Jeanette Vertentes, second from left, with the painting she donated to Westerly Hospital. With her are (l-r): Ashley Napolitano, RN, Rachael Silvia, RN, director of Patient Care Services, and Jessica Beardsley, RN.
Local contemporary artist Jeanette Vertentes overcame two life-threatening forms of cancer thanks to care at Westerly and Yale New Haven hospitals. That care enabled her to continue spreading joy through vibrant impressionistic paintings – including one she recently donated to Westerly Hospital.
The gift came after Ashley Napolitano, RN, a member of Westerly’s Nursing Professional Governance Council, asked if Vertentes would paint something to recognize nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Vertentes immediately agreed.
She and her husband, Matt, (he frames and helps transport the art) recently delivered the piece to the hospital, where a small celebratory gathering was held.
“Your piece is more beautiful than I was able to picture in my mind,” Napolitano said.
Vertentes creates nearly 200 works each year, including florals and landscapes bursting with color. Westerly’s piece is a beach scene with sunflowers and daisies, representing the awards the hospital presents to exemplary nurses (DAISY) and outstanding CNAs (Sunflower).
Titled “Held in Bloom,” the painting has a secret: A number of hidden hearts throughout (hint: they’re blue).
“The hearts represent my journey with cancer,” Vertentes said. “That’s my thing, to make it really uplifting. I’ve been through a lot, but I always say now that it was a blessing, because it makes you look at life in a totally different way. Through my painting, I just want to spread a little joy around. That’s my mission in life.”
Employees will appreciate Vertentes’ gift, said Rachael Silvia, RN, director of Patient Care Services. “There’s no better recognition for our staff than the appreciation of a patient.”
At the painting presentation, Vertentes shared that she overcame a dangerous skin cancer (melanoma), then an aggressive form of breast cancer that required surgery at YNHH and treatments at Smilow Cancer Hospital. She praised the care she received from Robert Legare, MD, medical director of Smilow Cancer Hospital at Westerly and Waterford, and associate professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine. She also praised the Westerly nurses who have cared for her for years.
“It’s a special person who decides to be a caregiver; I’m just a painter, and for me it’s an honor to do anything to help the nurses here,” Vertentes said. “Any time I would come in for any procedure, the nurses were unbelievable. I often thought, ‘Gosh, they could be having a bad day, but they’re taking such good care of all of us here.’ We’re very fortunate to have this hospital in our town.”
Vertentes’ appreciation for nurses is not new. When COVID-19 first hit, she announced on Instagram that she would send a small painting to the first few nurses who shared photos from their COVID duties. Photos poured in, and she couldn’t say no, shipping about 180 paintings as far away as Alaska, Hawaii and the Bahamas.
“I was painting about 10 hours a day to get these little paintings done,” she said. “I thought, ‘How can I not send them out to all these amazing people?’”
