2020 Excellence in Nursing Awards
In this, our sixth Excellence in Nursing Awards, we applaud thirteen incredible nursing professionals who stand on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Community Health/Home Health Nurse of the Year
Rhonda Goldstein, RN
Staff Nurse at the Cedars – Cedar Home Health
How did you get into nursing?
Remember the song, “Help Me, Rhonda” by the Beach Boys? Well, everyone was always saying it to me, and as a child at the time, I took it to heart. I would pretend to give shots to my sisters and bandage up my pets (they were so cooperative!). Then, during my senior year in high school, I worked the graveyard shift Fridays into Saturdays at Cedar Crest and became a CNA just to see if I really wanted to become a nurse. I did. And so it went.
What is your favorite part about your role?
I get to sit and talk to patients and their families. I become part of their family for a short time, in some ways closer than a sibling if I change wounds and other tasks that no one else can do. I help them think outside the box and come up with ways to help themselves become as independent as possible.
What effect has COVID-19 had on you as a nurse?
What a ride! It changed how one thinks about home visits. You have to cover up head to toe and work your schedule around their visit. I always wore a tank top and shorts under my uniform so that I could take off the PPE, uniform, shoes and bag to be washed. It is second nature for us to take stock, assess and do what is safe for the patient, family and nurse. Most of all, we prioritized making patients feel safe and that they will make it through this — you see their fears lessen each visit.
Nurse Executive of the Year
Joan Salhany, RN, BSN, MBA
Vice President Operations at Lifespan – Gateway Healthcare, Inc
How did you get into nursing?
My path into the field of nursing was not traditional; it was not a lifelong dream. I was, fortunately, very healthy growing up. That was until I woke to severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting one fall morning when I was sixteen years old. Later that night, I ended up in the operating room at Hasbro Children’s Hospital having my appendix removed! Over the next three days, I got a firsthand look at a very different side of health care. Then, when it came time to determine my path for college, I reflected on my own health care experience combined with the nursing shortage at the time. I elected to enter the nursing program at Rhode Island College.
What’s your favorite part about being a nurse executive?
Working with nurses and other clinical staff, along with administrative staff — all of whom are at different stages in their careers — and coaching them into being better and greater than they thought they could be. Sometimes even challenging them to stretch beyond the goals they set for themselves and then watching them reach, or even go beyond, those goals.
What advice would you give to an aspiring nurse executive?
You cannot do it alone! It requires persistence, a strong sense of self and a team of staff to help with working in a very complex matrix-like system requiring focus on many operational, clinical, financial and human resource goals and objectives.
Nominator buzz: “Joan is the most approachable leader I’ve ever met. She’s calm, insightful, brilliant and kind.” — Catherine M. Clark, Gateway Healthcare
Nurse of the Year in an Academic Setting
Melinda Hodne, DNP, APRN-BC, MSN, BS
Assistant Professor of Nursing at the Rhode Island College School of Nursing
How did you get into nursing?
As a young child, I was interested in a field that helped others. I entered college as an education major but switched into health management because I was interested in the health care field. Following the completion of my undergraduate degree, I worked for a healthcare consulting firm. I knew within six months I wanted to be a nurse.
What’s your favorite part about being a nurse educator?
The most rewarding part of being an educator is seeing students shine in their clinical settings. It is one thing to hear the enthusiasm and dedication in a classroom setting. Witnessing the accomplishments of the students in the clinical area is very rewarding.
Do you have any standout patient memories?
One of my first patients as a nursing student had ALS. He was only able to speak with a machine held to his throat. Most days, he was too weak to speak. He was in the hospital for end-of-life care. Unfortunately, his wife had died recently and he had no other family. I remember the nurses on the unit spending hours off duty with him so he would not die alone. One day, I volunteered to sit with him to help the nurses at a change of shift. I still remember the twinkle in his eye that said, ‘thank you’ when I said goodbye to him that day. I will never forget that twinkle.
What advice would you give to an aspiring nurse?
Nursing is a challenging field both academically and professionally. However, it is extremely rewarding. There is nothing more rewarding than hearing a patient and/or family member say thank you.
What effect has COVID-19 had on you as a nurse?
During the spring, I worked for Brown Surgical Associates as well as Rhode Island College. Our surgical team opened a COVID ICU at Rhode Island Hospital. The attending surgeons, surgical residents, surgical nurse practitioners and physician assistants shifted from surgery to treat COVID ICU patients for seven weeks. Every team member rose to the challenge. Many of us self-isolated from our families to protect them from the potential exposure. The surgical team, nurses, therapists, secretaries, cleaning staff and more worked as a team to care for patients while ensuring the patients’ families were informed. It was an incredible team effort.
