While I was a labor and delivery nurse, Tamara became my labor patient. I had known her only as the Preadmission Care Coordinator who later became the Infection Control nurse. I had little contact with her as her office was in the basement of the hospital. Rumor tells us that nurses make the worst patients, but that was far from the truth with Tamara. During labor and delivery of her daughter, she was gracious and kind, open to suggestions for improving her progress. She was very appreciative of her birthing experience.

Tamara went on to obtain her master’s degree of Science in Health Care Administration, followed with a Certificate in Improvement Science through ProvenCare®. She also received certification in Hospital Incident Command. Her education also included being an Improvement Advisor through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. This catapulted her career from Quality Improvement Specialist to Director of Infection Prevention and Control of the Geisinger Health System as the health system evolved from 2 hospitals to 7 hospitals, with direct responsibilities over 1200 licensed hospital beds. Her challenging job included process improvement and conducting large projects across multiple systems. During her career, she has made multiple poster presentations at conferences to enhance colleagues’ knowledge. She wrote and contributed to articles published in medical journals.

Tamara tackled the job of Vice President of Nursing/Chief Nursing Officer at Evangelical Community Hospital with the same robust, methodical energy that she always does. Her goal was to make improvements for both patients and staff members, thereby improving the overall quality of healthcare for the community. Although shared governance had been practiced many years at the hospital, Tamara appointed a committee of leaders and staff members to set goals and objectives for nursing practice and other shared governance committees. A nursing theory was chosen to guide nursing practice. Staff were given insight into patient experience rating scores. Nurses were encouraged to identify quality issues and be part of improvement efforts. Staff were trained in improved communication skills using TeamSTEPPS.

Before the pandemic, Tamara was instrumental in realizing the process had to be changed for the ultimate protection of patients and staff. Staff were drilled in isolation procedures with other staff performing observations. During this time Tamara involved staff in making decisions related to designs, resources, and equipment in the multimillion-dollar hospital room expansion project. Tamara’s extensive knowledge in infection control proved invaluable to quickly establish a site for outpatient COVID testing.

Addressing staffing shortages during the pandemic called for hiring traveling nurses to fill in coverage gaps. Tamara instituted hiring international nurses for long-term, keeping quality of care a priority. She started the Emeritus program to support and retain new nurses as well as lend opportunities to experienced nurses on the cusp of retirement. With this program, retention rates of new nursing employees have increased from 60 to 90 percent. The DAISY Award Program was instituted to honor extraordinary nurses and promote excellence. Tamara stressed the importance of education and encouraged and supported her front-line leaders and directors in furthering their nursing education.

Tamara supports a collaborative environment with quality being at the forefront of her goals. Hand hygiene has moved to 100% compliance in the nursing department. The Emergency department worked on improving processes and triage. The ICU staff developed a program to support staff and the dying patient. She encouraged the Obstetrics department to become involved in the Nurse Family Partnership, Keystone 10, and Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative, a state initiative to improve mortality and morbidity of mothers and newborns. The hospital received the federal designation for a Birthing Friendly Hospital. Strive for excellence by setting a goal for CMS 5-star rating was accomplished and maintained. Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Awards were granted for the past 3 years of 2021-2023.

Tamara admires Florence Nightingale for her pioneering role in nursing. She obviously lives by “Let whoever is in charge keep this simple question in her head, (not, how can I always do this right thing myself, but) how can I provide for this right thing to be always done?”  Florence Nightingale

When Tamara returned to ECH, she gave immense support to me in my role as Director of Obstetrics and Pediatrics. During crisis situations where unfortunate outcomes for neonates and mothers were possible, Tamara was immediately by my side, offering the tools created to support staff. She called up Evan Cares, a multidisciplinary team, created to debrief and increase learning with emotional support for staff and thereby improve outcomes for patients. She served as a sounding board, mentor, and role model. I admire her and appreciate the impact she has had on my nursing career.