ARTHUR A. GIANELLI, PRESIDENT/CEO OF THE NASSAU HEALTH CARE CORPORATION, ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF KATHY SKARKA, RN, MSN, CNA, AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR PATIENT CARE SERVICES AND CHIEF NURSING OFFICER
July 22, 2009
Contact: Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ARTHUR A. GIANELLI, PRESIDENT/CEO OF THE NASSAU HEALTH CARE CORPORATION, ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF KATHY SKARKA, RN, MSN, CNA, AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR PATIENT CARE SERVICES AND CHIEF NURSING OFFICER
NURSING EXECUTIVE WITH A COMBINATION OF LEADERSHIP SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE TO OVERSEE INPATIENT NURSING AND CASE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENTS
East Meadow, NY……Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC), announced the appointment of Kathy Skarka, RN, MSN, CNA, to the position of senior vice president for patient care services and chief nursing officer. During the last year, Ms. Skarka had been assuming the duties of chief nursing officer in an acting capacity. In the permanent title, she will oversee all nursing and case management departments, with eight directors of nursing reporting directly to her. She will be responsible for nursing and professional ancillary services as well as setting nursing policies and standards as well as recruitment and retention throughout the Nassau Health Care Corporation.
In congratulating Skarka on the senior level appointment, Gianelli stated: “Kathy Skarka has the combination of leadership skills, knowledge, experience and perseverance to assist us in meeting our challenges and fulfilling our goals. In this position, Skarka will be an asset to the NHCC and continue directing the implementation of nursing policies and procedures, nursing standards, nurse staffing plans and overseeing new patient care initiatives.”
Prior to accepting the position at NHCC, Ms. Skarka served as the director of patient care services at Glen Cove Hospital from 2003 until 2006. In that position, she was responsible for overseeing the nursing department, including all performance improvement activities and the respiratory therapy department. From 1998 until 2003 she served as the director of med-surg patient care services at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where she was responsible for overseeing delivery of care on med-surg units, operations of the nursing office as well as daily operations. Ms. Skarka has more than an additional decade of nursing experiences dating back from 1981 to 1997 where she worked her way up from a staff nurse in the surgical intensive care unit up to becoming the assistant director of surgical patient care services at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.
Graduating from Flushing Hospital and Medical Center School of Nursing with a diploma in nursing in 1979, Ms. Skarka pursued her education and graduated from the LIU, CW Post Campus with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1994. Skarka went on to obtain a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from Molloy College in 2002. Her certification in nursing administration first obtained in 1999, was recertified until November 30, 2009. Active in numerous nursing organizations, Skarka belongs to the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing as well as the American Organization of Nurse Executives.
Skarka stated: “I am delighted and honored to accept the senior level appointment at the Nassau University Medical Center and look forward to working with the dedicated professionals at NUMC to continue to oversee the nursing and case management departments, enhance our standards of care, implement best practices, and to meet the challenges that face the nursing profession throughout the Nassau Health Care Corporation.”