Nurses honored by Bridgeport Hospital

Bridgeport Hospital marked Nurses Week in May with a series of recognition events and activities for its 700-member nursing staff.

Diane Youd of Shelton received the 2014 Nurse Manager of the Year Award from the Bridgeport Hospital Medical Staff during a reception at Ralph and Rich’s Restaurant in Bridgeport. Youd oversees the SurgEase ambulatory surgery center as well as the labor and delivery unit.

Chairman of Anesthesia Kenneth Stone, MD and Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology Harold Sauer, MD, were among those who paid tribute to Youd at the event.

“You are dedicated to your role but have never lost sight of patient care,” Dr. Stone said to Youd. “You have a real sense of your mission and treat your colleagues in a respectful manner.”

“You are fair and have earned the respect of both physicians and staff,” Dr. Sauer added.

Youd joined the hospital in 1985, working first in the main operating room. She moved to SurgEase in 1990 and became the SurgEase nurse manager in 2005. During the past year, she took on the added role of interim nurse manager in labor and delivery.

About receiving the award, Youd said, “I never expected it. I’m truly grateful to the medical staff for being recognized, and I thank the entire team around me for their help and support. I could not succeed without them.”

More than a dozen other nurses were recognized for outstanding performance during Bridgeport Hospital’s Professional Practice of Nursing Awards ceremony at the hospital. They included Brooke Barbee of Stratford, Cardiology; Kara Burdick of Bridgeport, Internal Medicine; Tobias Breuing of Newtown and Karen Reyes-Benzi of East Haven, Oncology; Cecilia Coehlo of Seymour, Major Surgery; Ken Forte of Milford and Marlene Schmidt of Shelton, Emergency Department; Dana Genarelli of Oakville, Operating Room; Jim Haddon of New Haven, Psychiatry; Britany Najarian of Shelton, Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital Bridgeport campus; Laura Neumon of Milford, Ahlbin Centers Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit; Jessica Orama of Newtown, Resource Support Unit; and Dorett Thomas of Bridgeport, Women’s Care Center.

“I believe I lead one of the strongest nursing teams in the nation,” Chief Nursing Officer MaryEllen Kosturko said at the ceremony. “I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the work you do.”

Bridgeport Hospital, part of Yale New Haven Health, is a non-profit 501-bed acute care hospital with two campuses (plus 42 beds licensed to Yale New Haven Children's Hospital). Its Bridgeport and Milford Campuses serve patients from across the region. The hospital admits more than 23,000 patients and provides nearly 350,000 outpatient treatments annually. The Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital is the only burn center in the state and one of only 64 verified burn centers in the United States. Bridgeport Hospital is committed to providing safe, compassionate and cost efficient care to its patients and the community. www.bridgeporthospital.org