Patchogue Resident Named Top Nurse on Long Island

Long Island Nurses Recognized for Excellence

Stony Brook University Nurse Educator/Patchogue, NY resident Takes Top Honor

Nurse leaders from Long Island’s hospitals and nursing education programs gathered Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at the Watermill Inn in Nesconset, NY to bestow recognition upon their nurse peers at the Nurse of Excellence Award Ceremony hosted by the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council (NSHC). One nurse from each of the Hospital Council’s member hospitals was nominated for the award, which recognizes outstanding leadership and clinical practice. Deans of area nursing schools also submitted nominations recognizing nursing excellence in education and clinical practice.

Patchogue resident Justin Waryold, DNP, RN, clinical assistant professor and director of the Advanced Practice Nursing Program in Adult Health at Stony Brook University, rose above a field of 22 nominees. Those nominees were selected from a field of about 500 nurses at hospitals and teaching institutions from across Long Island.

Waryold’s commitment to nursing education and clinical practice is outstanding, say his peers. He has focused on improving access to care for vulnerable adults, in particular the LGBT and homebound patient populations. His teaching methodology related to LGBT care has been published and adopted nationally by schools of medicine, nursing, and allied health. Waryold developed a house call program to address the needs of patients who cannot access care in a traditional office setting or who need palliative care. For the past 10 years, he has been nurturing the next generation of nursing professionals as an educator and also serves as a volunteer mentor for nurse practitioner students. He began his career as a licensed practical nurse, but continued his pursuit of education, becoming an RN, a nurse practitioner, and then a doctorate of nursing practice. Even with his busy teaching schedule, Waryold still finds time to volunteer at the RotoCare Clinic in Nassau County. This clinic provides free healthcare for people in need.

The Hospital Council’s annual salute to nurses is fashioned after the New York State Legislature’s Nurse of Distinction Program that ended in 1995. NSHC is one of the few hospital associations in the state to continue this program voluntarily. It is now in its 24nd year. The NSHC represents Long Island’s not-for-profit and public hospitals.

For more information about this program and a full listing of nominees, visit www.nshc.org.