Newspaper’s annual Salute to Nurses section highlights more than a dozen faculty and graduates for their efforts

More than a dozen faculty and alumni were recognized in the Boston Globe’s 2024 Salute to Nurses section that was published on May 6, the first day of National Nurses’ Week.  

The faculty and graduates were nominated by readers of New England’s largest newspaper, which each year prints a special edition that highlights the contributions nurses make to the health and well-being of the region’s communities.

“Having nursing faculty and graduates of the School of Nursing listed in this section is heartwarming and we’re extremely proud of them along with the IHP’s more than 5,200 nursing graduates,” said Dr. Ken White, the nursing school’s dean. “Working in Mass General Brigham hospitals as well as other care facilities is a reminder that our graduates truly are making a difference in patients’ lives each day.”

The Institute’s role as MGB’s only academic affiliate is discussed in the section’s feature story, Heart of health care: Boston-area hospitals invest in nurses of today and tomorrow. The story mentions the IHP’s collaboration with the health system on a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to educate the hospital system’s nurses to become clinical instructors. Kevin Whitney, DNP ’15, chief operating officer and chief nursing officer at Mass General Brigham Healthcare at Home, and Debbie Burke, Mass General Hospital’s senior vice president for patient care and chief nurse and the IHP’s associate dean of clinical affairs, are quoted in the story.

Hundreds of IHP graduates and faculty have been highlighted since the Globe began its section 20 years ago. It included Dr. Inge Corless, professor emerita, being named the 2007 Nurse Educator of the Year when the newspaper chose people for individual awards, a practice it stopped shortly afterwards when it began soliciting nominations from readers to recognize more nurses on the front lines of patient care.

We endeavored to identify all IHP alums in the Globe section, but if we missed you please email alumni [at] mghihp.edu (alumni[at]mghihp[dot]edu) and know that we salute you as well. Names are listed in alphabetical order of where people work.

Jaqueline Burgoyne, MS-NU ’14
Bentley University Health Center
Jaqueline is a sweet and empathetic woman. I felt safe talking with her. Jaqueline always replied quickly and helped me with important issues as an international student. She is very caring and responsible, which makes me feel very safe and comfortable with her.
- Nominated by Amelia Martinez

Leah Cohen, MS-NU ’08
Boston Children’s Hospital

Leah Cohen has been beyond amazing with our son, Kai. She listens to the child and the parent and shows a genuine interest in our son. Leah has gone above and beyond to assist him and seeks the advice of others when needed. She has helped us navigate this medical journey, and our son loves seeing Leah Cohen all the time!
- Nominated by Lindsey Flores

Colleen Webb, BSN ’11
Boston Medical Center

It can be easy to focus on the medical aspect and forget about connecting emotionally with individuals. However, I have observed Colleen physically and emotionally interacting with patients and family members to provide the support they need. For example, a patient just discovered that he had cancer, and Colleen sat beside him to show empathy. No matter how tired she is, she smiles to show that someone cares about them. Colleen will also sing and dance with a patient who had a rough day to lift her spirits. She helped educate a patient who was newly diagnosed with a heart condition. I can’t list all the positive actions that she shows toward patients. If I were a patient, I would always want Colleen to take care of me as a nurse.

As a colleague, if I have questions or need help, no matter how busy she is, Colleen always helps. I am so lucky to work with such a wonderful person. Her kindness and empathy reach out to individuals on a deeper level.
- Nominated by Soo Ko

Daniela Poles, MS-NU ’15
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center

Daniela has been my provider for many years. She is caring, emphatic, compassionate, knowledgeable, and always helps me with all my health concerns. She deserves this recognition for all the hard work she puts into each patient she treats.
- Nominated by Eliana MacDonald

Christina Kim, MS-NU ’10
Massachusetts General Hospital

My son, Jonathan, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in 2021. Nurse Christina Kim from the Massachusetts General Hospital sarcoma team was the very first nurse we met on his team. From the first phone call, nurse Christina demonstrated an incredible amount of compassion by providing not just medical support but also emotional support to my son and entire family. She did all this while offering complete open communication during and now after his cancer journey. 

Nurse Christina has a special way of translating complex medical information into understandable terms. We like to call her our translator. I was a very nervous mom during my son’s cancer treatment, which I think most people would find very overwhelming and most likely bothersome. I had so many questions, and each and every time, nurse Christina promptly responded to me with compassion and empathy. She built trust with not just me but my son, which still to this day fosters a wonderful partnership for the continued health of my son. When he speaks about nurse Christina, he says she is “the kindest, smartest, most supportive nurse. She should have been a science teacher because she can break down the most detailed, confusing information in a simple format for me to understand.” 

As of this past November, Jonathan is two years cancer-free. He still needs to go back a few times a year for scans and appointments. Nurse Christina told us at his two-year checkup, “We are part of Jonathan’s life forever.” Jonathan and our entire family are so grateful and thankful to nurse Christina Kim for being part of the amazing sarcoma team that saved his life.
- Nominated by Nancy Gardner

Christine Foley, BSN ’10
MGH Institute of Health Professions

For many years, we’ve collaborated with Christine in her capacity as the clinical coordinator of our medical-surgical clinical rotations. In her role, Christine interacts with all our clinical instructors across the medical-surgical environment, skillfully orchestrating our clinical placements to guarantee the most enriching clinical experience for our students. Christine consistently goes above and beyond for both our students and clinical instructors, demonstrating exceptional dedication and support.
- Nominated by Rachael Salguero and Karen Hunt

Maura Penfield, BSN ’15
MGH Institute of Health Professions

Maura serves as the skills lab coordinator for our medical-surgical course at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, where she actively collaborates with all our students and lab instructors. Her dedication extends well beyond her responsibilities; she forms meaningful connections with our students, guiding them to think and act with care and compassion.
- Nominated by Rachael Salguero and Karen Hunt

Pat Reidy, Margie Sipe, DNP ’13, and Elaine Tagliareni
MGH Institute of Health Professions

Pat, Margie, and Elaine have made significant contributions to advancing nurse education through their work with the Department of Labor Grant at the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Their leadership and advocacy highlight the impact of collaborative work and dedication in healthcare education. This dedication will benefit future nurse educators and the healthcare system at large by addressing critical shortages in nursing education. Your work is so appreciated!
- Nominated by Rachael Salguero

Tracey Hall, MS-NU ’04
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

Tracey is one of the most dedicated people I have met, both toward patients and colleagues. She cares tremendously about her patients’ physical and psychological health and spends a tremendous amount of time with them to make sure they understand their care and are comfortable before they leave the practice.
- Nominated by Shari Ameri

Tracey goes above and beyond for her patients’ day in and day out. This sometimes even includes checking patient messages on weekends and responding to give them the reassurance they may need. We work in a sensitive area and often see cancer patients come through our doors who may need that extra bit of love. Tracey never fails to jump in when she’s needed and help out, no matter the task. As someone newly entering the nursing field, I hope to be as great as Tracey is.
- Nominated by Jordan DeMasi

Karen Mueller, MS-NU ’09
Newton-Wellesley Hospital

There are so many fabulous nurses working tirelessly in this demanding field, and we are blessed to have one of the best working for our practice. Karen Mueller is not only a nurse practitioner but also our childbirth educator, high-risk breast consultant, and certified lactation consultant. She is always the first to arrive and will stay late when needed. She will come in to care for patients on her day off without a second thought if we are shorthanded due to an illness or family emergency.

Karen is dedicated and compassionate. She will see a day of obstetrical patients, deal with the worries of a new breastfeeding mom, and still choose to make the time after hours to stop to congratulate a new mom and dad, reassure a nervous preoperative patient, or follow up with a postoperative surgical patient. 

She is our beloved “Mama” Mueller. Her devotion to her profession shines through every single day as she continually makes a profound difference in the lives of every patient and staff member she touches.
- Nominated by Lisa Alden

Lauren Babchuck, Ed Burch, DNP ’21, Tricia Ide, DNP ’20, Andrea Machado, Joanne Petrillo
New England Baptist Hospital

New England Baptist Hospital (NEBH) achieved its second consecutive designation as a Magnet Hospital for Nursing Excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). In its review, the ANCC lauded NEBH in 16 areas of excellence, including nursing leadership, quality outcomes, care coordination, safety, and patient satisfaction.

The efforts to achieve Magnet designation for NEBH were led by Tricia Ide, magnet program director, with component writers Lauren Babchuck, clinical educator; Andrea Machado, clinical leader; Ed Burch, director of education; and Joanne Petrillo, clinical nurse. This team worked diligently to capture the significant structures, processes, outcomes, and culture of NEBH.

Magnet provides a framework for the professional practice of nursing, including nursing research, professional development, and achieving quality and clinical patient outcomes. Through this framework, the ANCC evaluates Magnet applicants across a number of components and dimensions to gauge an organization’s nursing excellence. The foundation of this model is comprised of various essential elements for delivering superior patient care. These include the quality of nursing leadership, communication, coordination, and collaboration across specialties, as well as processes for measuring and improving the quality and delivery of care.

Following a rigorous application process and document submission, as well as a three-day site visit by Magnet-certified nurse appraisers, the Commission on Magnet unanimously voted to re-designate NEBH as a Magnet hospital.

While nurses, physicians, and staff at all levels were involved, the NEBH Magnet team provided exceptional organization, communication, dedication, and commitment in writing and conveying the outstanding achievements and contributions nurses make on behalf of their patients. The Magnet designation bestowed to NEBH reflects our strong collaboration, collegiality, teamwork, and culture that supports this work. Thank you, Tricia, Lauren, Andrea, Ed, and Joanne, for the sweet repeat!
- Nominated by Mary Sullivan Smith

Michele O’Hara, DNP ’18
South Shore Hospital

Michele is the nurse manager of the Mother Infant Unit at South Shore Hospital. In an effort to increase the exclusive breastfeeding rates at South Shore Hospital and increase the number of nurses certified in lactation at the hospital, Michele advocated for the hospital to cover the cost of a lactation counselor training course for nurses in the parent-child division who were interested in taking it. The hospital agreed and piloted the initiative for a cohort group of nurses to take the course. As a result, nine nurses became certified, and the exclusive breastfeeding rates began to improve. Because the pilot was so successful, it was renewed in the fall of 2023 with another group of nurses taking the course.
- Nominated by Kathleen Bruce