to the patients at the end of the day.”