Proud to share Susan will be presenting "Streamlining Success: Onboarding Academic Nurse Faculty with an Online Preparation Course" as a Podium Presentation at AACN's Transform 2024 Conference in December in New Orleans, LA.

Marcia Proto, Executive Director of the CCNW, represents Connecticut in New Orleans at the National FORUM of State Nursing Workforce Center’s meeting of Executive Directors from across the country.
 

• Over (45) national leaders in nursing workforce, practice, and education gather to engage in collaborative dialogue to build clear messaging on hot topics, sharing best practices and state initiatives, access to funding opportunities, and develop national policy statements on key nursing workforce issues to address.
• Marcia was also invited and accepted the role of Co-Chair of this year’s FORUM National Conference that will be held on June 17-19, 2024 in San Diego, CA.  
• View the opportunities to engage in this National Conference via submission of abstracts, sponsorship, and exhibiting.
• Annual Conference – National Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers

 
For more information related to nursing workforce, practice and education initiatives happening in Connecticut, visit:  www.CTCenterForNursingWorkforce.com

A nurse researcher in Connecticut who leverages eHealth and community engagement to enhance cardiovascular health equity in gay and bisexual men with HIV is one of five recipients of the inaugural Equity-Minded Nurse Awards from the AARP Center for Health Equity Through NursingSM and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that is building a healthier America through nursing. The awards are part of the Campaign’s work to implement the goals of the National Academy of Medicine report, the Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity, which explores nursing’s pivotal role in advancing health equity.

The awards are given in five categories (Educator, Researcher, Leader, Practice, Rising Star) and each is generously co-sponsored by a national nursing organization. The awardees receive a $1,000 prize each and paid travel to and recognition at the AARP Health Equity and Nursing Summit: Turning Commitments into Action, in Washington, DC.

S. Raquel Ramos, PhD, MSN, MBA, Yale University School of Nursing, West Haven, Connecticut, received the Equity-Minded Nurse Research Award. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Nursing, this award recognizes a nurse researcher whose scholarship advances the science and the body of knowledge that advances health equity. The research or scholarship of this award should be or have the potential to be disseminated widely as best or promising practices.

Ramos’ research examines how user-centered design and technology-driven, behavioral interventions can enhance cardiovascular health equity in sexual minority men of color with HIV and at risk of HIV-related comorbid conditions. As a protocol nurse for the Multicenter AIDS cohort study, the longest running study on the life course of HIV in gay and bisexual men, Ramos observed the connection between HIV and cardiovascular disease risk.

April 3, 2023 / 2023 TOP 25 WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Hartford Business Journal

In 2021, Kelly Smith Papa was named president and CEO of Duncaster, Connecticut’s first LifePlan community, established in 1984 in Bloomfield.

President & CEO
She brings to this position more than 25 years of nationally recognized clinical and executive leadership in senior living. Her extensive resume includes positions as a director of nursing, a clinical educator and a national consultant in building dementia care programs.
She facilitates the Leadership Academy of LeadingAge Connecticut, a year-long development program for leaders in aging services and is the author of eight books on senior living and long-term nursing care.
Papa’s leadership combines the compassion of her clinical nursing background with a collaborative and respectful engagement with staff and residents.

What have been your biggest professional accomplishments so far?
Professionally, the accomplishment I am most proud of was being appointed president and CEO of Duncaster. Duncaster’s culture is one of trust, respect, fulfillment and relationships. I find myself drawing from my life experiences, values and education as I lead with collaboration and transparency.

What’s the next big goal you want to accomplish professionally?
My priority is to continuously foster our culture where residents and employees are encouraged to bring their authentic self, knowledge, curiosity, ideas and talents every day. It is my goal to continue to bring out the best in each person as we reposition, renovate and expand our community.

What’s one of the biggest professional challenges you’ve overcome?
I am proud that by following my guiding values and immersing myself in places of deep learning, I have developed the confidence to lead with authenticity, enthusiasm and compassion. I never imagined, starting as a young nurse, that someday I would be a CEO. I believe these practices have drawn me into this role.

Who has been your most important mentor and why?
My family members have been my most impactful mentors, from my parents, who led in their jobs with the qualities I try to emulate, to my husband and my two amazing children, who show me the importance of curiosity and love every day. I deeply respect family and encourage my team to put their families first.

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