March 2026 Honoree
Geraldine Cillo-Gillen, BSN,RN
Geri was the voice of reason I didn't know I wanted and desperately needed.
She initiated tough conversations, gently but firmly with me, that tended to be avoided in the acute, task-based setting of medical rounds: critical conversations about whether to trach my son and whether to send him to rehab.
Without her guidance, I would have delayed the decision to trach my son and potentially endangered his life.
Without her encouragement to consider rehab, I may have missed the opportunity to help my son make serious gains in his mobility. She's an incredible bedside nurse.
I count myself and my son very lucky to have had Geri in our lives to model for us what care and advocacy look like.
She had a sharp eye on the smallest details -- small fluctuations in temperature that would make it hard to transition from an incubator to a warmer, for example -- and taught me to see with broader eyes than my own. We are deeply in her debt.
She went above and beyond to counsel us, to teach us, and to ensure our family was able to experience success both in and out of the NICU.
She initiated tough conversations, gently but firmly with me, that tended to be avoided in the acute, task-based setting of medical rounds: critical conversations about whether to trach my son and whether to send him to rehab.
Without her guidance, I would have delayed the decision to trach my son and potentially endangered his life.
Without her encouragement to consider rehab, I may have missed the opportunity to help my son make serious gains in his mobility. She's an incredible bedside nurse.
I count myself and my son very lucky to have had Geri in our lives to model for us what care and advocacy look like.
She had a sharp eye on the smallest details -- small fluctuations in temperature that would make it hard to transition from an incubator to a warmer, for example -- and taught me to see with broader eyes than my own. We are deeply in her debt.
She went above and beyond to counsel us, to teach us, and to ensure our family was able to experience success both in and out of the NICU.
Thank you, Geraldine, for your exceptional compassion, advocacy, and dedication to your patients. You truly make a difference.
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