Hartford HealthCare Senior Services nurses receive prestigious Nightingale Awards

Three nurses who pursued their calling from the time they were young were recently celebrated for their dedication and expertise as recipients of the Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing, Connecticut's largest state-wide nursing recognition program. These honorees, representing Hartford HealthCare Senior Services, were among those lauded at a ceremony held May 5 in Hartford.

Jodi Trottier, LPN, Southington Care Center; Kathy Chiulli, RN, MSN, clinical systems analyst, Hartford HealthCare Senior Services; and Maureen Lahickey, RN, case manager/admissions director, Jefferson House, represented Hartford HealthCare Senior Services.

Trottier said she fell in love with nursing and the people when she entered the nursing program at Wolcott High School. Chiulli credited her family. “I come from a long line of nursing professionals – my mom, aunt, maternal grandmother and many others, all nurses. I have always wanted to go into healthcare,” she said. Lahickey was inspired at age 11 to enter the field of nursing after she had surgery.

A Bristol resident, Trottier has worked for more than 10 years at Southington Care Center in every department, from long-term care to short-term rehabilitation. In the award nomination she was described as “amazing,” “respected by staff” and “totally committed to her patients.” She is presently pursuing her registered nursing degree while working full-time and raising her family.

Chiulli, a Southington resident, no longer provides direct patient care but her work impacts nursing staff and clients across the board. As the clinical systems analyst for Hartford HealthCare Senior Services, “She is an amazing teacher, coach and mentor who also happens to have an extraordinary technical and analytical gift,” according to her nomination.

Early in her career she served in critical care, post-anesthesia and more. In her present leadership role, the new electronic medical records system was successfully implemented at Southington Care Center, Arbor Rose and Jerome Home after months of planning. She also conducts training and provides new hire orientation for all licensed personnel so they are comfortable with the software. “I have been rewarded in so many ways and feel truly blessed to have had every opportunity that nursing has given me,” Chiulli said.

Lahickey recently marked 35 years of nursing at Jefferson House. She began there only three weeks after the community opened in 1980. Since that time, it has expanded from short-term rehabilitation and palliative care only to include skilled nursing and outpatient rehab.

The key to nursing is to treat people the way she would want her parents and grandparents to be treated, she said. Executive Director Susan Vinal said, “Maureen truly cares about every aspect of a patient’s stay. She supports families through tough decisions like long-term placement of loved ones, complex discharge planning and end-of-life care.”

Lahickey said she has learned during her career that the patients haven’t changed in some respects: “We learn who they were, what their history was that brings them to this stage of life. I’ve grown professionally and personally through interactions with people and learn so much every day.”

Hartford HealthCare Senior Services is a not for profit Hartford HealthCare Partner. For more information about Hartford HealthCare Senior Services, visit hhcseniorservices.org.