The newspaper’s annual Salute to Nurses section includes praise for faculty and alumni who work in hospitals across the region.

The excellence of the MGH Institute’s School of Nursing was on display in the Boston Globe’s 2023 Salute to Nurses publication.

The section, printed in the paper’s May 7 edition and on its website during the annual National Nurses’ Month, included recognition of a professor, a dozen clinical instructors, and 13 alumni who were nominated by Globe readers. Two of the alumni received multiple letters of commendation.

“It’s always wonderful for nurses from the MGH Institute to be applauded for their excellence,” said School of Nursing Dean Dr. Ken White. “It’s a recognition of the faculty and graduates who make a different in the lives of patients each day.”

Faculty

Professor Margie Sipe, DNP, RN, NAE-BC, FAONL
Assistant Dean of Leadership Programs, Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, and Associate Professor in the School of Nursing

We usually think of nurses as caring for patients. But nurses desperately need care, support, and guidance to nourish and replenish our souls as we care for our patients. Margie is an incredible nurse educator and leader with a practice that centers on caring for nurses. Margie has developed, educated, and held almost every leader in New England. She tirelessly and continuously models the importance of caring for each other, and for oneself. She is an outstanding advocate for advancing nursing practice, holding the professional nurse in her heart and touching each nurse individually to give us strength to continue to practice with care, empathy, and kindness. – Nominated by Mary Samost

IHP Biobehavioral Clinical Instructors
I work with a group of nurses who generously give of their time to teach students on their inpatient psychiatric units. [They] provide settings across the Boston area for students to learn more about mental illness and how we treat it. They’re like the postal service: Through snow, sleet, and working their other, often full-time jobs, they show up. They dispel stigma, they demonstrate caring, compassion, and openheartedly share immense storehouses of book-learning and practical application. I appreciate their work so much, and I know students do, too, as they consistently let me know how helpful their clinicals are. I want the whole community to know. The nurses are: Tammi Ehrlich (McLean Hospital); Coles Volar (McLean Hospital); Anneke Johnson (McLean Hospital) Barbara James McLean Hospital; Francisco Covino-Deaso (HRI Hospital); Nicole Visaggio (McLean); Elissa LeFleur (Massachusetts General Hospital); Kerri O’Regan (Hebrew Senior Life); Danielle Murkidjanianv (McLean Hospital); Kameko Gregory (Newton-Wellesley Hospital); Bonnie Dumont (Salem Hospital); and Denise Soccio (McLean Hospital). – Nominated by Kate Kieran

Alumni

Briana (Jakubik) Busch, BSN ’09
Massachusetts General Hospital

I got an emergent vascular case on my first shift after three months off, which also happened to be a night shift. I felt very out of place, but luckily Briana Busch was there help me. She is a wonderful, excellent nurse whom I’d trust with my family. Her practice is most caring and top notch, exceeding all expectations. Briana deserves to be the American Nurse Idol every day, not just the night I appreciated her help so much. – Nominated by Anna Hall

Gino Chisari, DNP ’11
Massachusetts General Hospital

Gino is the director of Mass General’s Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development, where he provides exemplary leadership to meet the ongoing educational needs for Patient Care Services staff and consults on educational needs within the hospital and wider community. He is a sought-after speaker for educational programs across health care professions and advances high-quality patient and family-centered care by working among health-care teams. Gino remains abreast of research and best practices and has the extraordinary ability to anticipate changes in health care, strategize about how to meet these changes, and then work with his team to develop innovative educational methods to address the changes. Gino also expertly represents the essence and value of the nursing profession and advocates for excellent patient care at Mass General, nationally and globally. He is a past president of the American Nurses Association Massachusetts and remains actively involved in advancing nursing through the association. Gino is the consummate professional nurse and role model. He is wise, kind, dedicated, and accomplished. Nursing leaders are not always recognized for the role they fulfill in providing a foundation for nurses to practice and a blueprint for nursing’s future. Gino deserves to be saluted. – Nominated by Carole MacKenzie

Emily Hazzard, BSN ’19
Spaulding Outpatient Center, Wellesley

Emily is more than a team player; whenever you have a medical question or issue, you can always count on Emily to help, even if it’s not one of her patients. If she doesn’t have an answer, she’ll do everything in her power to find it. She goes the extra mile to make sure our patients are safe and able to drive home after procedures, whether helping them get back in their car or finding their families, and she makes sure their questions are all answered before they go home. When patients are clearly confused, she makes sure they can schedule appointments for specialty offices or get any imaging they need. Emily is an amazing nurse, and we are lucky to have her here. – Nominated by Isamar Mullin

Judianne (Urmaza) Henderson, MS-NU ’04
Oncology Sarcoma Team, Massachusetts General Hospital

My son was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma and being treated at MGH in Boston. He needed a nurse to come to the house and access his port so he could have fluids in between his treatments. We couldn’t find a nurse to do that. When his sarcoma team got together to see what could be done, Judianne said she would come out and access his port so that he could stay home for a few days. She came after working a long day in Boston, and cared for him like a true angel. She did all this with no pay, just because she wanted what was best for my son. Judianne holds a very special place in our heart and we love her. She gave my son the chance to be at home during a very challenging time. My son loves to see his entire sarcoma team every 12 weeks. He says they are all like family to him. – Nominated by Nancy Gardner

Lisa Mashburn, MS-NU ’12
Cambridge Health Alliance Cambridge Hospital OB-GYN 

Nurse Practitioner Lisa Mashburn was thorough, clear, and very proactive in discovering a diagnosis that had been missed by other providers for several weeks, despite multiple encounters and image studies. As a result of her diligence, the diagnosis was correctly identified right away and treatment was initiated immediately. Had the condition gone untreated for much longer, there was a significant risk for developing severe complications. – Nominated by Anita Diabate

Christina Palmieri, MS-NU ’17
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Cambridge

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Christina for the past year and a half or so. She demonstrates excellent clinical competency, and great communication with patients, families, and her team. She’s a great advocate for all patients and thinks outside of the box to problem-solve and provide patient-centered care. She’s a fabulous representation of great patient care every day. – Nominated by Christine Valente

Nicole Quigley, BSN ’20 
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Right from the start of my chemo treatment, Nicole was caring, friendly, compassionate, and very professional. I felt I was in the best hands when she was taking care of me. – Nominated by Janeth Aguilera

Jeremy Sciascia, MS-NU ’17
Epstein Center for Behavioral Health, Salem Hospital

I’ve never met Jeremy. However, as a nurse myself, I know that he was often the only ray of sunshine for someone enduring a dark period of uncertainty, worry, clinical complexity, and intense learning about a new condition. Extended hospitalizations and rehospitalizations can be stressful, sometimes without clear progress and often with setbacks. Through many conversations, I heard about Jeremy deliberately guiding, informing, supporting, and caring for the patient and family. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes it was sad, sometimes it was direct. Once it was playing basketball, skillfully and painstakingly gaining the patient’s trust for necessary intervention. Jeremy celebrated as the patient stabilized for discharge and welcomed a follow-up visit with genuine enthusiasm. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, I suspect he sees many families in crisis. It is the unfortunate truth. However, Jeremy, through much experience and wisdom, provided hope and constant care at a time and in a manner that requires me to describe him as an important partner, trusted adviser, and expert clinician. I salute you and thank you for your knowledge, commitment, and advocacy for those who need you. – Nominated by Eileen O’Connell

Sarah Sjostrom, MS-NU ’10
HRC at NewBridge on the Charles, Hebrew SeniorLife 

“Caring for the caregiver” is what Sarah has done for the past year as a nurse leader. By leading the Stress First Aid training, she helped our frontline nurses manage burnout and anxiety. Sarah explored different ways to invite team members to express how they feel in the aftermath of the pandemic. Many staff appreciated her tangible interventions. They are comfortable sharing their concerns with Sarah, whose door is always open for guidance about resources available for support. – Nominated by Tammy Retalic

Cecilia Thai, BSN ’21
Boston Medical Center

I have been lucky to work with Cecilia. She always goes the extra mile for her patients and colleagues. She has the kindest heart and is an incredible nurse. – Nominated by Demitria Buccieri

Colleen Webb, BSN ’11
Boston Medical Center


•    In the seven years I’ve known Colleen as a staff nurse on 6 West Menino, I’ve seen her as a trusted, compassionate teammate with great energy. Colleen also worked as a visiting nurse in the local community. Many patients already knew her from her skillful get-things-done attitude. Colleen’s eagerness to learn and take on challenges has led her to help students become future nurses. Coleen’s untiring pursuit of excellence leads her to volunteer on various hospital committees, such as the Informatics and Nurse Practice committees. The moment I met her, I thought, “Here is a nurse with great talent who has made all the difference to her patients, families, peers, community, and the future of nursing.” Colleen has an equal passion to climb mountains and hike trails with the same energy she puts into nursing. I hope the community gets to meet a nurse with such hope and commitment as Colleen has shown to me. – Nominated by Michael Flynn

•    As Colleen’s colleague, I’ve seen her superstar nursing abilities and phenomenal patient care on many occasions. She is the definition of an advocate, and even in the busy hospital setting, her patients always remember her name. She is smart, trustworthy, funny, and brave. Being in the hospital can be scary. Colleen does whatever she needs to do to ensure her patients feel safe, supported, and heard. I remember she once sang familiar church hymns to a confused and scared patient during a bedside procedure. The patient focused on Colleen’s singing, calming them enough to get through the procedure with ease. It brought everyone is the room to tears. Colleen also educates nursing students, helping to bring future superstar nurses into practice. – Nominated by Kelly Miller

•    Colleen is a nursing inspiration and leader on our 6 West unit. She mixes wisdom and compassion with knowledge and is leading the next generation of nursing down a strong career path. She displays talents as a caregiver and an educator and is a source of advice to all her colleagues who trust her to be both diplomatic and blunt and an advocate. I have watched her teach her nursing students clinical skills and compassion effortlessly, and she’s as diligent in her delivery of care, an expert in geriatrics and cardiology. She is a leader on informatics and working with Epic technology upgrades and active on our unit practice council as well. She is an outspoken leader on our unit. – Nominated by Lisa Rebello

Thomas Wickham, BSN ’21
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Cambridge

I am a physician on a primarily oncology unit, where our patients are extraordinarily complex and have a variety of malignancies in various stages. These patients often experience side effects and complications to their treatments. Our unit thus requires a highly capable nurse, and we are fortunate to have many, but one nurse stands out — and that is Thomas Wickham. I have been working with Thomas since he first became an RN on our unit. I have seen him work very well with some of the most emotionally complex patients. He takes the time to navigate how to best deliver care to these patients and reach their comfort level. I have also seen Thomas gain an immense amount of medical knowledge by probing to add to his knowledge base. This is one of the few times I have been able to watch a nurse go from the start of their career to prominent proficiency. As a physician, I’m confident that he can manage complexity and that the patients know they are getting outstanding care. – Nominated by Donna Roy


Christopher Zerrip, BSN ’20
Hale 9, Boston Children’s Hospital

•    Chris took care of my granddaughter after emergency open heart surgery. She is only eight months old. He is so extremely caring that she and the rest of our family haven fallen in love with him. We can’t thank him enough. We leave Ella with comfort, knowing she is well taken care of. – Nominated by Amele Ambrosino
•    Chris was my seven-month-old daughter’s nurse when she had emergency heart surgery. Chris was her main nurse after she left the ICU. Because we have another young child, my husband and I had to split our time. Whenever Chris was with her, we knew she would be cared for as if we were there. She always smiled when he was in the room. He was amazing, he was very helpful, and super knowledgeable. – Nominated by Brianna Marchant 

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