Ask Elaine Tagliareni about her life decisions and she will tell you the best one she ever made was to become a nurse. Few would argue with that or the outcome, especially the American Nurses Association of Massachusetts, which is honoring her with the 2022 Living Legend Award.

“I’m just absolutely humbled that the American Nurses Association of Massachusetts would honor me as a Living Legend,” said Dr. Tagliareni. “To have the leadership opportunities that I’ve experienced within the profession, to be aligned with the ANA on a national level, and to help create standards within the profession to improve integrity and quality, this honor is the culmination of that work.” 

Tagliareni was dean of the School of Nursing at the MGH Institute of Health Professions from August of 2019 until August 2021, when Dr. Kenneth White assumed the role. 

Two other Living Legends with ties to the IHP will also be honored with Tagliareni on April 8 at the ANA Massachusetts/Foundation to Advance Nursing in Massachusetts Celebration of Nursing Awards Dinner: 2021 Living Legend R. Gino Chisari, RN, NPD-BC, DNP ’11, director of the Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical & Professional Development at Massachusetts General Hospital, and 2020 Living Legend Sheila Davis, DNP ’08, CEO of Partners in Health.

Tagliareni is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her career has included leadership roles at the Community College of Philadelphia and clinical nurse specialist at a veteran’s hospital in California. She was president of the National League for Nursing, the oldest nursing organization in the United States, representing more than 40,000 faculty from its member schools. Prior to her presidency at NLN, Tagliareni was its chief program officer, where she supported an inclusive attitude for all levels of nursing. 

When you add in her roles as principal investigator and co-principal investigator on foundation and NIH grants with awards of more than $4 million, Tagliareni thought she had done it all. Then in spring 2018, she received a phone call from the IHP. President Paula Milone-Nuzzo was asking for help with the leadership program that is now part of Continuing Professional Development. The following fall, Tagliareni began working in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program in the School of Nursing. Less than a year after starting at the Institute, Tagliareni was named dean. 

“The position as dean at IHP’s School of Nursing has been an enriching and inspiring position,” recalls Tagliareni, who steered the SON through COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement. “To be with this group of faculty and work with them collaboratively to move forward during these crises was really the highlight of my professional career.” 

“We were grateful for Elaine’s leadership during a turbulent time for us all,” said Dr. Milone-Nuzzo. “While higher education was being turned on its head during COVID, Elaine gave the School of Nursing a steady hand. The Living Legend award is a well-earned accolade that exemplifies all that Elaine has done in her career, and we couldn’t any prouder of our affiliation with her.”  

Gino Chisari has spent his career advancing the nursing profession while advocating for educating nurses regionally, nationally, and internationally. As a clinical nurse specialist at MGH, Chisari was responsible for educating, mentoring, and growing the nurse team. He went on to become deputy executive director and nursing practice coordinator for the Massachusetts Board of Registration and was president of the Massachusetts Association of Registered Nurses.  Along with overseeing the Knight Nursing Center at MGH, Chisari is also the inaugural incumbent of the MGH Dorothy Ann Heathwood Endowed Chair in Nursing Education. Chisari also has held faculty appointments at MGH Institute, Northeastern University and Mass Bay Community College. 

Chisari has also led international teams in Singapore, Qatar, and Shanghai to elevate nurse manager skills, strengthen practice environments, and prepare nursing staff and students to open a new hospital. 

“Being named a Living Legend in the same breath as Drs. Tagliareni and Davis is an honor totally unto itself,” said Chisari. “Both of these colleagues have provided inspiration and been role models for so many of us through the years that it is humbling to be in their company.”

Sheila Davis became a leader in the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, and co-founded Sibusiso Incorporated, a nurse-driven NGO that addressed the unmet needs of refugees and those with HIV; her efforts contributed to transforming HIV infection from certain death to a manageable chronic disease on the Horn of South Africa. 

At Partners in Health, a global health and social justice organization, Davis served as Chief of Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing officer before becoming CEO; her efforts have created capacity in Africa, South America, Haiti, and Navajo Nation. But it was Davis’ role in the 2014 Ebola crisis that may have sealed her legacy. Named Partners in Health’s “Chief of Ebola Response,” Davis and her colleagues went into Sierra Leone and Liberia to set up Ebola screening units, administer treatment, and educate the masses about containment and prevention. 

“I am very thankful for the MGH IHP community in supporting me and my work at PIH through very challenging times such as leading the Ebola response in West Africa in 2014 and recent tragic death of our founder Dr. Paul Farmer in February of this year,” said Davis, who earned her Master of Science in Nursing in 1997 from the IHP. “And I’m honored that the ANA Massachusetts would recognize my career in this way.” 

According to Tagliareni, having three people connected to the Institute is a testament to the school’s excellence.

“It’s really a wonderful tribute to the IHP,” said the ever-humble Tagliareni. “The IHP is seen as a place that really focuses on leadership and graduates leaders who are committed to improving health care and building a diverse health care workforce. I think that is clear from the many accomplishments of our graduates.”