Belleville Hospital Workers Earn ‘Crisis Response’ Award

BELLEVILLE, NJ — The Clara Maass Medical Center Emergency Department team has always been known for “thinking outside of the box” – even before the coronavirus pandemic, RWJBarnabas Health says.

On Monday, RWJBarnabas Health – which oversees the Belleville hospital – announced that the New Jersey Emergency Nurses Association (NJENA) 2022 State Awards presented a team at Clara Maass with the Crisis Response Team Award. It honors an emergency department health care team who has risen “above-and-beyond” by responding to the nerve-wracking challenges of a crisis.

According to RWJBarnabas Health:

“The ED team at Clara Maass Medical Center has always been known for ‘thinking outside of the box’ and for innovation, even before the COVID crisis. The pandemic urged them to continue in this mindset, adapting to the challenges that emerged. Early in the pandemic, the ED team recognized the need to keep areas of their ED COVID-free and helped to create waiting rooms for patients who potentially had COVID-19 and entire sections of the ED were dedicated to safe isolation care. To support community care, telemedicine was introduced by the ED allowing patients to ‘see’ an emergency physician without visiting the ED. This successful program increased access to care and is now being adopted by other emergency departments in the health system.”

“Our nurses play a vital role across our health system and in our communities providing patients and families with the highest level of compassionate, innovative, quality care,” said Nancy Holecek, senior vice president and chief nursing officer for RWJBarnabas Health.

“Each and every person on our nursing teams have made a substantial difference this past year and I would like to offer all of our awardees my personal thanks for their passion, hard work and dedication,” Holecek said.

• See related article: Final Goodbyes Via FaceTime: Coronavirus At Clara Maass Hospital

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