Welcome!

An Active and Growing Association! As the newly elected president of the Alumnae Association of the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for this privilege. Our Alumnae Association continues to be an active and growing organization. Since our entry into the computer age, with our Web site and our growing number of e-mail addresses, we have been better able to provide information to our members. My goal as president is to promote membership in the Alumnae Association as well as the use of the Bed Fund by encouraging members to apply for financial assistance within its parameters. The association’s board members will also be looking for suggestions for how better to identify uses for this fund. As president of the Alumnae Association of HHSN, I will continue to encourage participation by the members so that we can continue the tradition of nursing excellence by developing innovative strategies that will encourage people to enter the nursing profession. Nursing offers an amazing array of opportunities for career choices and collaborations. As you may know, it has been more than 10 years since the opening of the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) across from Hartford Hospital. The Pediatric Cardiology program at Hartford Hospital had been my home for many years, so it was challenging to move to a brand-new hospital. Time certainly has flown by! The concept of a children’s hospital in Hartford took shape many years before its actuality, and it required the support and encouragement of many pediatric medical professionals and the administrations of Hartford Hospital, Newington Children’s Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center—as well as involvement by business and the community—to bring it to fruition. Today, collaboration among these institutions continues. One example is the Trauma Nursing Core Course training, which you’ll read about in this issue. The training brings together nurses from Hartford Hospital and CCMC to develop the advanced skills necessary to provide excellent care for both adult and pediatric trauma patients. Clearly, the spirit of collaboration and cooperation that was always a part of our “training” at the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing serves us well even in 2007. Karen Stinson Mazzarella, RN, BA (HHSN ’69)