Kara Chromiak, RN at Jefferson’s Methodist Division, was honored in the December 7, 2014 issue of the New York Times. The prestigious New York Times Tribute to Nurses Awards program recognizes outstanding nurses who work in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Ms. Chromiak was selected as the finalist in the Volunteerism and Service Category.
Angela Miller, BSN, RN nominated Ms. Chromiak and said, “She believes that nursing doesn’t end at the bedside but carries over into serving and educating the community to improve overall health care. She therefore readily dives into volunteer activities that benefit individual patients, families, and communities at large.”
Congratulations Kara Chromiak!
Read more from the nomination below:
Kara Chromiak thrives on helping others in and out of the hospital. Both as a volunteer in the hospital’s outreach programs and as an individual volunteer in the wider community, she enthusiastically gives her time, talents, and dedication to numerous projects. At the hospital, she finds time not only to carry out all her responsibilities as a med/surg staff nurse with a full patient assignment, but she also participates in and leads various volunteer efforts.
In just the past year alone, Kara participated in a health expo that provided free blood pressure and blood glucose screenings to members of the community. As part of a community outreach committee, she helped prepare meals for the “Gift of Life Family House” for families staying in the house while their relative was hospitalized. As the winter months began, Kara and her committee organized a hat-scarf-and-glove drive for children at the Francis Scott Key Elementary School in our neighborhood.
Kara worked diligently to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night Walk.” She and her committee sold tee shirts and held bake and raffle sales to raise funds. They surpassed their $2,500 goal—and raised $5,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
When teams of hospital volunteers participated in a local Dragon Boat race to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Kara was one of 15 rowers pulling toward the finish line.
Kara’s entry into the nursing profession was not surprising, given that her mother and older sister are nurses. But unlike many others, she didn’t enter the profession right out of school. She first worked in childcare, studied teaching, and worked as a receptionist in radiology and as a unit secretary on the medical surgical unit for four years before earning her RN in 2012. Throughout this time, she volunteered during summer vacations with young burn survivors.
One of the most impressive aspects of Kara’s volunteerism is that she uses a week of her vacation time and pays all of her own expenses to volunteer at the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp. Located in the Massanutten Mountains of Virginia, the camp serves 90 children ages 8 through 17 who have suffered burn injuries. The camp promotes teamwork and self-confidence in its campers, many of whom are able to overcome their earlier fears of scarring. With experienced burn therapists and other volunteers, the camp provides the children with experiences they will never forget. Kara began volunteering at the camp long before she became a nurse. She has volunteered there for 8 out of the last 10 years and is one of the children’s favorite counselors.
Kara loves being a nurse and is proud to be part of this profession. For her, nursing is personal—not simply because she comes from a family of nurses—and inseparable from voluntary service. Kara’s dedication to serving others has several roots:
When she was 21, her older sister, who worked at a hospital with a special burn unit, told her about the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp. Kara jumped at the opportunity to volunteer and has stayed with it for a decade.
When Kara was working as a receptionist in radiology, a patient waiting on a gurney with kidney stones began to vomit. Kara’s instinctive, voluntary response was to hurry to her side with a basin and rub her back, even though that was not part of her job. She began to think that becoming a nurse might suit her.
When her grandfather was very ill at the end of his life, Kara, her mother and sister had the opportunity to help care for him in his home. The time Kara was able to spend with him cemented her drive to become a nurse, and she applied to nursing school during his last days. She recognized not only the value of good nursing care, but she also saw how her grandfather benefited from volunteers in his community. He received hospice care at home, and neighbors and friends brought in food and comfort. This experience inspired her—and continues to inspire her—to volunteer within the hospital’s walls, in the neighborhood, and among a community of young burn survivors.
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