NEONATOLOGY

Neonatal Nursing Leadership

Ann McGrath, RN, MSN is the Director of Patient Care Services for the Pediatric & Neonatal Critical Care Division. She joined SCH in July of 2004. She received her BSN from College of Mount Saint Vincent and her MSN from Adelphi University. Ann supervises the patient care rendered in the NICU, PICU, Transport Team, and ECMO Program. She coordinates the care for the patients in the Blood Avoidance Program. Ann has been in healthcare for 19 years, all of which has been with the care of the pediatric population.

Betty May, RNC, BSN is the NICU Nurse Manager at SCH-LIJMC since April 2005. She received her BSN from Adelphi University and is certified in high risk neonatal nursing. Since her beginnings in the NICU as a staff RN in 1991, Betty has received numerous awards for clinical and scholastic excellence. As a founding member of the SCH ECMO Nurse Specialist program she was an inspirational partner in our Lung Rescue Program. Betty specializes in nursing education and team organization, with special skills in computer assisted nursing and many neonatal topics. Her devotion to care and positive 'can do' leadership led to rapidly increasing responsibilities as a clinical practice coordinator, nurse educator, Site Coordinator for the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, Assistant Nursing Care Coordinator and Assistant Nurse Manager, before assuming the nursing leadership of our SCH-LIJMC unit. The "esprit des corps" in the NICU was rated externally as one of the best in the entire medical center (in large part betty gets credit for this). On a personal side, Betty May is an accomplished vocalist in church and popular-culture music, and enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Debbie Grabher, RNC is Nurse Manager of NICU at SCH in Manhasset. She earned a BSN from University of Connecticut and an MPA from Long Island University. Currently she is certified in high risk neonatal nursing, she worked in the NICU since 1987 as a staff RN and her talents led to positions of staff educator and assistant nurse manager. Debbie has recieved the 2006 regional best nurse leader award for pride and professionalism from Nursing Advance and the 2007 Zuckerberg award for leadership from NS Manhasset. Debbie's dynamic team centered style creates an extremely positive professional atmosphere.

Christine Grippi, RN, MSN, is the Regional Neonatal Coordinator and NICU Database Manager at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center (SCH) at LIJ. She has been in this position since 1989 at the inception of the Neonatal Database at SCH. Chris received her BSN and MSN from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. She became a staff RN in the Neonatal Unit at LIJ in 1980 and subsequently held the position of Neonatal Nurse Educator in the same unit. Currently she maintains the Neonatal Data Base at SCH, which includes data collection on all patients admitted to the NICU, development of admission/interim/discharge summaries, statistical reporting and research querying related to the Neonatal population at SCH. In 2008, she was primarily involved in the upgrade of the database so it could be linked to the NY State and Vermont Oxford Data Bases for benchmarking. In her position, she assists medical interns/residents/fellows as well as other health care professionals in gathering information to be used in research studies. In addition, she provides statistical information to NYS and other groups regarding the NICU population at SCH for benchmarking purposes. In her role as Regional Perinatal Coordinator, Chris provides outreach education and quality improvement initiatives to regional affiliate hospitals as part of the ongoing effort to improve perinatal/neonatal care in NYS. Chris is also the co-chairperson of the Queens Regional Perinatal Forum which brings together health care providers and other individuals and groups who provide perinatal services to women of childbearing age in Queens for the purpose of improving perinatal outcomes. Other activities at SCH include co-chairpersonship of the SCH Specialty Nurse committee, member of the LIJ/SCH/Zucker Hillside Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice Committee and SCH representative on the NSLIJ Health System Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practice Council. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, reading and being involved in various community activities.

Barbara Wilkens, RN, MPH, is the Neonatal Research Clinician and Clinical Research Coordinator for the SCH NICU. She graduated from Hunter College, Bellevue School of Nursing with Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 1975. She earned a Masters in Public Health (Maternal & Child Health) from the University of Hawaii in 1980. Barbara "stopped off" here in 1980 to work in Neonatal and although she has worked in various areas within the health system, she realized Neonatal was her "niche". "It is a very special population to work with, as are the dedicated physicians and nurses who care for them." Barbara has enjoyed being the Research Nurse for the neonatal unit. As site study coordinator, she has been involved with many interesting multicentered clinical trials including Ohmeda - Inhaled Nitric Oxide, Olympic Medical - HIE Brain Cooling, Vent Study Group - HFOV-SIMV study, AMGEN - GCSF, Immunix - GMCSF, STOP-ROP, and BTG-SOD to name a few. She was certified in 2001 as Certified Clinical Research Coordinator.

In addition, Barbara helps to maintain the neonatal database that incorporates all neonatal admissions. Since 1990, she has participated and instructed the Neonatal Resuscitation Program and infant CPR, and works on the Committee for the Annual Neonatal Conference. She is a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.

Nancy Pupke, RNC, MSN, is the Neonatal Regional Perinatal Coordinator for Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center at North Shore. She received her BSN from Pace University and MSN from Molloy College. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and a Regional Neonatal Resuscitation Program instructor. Nancy joined the SCH NICU team as a staff RN and has also held the position of NICU Nurse Educator as well as Perinatal Outreach Educator. As the RPC Coordinator she is responsible for providing statistical information to the New York State Department of Health for the NYS Perinatal Data System as well as for quality review in the RPC's affiliate hospitals, Forest Hills, Plainview, Huntington and Southside Hospital. In addition Nancy maintains the Neonatal Database for SCH at North Shore. She is a member of the Long Island Regional Perinatal Forum. The LIRPF's main goal is to identify public health issues affecting mothers and infants and to implement action plans likely to improve perinatal outcomes. She is a Doctor of Nursing student at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University. Her research project is evaluating the relationship between maternal periodontal disease and preterm birth.

Debra Potak, RN, BSN, IBCLC, is the Research Coordinator and Lactation Consultant for the NICU at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center at North Shore. She graduated from St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing in 1980, and received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2003, Summa Cum Laude, from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Debra has been a Neonatal Nurse throughout her nursing career. In 1998 she became an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Debra has been on the NICU Schneider team for over 20 years; she was a bedside nurse and later the lactation consultant in the NICU at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center. Since 2003, she has worked at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center at North Shore in her current position. Debra coordinates and has been an investigator on multi-center clinical trials as well as investigator initiated lactation research in the NICU. With a focus on lactation research and management, Debra coordinates lactation services in the NICU. In addition, Debra is a Neonatal Resuscitation Provider. She is a member of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses, the International Lactation Consultant Association and has served on the executive board of the Long Island Lactation Consultant Association.

Jean Wallace, RNC, MSN, CNNP,is the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center at North Shore. Jean has worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Manhasset since 1981. She received her BSN with honors at Adelphi University in 1981 and her MS from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1990. Jean achieved national certification in High Risk Neonatal Nursing from the NAACOG Certification Corporation in 1988 and has been a nationally certified as a neonatal Nurse Practitioner from NCC since 1994. Jean has served in several roles in the NICU, initially as a staff nurse, then as a unit manager. Her expertise is in her nursing care and clinical skills, therefore she pursued her graduate education in a clinical tract. While in graduate school she took the role of Neonatal Transport/Perinatal Outreach Coordinator. Jean has been in her present role of Neonatal Nurse Practitioner since 1994, a role in which she provides primary care to infants in L&D, the NICU, and the Newborn Nursery and on transport at affiliated hospitals. She remains an active participant in Outreach Education for the RPC and has been a lecturer for several Neonatal Nursing organizations. Jean serves as a clinical preceptor for graduate students enrolled in the NNP program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and is a member of the Program Services Committee of the March of Dimes. She also implemented a mentoring program in the NICU at North Shore University Hospital's NICU for newly hired RN's completing their orientation program, the goal of which is to improve retention of staff and promote advanced Nursing education. Jean instituted ongoing Infant CPR training classes for NICU families. The training manikins were funded by the Tender Loving Care Foundation, a group founded by the parents of NICU graduates with the purpose of helping and supporting current NICU families from a perspective of having had an NICU experience. Such training was identified as a need by many parents and families and the classes are always well-attended. While not at work, Jean enjoys an active life style including skiing, cycling, and rollerblading, fostering guide dogs and caring for twins.

Joanne Casatelli, RNC, NNP, MS, NNP is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in the NICU at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center at North Shore. She graduated Magna cum Laude with a BSN from Adelphi University in 1978 and received her MS from Adelphi in 1990. Joanne is nationally certified from the NAACOG Certification Corporation as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner since 1990. She is also a certified NRP instructor and BLS provider. Joanne became a staff RN in the NICU at North Shore in 1978 and subsequently held the positions of Assistant Head Nurse, Transport Coordinator, Neonatal Nurse Clinician and Assistant Director. In her present role as Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Joanne collaborates with the Attending Neonatologists to provide care to high risk and preterm infants, supervises medical staff, and is a role model for staff nurses. Along with her colleagues, she facilitates the orientation of new nurses and has participated in several multidisciplinary Performance Improvement projects. In addition, she is an active member of NANN and Sigma Theta Tau. Joanne is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Case Western Reserve University. She is also an adjunct faculty member for the Undergraduate Nursing Program at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, NY and is a legal consultant.

Terri A. Cavaliere, RNC, MS, NNP, has been the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in the NICU at North Shore University Hospital since 1982. She is a nationally known lecturer, author and consultant in Neonatology and Neonatal Nursing. Her special interests include ethics, immunology, nutrition and education/preparation of neonatal nurse practitioners. Terri received her BS in Nursing at Hunter College in New York City, her Masters in Parent-Child Health at the University of California, San Francisco, and her Post-Masters' Certificate as Perinatal Nurse Practitioner at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. She additionally attended the Intensive Bioethics Course at the Kennedy Institute for Bioethics at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Dorothy Molloy, RNC, CPNP, started as a staff nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in January 1975. She received her BSN from Hunter College/Bellevue School of Nursing in January 1975, MA in Nursing Education from NYU in 1980, and Post-Masters Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from SUNY Stony Brook in 1996. She has been the Neonatal Nurse Educator at LIJ and currently runs the SCH Neonatal High Risk Follow-up Clinic. She teaches Neonatal Discharge Baby Care Classes and works with parents of infants sent home on oxygen or apnea monitors. She loves working with these families to ensure a smooth transition from the NICU to home. Our families are extremely grateful to Dorothy because many of our babies need careful follow-up by us after discharge to home and parents often have many questions about care when then take their baby home. When not at work she keeps busy with professional organizations (NANN and NAPNAP), family and her parish church functions.

Annmarie Gennattasio, RNC, MA, MS, CNNP joined the division as Neonatal Nurse Practitioner at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center in 2008. Annmarie began neonatal nursing in 1990 at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. She received her BS in Nursing from Binghamton University in 1990, MA in Nursing Administration and MS in Public Health Management from NYU in 1995, and a Post-Masters Certificate as a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner from Stony Brook University in 2003. She has held past positions in various medical centers as Staff Nurse, Assistant Nursing Care Coordinator, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Nurse Manager and Lactation Consultant in NICU, Pediatrics and Women's Health. Annmarie is an active member of NANN, has been a member of Sigma Theta Tau, regularly teaches Neonatal Resuscitation and BCLS, and is a Clinical Adjunct Professor at NYU.

Social Workers

Mona Bokat, ACSW, has been a full-time Social Worker for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center since 1984. Adelphi University granted her a post graduate certificate in clinical practice. She provides education, individual and family counseling, as well as supportive and concrete services, for parents of babies "at risk". She initiated many perinatal bereavement services for individuals and couples and is the facilitator of perinatal bereavement groups, as well as subsequent pregnancy groups. She has been a member of the Long Island Jewish Medical Center bereavement team and has frequently presented at NAPSW conferences and cable television programs. She works closely with the neonatal multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, psychiatrist, genetics counselors and financial advisors, and is a member of the SCH Infant Bioethical Review Committee. She has also supervised Social Work interns. Mona enjoys spending her time away from the hospital with her family, swimming and writing.

Carol Adelman, DSW, received her Doctorate in Clinical Social Work from Adelphi University in March 2003. Her work on the NICU has included a specialty on multiple birth children and the unique dynamics of these families. She has focused on extensive research concerning infant mental health and this has improved her practice with parents of singleton births as well as multiple babies. Carol's social work in the NICU includes individual and family counseling, conjoint counseling, bereavement counseling, supportive therapy, and crisis intervention as well as post-discharge follow-up. Additionally, she facilitates parent support groups, nursing support groups (as needed) and provides concrete services i.e.: community referrals, Medicaid referrals, food and emergency shelter referrals and discharge arrangements to home as well as long-term rehabilitation facilities. Dr. Adelman is an Adjunct Professor at Adelphi University teaching in the Social Work Masters Program. She is a Diplomate in the New York State Society for Clinical Social Work, and chaired the Child Therapy Subcommittee for five years from l994-l999.