Rocklander Receives Caribbean-American Healthcare Award

Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc.: Jacqueline Cassagnol, MSN, RN, PhD(c), who was born in Brooklyn, NY to Haitian immigrants is the Founder & President of Worldwide Community First Responder, Inc. She was selected as a 2019 Caribbean American Healthcare Award recipient, and honored on Tuesday, June 25th, 2019 by Caribbean Life at Paradise Catering in Brooklyn, NY.

Cassagnol was selected because of her consistency in exemplifying what it means to be an avid lover of her career, and making big achievements in New York City’s healthcare industry. She was nominated for this recognition by Claudette Powell.

An accomplished nursing administrator, educator, and professor, Cassagnol received a Master of Science Degree in Nursing Administration and a Post Master Degree Certificate in Nursing Education from Mercy College. She is currently a Ph.D. in Nursing candidate at Pace University.

As a result of Cassagnol’s experience in preparing for and assisting with victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, she founded WCFR, a non-profit organization, to provide health education, first aid, and disaster-preparedness training. She has presented locally, nationally and internationally at nursing conferences about WCFR and its collaboration with other non-profit organizations to improve global health outcomes.

Cassagnol has been recognized with numerous distinguished awards for her community services. Recently, she was inducted in the New York Academy of Medicine in November 2018, won the Haitian American Young Citizen of the Year Award from the US Haitian Chamber of Commerce, Inc in March 2019, and was honored on the field as a New York Yankees Nurse Hero on June 20th, 2019 at the New York Yankees stadium in Bronz, NY.

Cassagnol has been in the health industry for 20 years. She puts in about 60 hours of work per week. She says the best piece of career advice she has ever received is "to follow your dreams and success will follow". She says if she had one super power, it would be "the power to cure". "So many people die every day of incurable diseases" Cassagnol says. "With the power to cure, I would be able to cure everyone".

Every year, Caribbean Life News aims to honor the individuals devoted to healthcare, while working tirelessly to keep an essential industry of our city running smooth. As one of the biggest ethnic communities in the city — Caribbean-Americans play a huge role in performing many of those vital health-related tasks for New Yorkers in every respect.