Cooper University Health Care honored the recipients of the 2013 Nursing Excellence Awards during Nursing’s Annual Ceremony. This year, 19 direct-care nurses and Cooper employees were recognized by their peers for outstanding leadership, professionalism and delivery of safe and high-quality care.

“Every year, our nurses continue to go above and beyond their call of duty. Their leadership and loyalty toward this hospital can be seen in the relationships they have with their fellow co-workers, patients and families,” said Adrienne Kirby, PhD, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cooper University Health Care. “They leave a lasting impression on the hearts and minds of every patient they’ve treated. It is their unconditional compassion and devotion to this profession that continues to make Cooper a wonderful place to work.”

This year’s Nurse of the Year award was presented to Suzanne Butler, RN, BSN, CPN, CCRN, staff nurse in Cooper’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Butler, of West Deptford, has been a part of the Cooper family for more than 25 years, working in various departments including Cooper’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She received her bachelor of science in nursing from Radford University in Radford, Va. As a PICU nurse, Butler is responsible for managing critically ill and injured pediatric patients ranging from ages 1 to 19 years old.

“Receiving Cooper’s Nurse of the Year award is a great, yet humbling, honor,” said Butler. “I am flattered to be selected and recognized by my peers and colleagues for something that I love to do—nursing.”

One particularly significant award presented this year was the Carol Tracy Compassion Award, awarded posthumously to Coreen Mitchell, who was a surgical technologist in Cooper’s Operating Room for six years before succumbing to ovarian cancer in 2012 after a long batle with the disease. Friends and co-workers remember Coreen as a compassionate, strong-willed individual who welcomed challenges and greeted everyone with whom she came in contact with a big, warm smile.

David H. Clements, MD, Director of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at the Cooper Bone and Joint Institute, said, “Coreen left a lasting impression on her co-workers, patients and surgeons of an incredibly kind, concerned, hard-working caregiver who truly embodies those qualities we all wish to have.”

Each award, together with Nurse of the Year, has its own set of eligibility criteria, including four letters of recommendation from staff within each nominee’s clinical discipline. These prestigious, peer-nominated awards are created through unique grants sponsored by families, patients, community leaders and Cooper physicians who have experienced first-hand the amazing skill, dedication and hard work put forth by our Cooper nurses each and every day.

This year’s winners are:

• Margaret Salerno, RN, BA, Coronary Care Unit—The UC/CADV Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Nursing Practice
•  Jennifer Toomey, RN, Emergency Department—The Selma & Martin Hirsch Clinical Excellence Award
• Deborah Byrd, RN, Surgical Care Unit/Short Procedure Unit—Cooper Nursing Alumni Nurse Excellence Award for Excellence in Clinical Nursing in Memory of Emily Watkins Fischer (Class of 1955)
• Coreen Mitchell—The Carol Tracey Compassion Award
• Lisa Durso, RN, North/South 10—The Ruth Parry Award for Excellence in Geriatric Nursing Practice
• Dale Ann Beloff, RNC, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit—John Henry Kronenberger Memorial Award for Excellence in Neonatal Nursing
• Kathleen Yhlen, RN, MSN, NE-BC, Nursing Education—The Philip & Carole Norcross Award for Excellence in Nurse Leadership
• Lauran Fernandez, Health Care Access/Emergency Room—The Barbara & Jack Tarditi Family Award for Excellence in Patient Care (Non-Nurse)
• Susan Lieberum, RNC, IBCLC, Mother Infant Unit—Charlotte E. Tobiason Memorial Award for Excellence in Obstetrical Nursing Practice
• Lynette Jones, RN, BC, BSN, Pavilion 6—The Barbara & Jack Tarditi Family Award for Nurse Mentorship
• Dominic Parone, RN, BSN, CEN, CFRN, Air Medical Services—The Barbara & Jack Tarditi Family Excellence Award for Nurse Research
• Patricia Kerfoot, RN, Outpatient Chemotherapy Voorhees—The Sue Zamitis and Rose Smith Award for Excellence in Oncology Nursing Practice
• Leslie Ditullio, RN, Surgical Care Unit/Short Procedure Unit—The Women’s Board of the Cooper Foundation Award for Excellence in Outpatient Nursing Practice
• Amanda Glass, RN, BSN, CPN, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit—Ronald Bernardin Memorial Award for Pediatric Nursing Practice
• Teresa Wolf, RN, Post Anesthesia Care Unit—The Philip and Carole Norcross Award for Excellence in Perioperative Nursing Practice
• Donna Schultice, RN, CEN, Emergency Department—The Lynn Nelson Memorial Award of Excellence
• Doris Bell, RN-BC, North 7—Excellence in Trauma Nursing Practice
• Suzanne Butler, RN, BSN, CPN, CCRN, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit—Excellence in Critical Care Nursing
• Linda Sullivan, RN, BA, Post Anesthesia Care Unit—Shaina Horton Patient Centered Care Award
• Suzanne Butler, RN, BSN, CPN, CCRN, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit—Associated Auxiliary and Women’s Board of Cooper Nurse of the Year

The Cooper Health System Board of Trustees has named Adrienne Kirby, PhD, FACHE, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cooper University Health Care.

Dr. Kirby joined Cooper in January 2012 as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In her new role as President and CEO of Cooper University Health Care, she will manage all hospital and ambulatory operations, and oversee the physician group and the institute structure at Cooper. Dr. Kirby will take the lead on the advancement of strategic healthcare partnerships and the implementation of new models of care delivery to improve quality and service and decrease cost.

John P. Sheridan, Jr. remains President and CEO of the Cooper Health System. Mr. Sheridan was appointed President and CEO of the Health System in 2008. Dr. Kirby will continue to report to Mr. Sheridan.

Since joining Cooper, Dr. Kirby has spearheaded initiatives to improve access and customer service while enhancing operational efficiency through the use of Lean Six Sigma. She has also led an organizational realignment, developing patient-centered institutes and service lines to better meet the healthcare needs of patients and their families.

“Dr. Kirby is providing Cooper with a strategic direction and a clear focus on service excellence,” noted George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Cooper. “We are confident that her strong, visionary leadership will enable our organization to continue its growth, and help improve access and quality of care for patients throughout South Jersey.”

Dr. Kirby has more than 30 years of healthcare management experience, much of it at hospitals in the Delaware Valley. Prior to joining Cooper she served as President of Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore, a 380-bed community teaching hospital and the third-largest hospital in Maryland.  Dr. Kirby also spent more than 10 years at Virtua Health, serving in various leadership positions, including Chief Operating Officer of Ambulatory Services and Programs of Excellence and Chief Operating Officer of Virtua Hospital Voorhees.

Dr. Kirby has served as the chairman of numerous physician-health system joint venture boards. She has also served on many community boards in Southern New Jersey. In 2010 and 2013, she led the Southern New Jersey American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” events.

Dr. Kirby earned her bachelor of science in nursing degree from Rutgers University and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She has been a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives since 2003 and a certified healthcare executive since 1998. Kirby was born at Cooper and raised in South Jersey.

Actress Angelina Jolie announced today that she recently underwent a preventive double mastectomy after finding out that she had the “breast cancer gene.” Jolie’s mother died of breast cancer at age 57.

Preventative or prophylactic mastectomy—the removal of breast tissue—may be one of several options available to women who are at increased risk for developing breast cancer, explains Kristin L. Brill, MD, Program Director, The Janet Knowles Breast Cancer Center at Cooper Cancer Institute. “A woman’s risk may be increased if she has a strong family history of breast cancer, especially in first-degree relatives diagnosed before the age of 50,” says Brill. She says that prophylactic mastectomy may offer a 90 percent reduction in risk for developing breast cancer for women who are deemed at higher risk. Prophylactic mastectomy typically is performed with simultaneous or “immediate” breast reconstruction surgery, says Brill.

Blood tests to identify genetic markers are available for breast and ovarian cancer, and for colorectal, endometrial and other gastrointestinal cancers. However, cancer risk education and assessment is the first step in identifying the right path for each person and can be done with or without genetic testing.

Be proactive with your health. To make an appointment or get more information about Cooper’s Cancer Genetics Program, call 856-968-7322. To schedule a screening mammogram, call 1.800.8COOPER (1.800.826.6737).

Hear about one family’s battle with breast cancer and the decisions the women in their family made to pursue genetic testing for cancer in this video.

On Saturday 94.1 WIP sports radio show with Glen Macnow and Ray Didinger, featured Lawrence S. Miller, MD, of the Cooper Bone and Joint Institute, who discussed Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay’s recent shoulder injury.

The Cooper Heart Institute’s Cardiothoracic Surgery program has received “3 Star” ratings from the prestigious Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) in two separate categories: coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) and aortic valve replacement surgery (AVR). It is the organization’s highest quality ranking, and Cooper is among only two percent of participating hospitals with similar programs to earn “3 Star” ratings in both categories.

“We are extremely proud of our cardiothoracic surgery team for their unwavering commitment to providing the highest quality cardiac surgery in the region,” said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and CEO of The Cooper Health System.

This is the fifth year in a row that Cooper was recognized for outstanding performance in CABG procedures, placing it among the top 15 percent in the country. STS based this ranking on CABG procedures performed from January 2012 to December 2012. The AVR ratings, which were based on Cooper’s outcomes from January 2010 to December 2012, ranked Cooper in the top six percent nationally. It is only the second time AVR was evaluated, and Cooper was recognized with this prestigious ranking both times.

The Cooper Heart Institute’s cardiothoracic program is led by a team of surgeons who are nationally renowned for innovative treatment options and superior patient outcomes. They include Division Head Michael Rosenbloom, MD; Richard Y. Highbloom, MD; and Frank W. Bowen, III, MD.
“These are outstanding achievements that could not have been accomplished without the team approach to care that we take with each patient,” noted Dr. Rosenbloom. “We share credit for these achievements with our colleagues in cardiology, cardiac anesthesia, critical care medicine as well as the physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, techs and perfusion staff.”

Earning “3 Star” ratings places Cooper in the highest quality tier of the STS’s comprehensive rating system, which measures the quality of cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country. Multiple aspects are measured, including compliance with recommended quality measures during surgery, adherence to appropriate medication usage before and after surgery, and patient outcomes.

The STS maintains the nation’s largest and most comprehensive single-specialty database with over 900 hospitals and 3.5 million patient records. It is considered one of the most highly regarded databases in all of health care.