Dr. Lois Sadler ’79 MSN, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Dr. Jessica Coviello ’82 MSN, DNP, APRN, ANP-BC, were honored at the Connecticut Nurses’ Association (CNA) annual Diamond Jubilee Awards dinner on October 10th following the organization’s annual conference in Cromwell, Connecticut. These prestigious awards, named after some of the most distinguished leaders in Connecticut nursing history, represent the highest honors the nursing profession can bestow in our state.
Dr. Sadler received the Virginia Henderson Award in recognition of her contributions to nursing research. In addition to being a professor at Yale School of Nursing and the Yale Child Study Center, she also co-directs the Minding the Baby® home visitation program for vulnerable young families. Her research at Yale has focused on the transition to parenthood among urban adolescent mothers and their families, adolescent pregnancy prevention, evaluation of specialized school-based support programs for adolescent parents, home visiting interventions for at-risk young families, community-engaged research methods and ethics, biomarkers of toxic stress and patterns of sleep among multicultural infants and toddlers.
The award has special meaning for Dr. Sadler: “I had the privilege of knowing Miss Henderson when I was a student and she was an early career faculty member at YSN. She was an amazing role model and I am so grateful for all of her contributions to nursing and to nursing research. My work could only happen with the collaboration of mentors and colleagues, as well as the contributions of all the young parents, children and families who have been part of our research and have taught us so much.”
Dr. Coviello was awarded the Florence Wald Award for her outstanding achievements in nursing practice. She has the distinction of being the first advanced practice registered nurse to have been hired at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in 1982 where she started and directed the TakeHeart cardiac rehabilitation program and opened the outpatient cardiac rehabilitation clinic in 1984, which is still in existence today. She worked with the Connecticut Heart Group in New Haven for 16 years and currently holds a joint appointment as an associate professor at Yale School of Nursing and as a nurse practitioner in the Cardio-Oncology Clinic at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Florence Wald, a former dean of the Yale School of Nursing who passed away in 2008, was the visionary leader of the American hospice movement. Dr. Coviello commented, “Florence Wald was an innovator dedicated to patient care. It’s with humble appreciation that I have been given an award in her name.”
Dean Ann Kurth ’90 MSN remarked, “All of us at Yale School of Nursing are incredibly proud of Jessica and Lois for their extraordinary accomplishments and contributions to the field, and I’m grateful to the Connecticut Nurses’ Association for recognizing and affirming excellence in our vital profession.”
Established in 1904, the Connecticut Nurses’ Association is the professional organization of registered nurses in Connecticut and a constituent member of the American Nurses Association. Their work leads the state’s professional development, healthcare advocacy, and policy development in the profession and shapes the future of nursing and health in Connecticut.