Nurses Honored for Patient Focus

Quality care and advocacy for patients and colleagues netted Hillsborough resident and nurse Mary Ogiba Somerset Medical Center’s highest honor for nurses.

Ogiba and her colleague, Sharon Fishann, of Bridgewater, received the Jean Doherty award during National Nurses’ week, May 6-12. The award recognizes of their leadership, focus on professional development, dedication to patient care, adherence to nursing values and for their impact on the medical center’s quality of care and performance improvement, according to a release from the medical center.

“Sharon and Mary truly represent the best of the nursing profession and played instrumental roles in helping us attain Magnet status,” said Kathleen Cummins, MS, RN, APN -C, ACNS-BC, vice president of nursing operations in the release. “Sharon is an excellent clinician and communicator who is extremely self-motivated, confident and dependable. Mary is well-loved by patients and their families and is admired by her colleagues for her clinical expertise, problem-solving skills and organization.”

Ogiba has worked in the center’s maternity unit for 22 years, where she is now a senior nurse.  Fishann is a senior registered nurse in the medical center’s gastroenterology unit and has worked there since 2001.

According to the medical center, both serve on various nursing committees and helped the medical center receive Magnet nursing recognition in March.

The medical center also presented Nurse of the Year awards to:

• Practice Award – M. Arlene Azores, RNC, of Bridgewater, a registered nurse in Maternal/Child Health/Level II Nursery
• Performance Improvement Award – Sarah Kish, RN, BSN, of Edison, a registered nurse in Critical Care
• Professional Development Award – Denise Morio, RN-BC, of Bridgewater, assistant nurse manager on the 4-East patient care unit
• Patient/Family Education Award – Dawn Gallagher, RN, CDE, of Hillsborough, educator for the Diabetes Center
• Research Award – 4-East nursing staff
• Patient Satisfaction Award – Doris Crowell, RNC, of Warren, a registered nurse in the Nursery
• Patient Care Technician of the Year – Nadia DiTrocchio, of Hillsborough, a surgical aide in the Operating Room
• Friend of Nursing Award – Rafeek Khan of Raritan and James Swider of Flemington, who work in the medical center’s Maintenance Department