Dedication, teamwork earns Stutzman nurses an award

By DEBORAH A. MILES
Less than a year ago, seven nurses from Stutzman Addiction Treatment Center in Buffalo endured one of the worst nursing shortages in the history of that facility.

During three long months, these nurses collectively logged more than 240 hours in mandatory overtime. The seven nurses — Joan Canzoneri, Tyra Croom, Donna Dean, Margaret Dibben, Sandra Hammond, Marcia Kubiak and Mary Lou Zale — maintained a 24/7 inpatient treatment center for 33 patients.

TAKE A BOW — Stutzman Alcoholism Treatment Center nurses receive awards for their efforts at the Governor's Mansion. (front row) Marcia Kubiak, Donna Dean, Tyra Croom and Susan Lisker, director. Back row: Fran Harding (OASAS associate commissioner), Sandra Hammond, Margaret Dibben, and Sherri Noonan, commissioner of OASAS.

Their sacrifice and teamwork earned them the Commissioner’s Award from the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). Sherry Noonan, assistant commissioner of OASAS presented the nurses with their awards at the Governor’s Mansion in March.

“These nurses personally sacrificed their home and family life,” said Michele Schultz, a nurse administrator at Stutzman.

“The nurses processed 144 admissions, often single handedly, while providing excellent professional and quality care to some of the most debilitated patients I have witnessed,” Schultz said.

At one point, the nursing staff was reduced to one part-time and four full-time positions due to two vacancies, vacations, sick leave and bereavement leave. One nurse was a new employee, with only two weeks on the job.

No personal life
Nurses cut their sick time down to the bare minimum so they could return to work. They reduced their vacation time. One nurse had a daughter who was living in the south and returning to New York. She missed her homecoming. Another nurse, who suffers from sickel cell anemia placed her own health at risk to maintain nursing coverage. When this nurse becomes stressed and fatigued, she goes into crisis and needs hospitalization.

Each nurse has a compelling story of her own. Following is a glimpse of what life was like for Sandra Hammond.

Hammond’s father had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and her mother was confined to a wheelchair with a broken ankle and infection at the onset of the mandatory overtime period.

Hammond tended to her parents’ needs at their home, drove her dad to chemotherapy treatments (a 50-mile trek south of Buffalo) and drove her mom to medical appointments.

Family vs. patients
“There was no doubt my parents needed my time, support and medical knowledge. I also felt the responsibility to my patients and colleagues during this time of a dire nursing shortage at my agency. I needed to be in two places at the same time, and often felt conflicted as to who needed me more,” Hammond said.

“My personal life was non existent. The day trips planned with my children were postponed. In July, I was working 12-hour shifts and one of my pass days. I was not alone in my sacrifice. My three colleagues logged 180 hours of overtime. We epitomized the word ‘teamwork.’”

The nurses said they were honored to receive the award. But as Hammond said, “I would never want to live through a time like that again.”

The Communicator May 2007

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