August 13, 2014

Louise Baca, RN, MSN ’10 was named 2014 Business Person of the Year by the Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce. Baca is an administrator of the Kennedy Health System Cancer Program and was selected, along with other winners in other categories, for her exceptional ability in making a difference in the community. She is known as an advocate and active leader for cancer patients in Gloucester County and throughout South Jersey. As a trained oncology nurse, her passion lies in ensuring that each patient is treated holistically- in body, mind and spirit. Under her leadership, the Kennedy cancer program launched the Center for Hope & Healing in 2011, which provides a haven for cancer patients and their family members. She also played a key role in the establishment of the Kennedy Cancer Center Patient Assistance Fund, which has provided more than $20,000 in non-medical financial assistance for Kennedy cancer patients experiencing financial hardships. She has also spearheaded the annual Kennedy Cancer Survivors Day celebration at Washington Lake Park, an annual luncheon to honor breast cancer survivors, and the Tree of Lights Remembrance, a special memorial tree-lighting event at the start of the holiday season. In September, Baca will lead Team KICK- Kennedy Inspired Cancer Kickers- at the Bill Bottino Mud Run.

Michael Coveney, RN, MSN ’12, Director of the Nursing Resource Department at Hahnemann University Hospital, received a GEM (Giving Excellence Meaning) award in the patient and staff management category. He oversees 12 employees in the Nursing Resource Office, 33 per diem RNs, and 56 ancillary staff. He is also responsible for five RNs in direct admissions and 18 RNs in the clinical decision unit. He led the multidisciplinary falls reduction and prevention committee and reduced the hospital-wide fall rate, which dropped by 28% in one year. He also implemented an innovative staff orientation process as Director of the Interventional Cardiology Unit, which he presented at the ANCC National Magnet Conference. In his spare time, he serves as a volunteer and helps raise money for the American Health Association and The Mazzoni Center, a healthcare clinic serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community in the Philadelphia Tri-State region. He has also participated in sewing special pillowcase for ConKerr Cancer.

Rebecca Gray, DNP ’05, a women’s health care nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, and a family nurse practitioner, joined Baldwin Area Medical Center (BAMC) and Roberts Medical Clinic. Prior to coming to BAMC, she was employed at St. Croix Regional Medical Center in Saint Croix Falls, Wisconsin.

Thomas R. Hill, MD, PA ’82, joined AllCare Clinical Associations in Asheville, North Carolina. Previously, he was an anesthesiologist with Western Piedmont Anesthesia. Hill is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and the National Board of Echocardiography.

Innocent Onwubiko, BSN ’13, organized a stadium display by the Nigerian soccer team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, at the PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Nigerian players came out to the field escorted by children with cards emblazoned with “#Bring Back Our Girls. Stand Against Terrorism.” It was a message about the 238 girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants who attacked their school in northern Nigeria. The match was broadcast on sports networks in Africa and nearly every other continent, and streamed online. A spokeswoman for Major League Soccer said it was the first time she had seen player escorts used to send a political message. Onwubiko of Upper Darby was born in Nigeria and came to the United States in 2000. He is the founder of Successful Aging Home Health, an agency that trains and supplies home health aides.  In an interview, he said he is an avid fan of the Super Eagles, and hosted a private party for the team at the stadium after the game.

Emily Hoesch Rumble, BSN ’08, presented an award named after her. She was an All-Delco lacrosse player at Sun Valley High School before her record-setting career at Drexel University, where she earned All-Colonial Athletic Conference honors three times. A nurse in the neuroscience ward at Massachusetts General Hospital, Hoesch Rumble was told by Drexel head coach Hannah Rudloff that the Dragons were instituting two awards, one of which would be the Emily Hoesch Rumble Excellence in Health Professions and Athletics Award, which focuses on honoring a nursing student-athlete on the team. Hoesch Rumble has also been an adjunct professor at Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing, working with sophomore and junior students and focusing on adult health care.