St. Joseph’s Announces Recipients of the Sister Patricia Ann Award

SYRACUSE – St. Joseph’s Health honored five with the institution’s Sister Patricia Ann Award for Excellence at a special ceremony May 17^th, at the hospital.

“The Sister Patricia Ann Award for Excellence is one of the most prestigious awards that St. Joseph’s offers,” said Deborah Welch, vice president for people and chairperson for the awards committee. “Sister Patricia Ann devoted 41 years to St. Joseph’s and was referred to as the ’heart and soul’ of the hospital. She was a brilliant and generous person who was honored by everyone and this award recognizes people who represent the ideals espoused by Sister Patricia Ann.”

This year there were three recipients, plus two Lifetime Achievement winners.

Syracuse resident Barbara Ahlstrin, RN, who works in the emergency department, is the nursing award recipient. Nutritional Services employee Stephen Jackson, from Syracuse is the employee recipient, and Dr. Maryellen Lewis, from Syracuse, a physician at our Primary Care Center West, is the physician recipient. Camillus resident Jacquelyn Gonza, RN, nursing unit 3-1, and Frank Smith Jr., from Fayetteville, CEO and President of Franciscan Companies, are the Lifetime Achievement recipients.

This is the 28th anniversary of the awards, which were established in memory of Sister Patricia Ann Mulherin, a hospital administrator from 1969 to 1987.

All awardees received plaques, and all nominees were named at the ceremony.

About St. Joseph’s Health

St. Joseph’s Health is a non-profit regional health care system based in Syracuse, N.Y., providing services to patients throughout Central New York and northern Pennsylvania. From primary to specialty to home care, to our Magnet-recognized hospital, and in collaboration with our community partners, St. Joseph's Health is advancing the health of the communities we serve through an expanding range of healthcare services to ensure our patients achieve optimum long-term health. Ranked by Consumer Reports among the top 15 heart surgery centers in the country, U.S. News “Best Regional Hospital” and a 15-time winner of the National Research Corporation Consumer Choice award, St. Joseph’s is widely recognized for quality, value and delivering the highest patient satisfaction. St. Joseph’s Health is affiliated with Franciscan Companies and St. Joseph’s Physicians and is a part of Trinity Health.

Cutline: From left to right: Frank Smith, Jr., Barbara Ahlstrin, Dr. Maryellen Lewis, Jacquelyn Gonza, and Stephen Jackson