United Hospital Fund Honors Three MJHS Nurses

Three of our very own were honored at the Fourth Annual Tribute to Excellence in Health Care hosted by the United Hospital Fund on May 9, 2022.

Christene Joseph, Director of Nursing Services at Isabella Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care; Faina Vasserman, Director of Nursing at Menorah Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care; and Lorette Shea, AVP of Quality Management for MJHS Home Care and Hospice, along with 70 other health care professionals from 68 health care institutions were honored for their extraordinary personal leadership to improve quality of care, patient safety, and patient experience.

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Christene Joseph, RN, MS, C-NE, WCC, IPC, LNC, is always in teaching mode, and she helps ensure the Isabella Center IDT is up to date with applicable guidelines, current trends, best practices and more. And, during the pandemic, Christene’s leadership has been a key force behind our establishing and implementing infection control/protocol, as well as ensuring it is consistently being followed. Such protocols, as per guidelines, include screening, monitoring, testing, treatment, the proper use of PPE, and cohorting of patients/residents as appropriate.

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Under the leadership of Faina Vasserman, RN MS CNS IP, and in collaboration with the nursing and administrative teams, Menorah Center continues to improve residents’ quality of care in infection control by creating and maintaining infection control processes. As a testament to her commitment, she also plays a key role in how we assess and reevaluate resident needs of quarantine and potential disease transmission. Prior to managing part of our pandemic response, Faina was responsible for developing an Antibiotic Stewardship program in conjunction with the Medical Director as well as overseeing the infection control program.

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Lorette Shea, RN, BSN, MPS, consistently champions integrating processes that ensure compliance with all State and Federal regulations. She’s also been instrumental in our organization earning notable certifications. For example, last year Lorette helped guide MJHS Hospice through the process of earning the Gold Seal of Approval in the home hospice accreditation category from The Joint Commission. And for the last 2 years, she’s been a co-leader of the MJHS Health System Interagency Quality Council, which has increased synergy between all lines of business as well as identifying how best to support the achievement of common goals.

The other UHF honorees included: physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and a broad range of other health care workers from across the five boroughs of New York City, as well as Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. They were drawn from hospital systems, long-term care facilities, home care organizations, independent practice associations, federally qualified health centers, medical groups, and behavioral health organizations.