Excellence in Nursing Awards 2026

Nurses are too often the unsung heroes of medicine. They are key members of any health care team, but their skills and contributions often go unrecognized. The challenges nurses face as they strive to provide the best possible care possible prove that they truly are the heartbeat of health care. 

New Hampshire Magazine, in partnership with the New Hampshire Nurses Association, is proud to celebrate the important contributions by nurses with the ninth annual Excellence in Nursing Awards. This past winter, we accepted nominations for New Hampshire nurses in more than a dozen vital specialties, from pediatrics and public health to leadership and education. 

The winners were selected by an independent committee of nursing leaders from adjoining states. Each nurse profiled in the following pages represents the very best in nursing — those who go above and beyond to comfort, heal and teach.

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Shannon Fitzgerald MSN, BS, RN, CV-BC, CCRP, ACSM-CEP, EIM-III, RN
Ambulatory Care Nursing  • VA Manchester Healthcare System

Throughout Shannon Fitzgerald’s career, her heart has always been tied to cardiac rehabilitation. 

“I saw a gap in cardiac rehab services for veterans and began working to bring a program to Manchester,” she recalls. “I launched Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in 2024, and then helped to introduce its sister program, Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation in 2025, which both help patients recover from cardiac and pulmonary conditions through lifestyle interventions.”

From her youth as an athlete, Fitzgerald is often guided by having a beginner’s mindset and believing there is always room for improvement. Seeing the real-world impact in her patients as they grow and heal through their programs is a gift to witness.

“Watching a patient go from feeling weak, fearful and uncertain to thriving and reaching their goals is an incredible experience every time,” she says. 

“Whether it’s a police officer returning to duty after a heart attack, an 80-year-old hockey player getting back on the ice after open heart surgery, or a grandparent regaining the strength to hold and play with their grandchildren again, it is an honor to be part of their journey.”

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Nicholas Kastanek, BSN
Emergency and Critical Care Nursing Cardiac Cath Lab RN • Southern NH Medical Center

Effective communication is behind all the work that Nicholas Kastanek does. 

“In the cath lab, every second matters, and the team must move as one,” he says. “Clear, calm and precise communication is what keeps patients safe during high-stakes procedures.”

He supports both patients and clinical teams through high acuity cardiac procedures, and ensures clinical excellence and compassionate care during some of the most critical moments in a patient’s life. Being able to see people in the southern New Hampshire area recover, thrive and return to their lives motivates him to be the best nurse and educator he can be.

“One particular moment that I think of often was seeing a patient who had come in with a STEMI — someone I recognized from the community who delivers for a local restaurant — return to work after his heart attack,” he recalls. 

“Watching him walk through the hospital for follow-up care and then back out to his normal life reminded me exactly why this work matters. Those full-circle moments are incredibly rewarding.”

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Paula B. Seaman MSN, MPA, DA, RN, CENP
Senior Nurse Leader (Small) • Chief Nursing Officer Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital

Paula Seaman, a third-generation nurse, began her career as a candy striper, where her mom worked. 

“I was able to observe so many things that made me proud to be her daughter, and as I entered the nursing profession myself, I came to recognize how influential she became in defining what it means to be a nurse and my own nursing practice,” says Seaman, who has worked within the Dartmouth Health system for nearly 20 years.

The current chief nursing officer for Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon also has worked at
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. She is responsible for nursing practice at Alice Peck Day and leads the hospital’s development and implementation of the nursing strategic plan. She also collaborates with the other chief nursing officers across the Dartmouth Health system.

Seaman considers empathy, humility and passion for the profession the most important character traits for nurses. She also wants to make sure nurses are getting the care they need.

“My own passion has evolved to really focus on the mental health of nurses, both for individuals and for our profession, and to think and invest differently in addressing this critical need for our nursing workforce,” Seaman says. 

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Melissa Brough MSN, RN, NE-BC
Nurse Innovator/Entrepreneur • Nurse Recruiter VA Manchester Healthcare System

As a nurse recruiter, Melissa Brough works to build and sustain a skilled nursing workforce that is dedicated to caring for our nation’s veterans. Before joining the VA, Brough spent over a decade working in nursing education — her career choices have always been guided by her desire to serve others.

“I’ve always sought the role where I could have the greatest impact on patient care, and recruitment felt like a natural extension of that purpose,” Brough says. “In this position, I help ensure veterans receive exceptional care by bringing compassionate, highly skilled nurses into the VA.”

Brough comes from a family of veterans, and has seen firsthand the importance of compassionate, reliable care. Her father, a Vietnam Army veteran, required complex care after a terminal diagnosis. Brough enrolled him in services at the Manchester VA Medical Center and experienced the organization as a caregiver. Before her father died, he encouraged her to apply for the open nurse recruiting role. That personal connection continues to fuel her dedication to this work.

“The compassion and professionalism he received left a lasting impression and deepened my appreciation for the VA’s mission,” Brough says. “I’m inspired by the dedication of our leadership, our nurses and the health care professionals who care for our veterans every day. Their commitment to exceptional, patient‑centered care motivates me to connect the VA with candidates who share that same mission‑driven spirit.”

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Erin Ryan BSN, RN
RN • Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital

Compassion and empathy drive Erin Ryan as she serves her patients and works with her interdisciplinary team to provide high-quality care. “Being on the medical-surgical unit also requires adaptability,” she notes. “There are a lot of changes that occur within one shift, so it’s important to be able to pivot quickly.”

After watching her grandmother go through the dementia unit, Ryan found herself drawn to the geriatric population and delirium prevention once she saw the difference it could make when a nurse puts their personal passions into what they do. She loves bringing joy to her patients, and they give her joy that carries her through long workdays. 

“We were able to get a chocolate brownie with chocolate ice cream for a patient’s birthday one shift, which was saved for his dinner mealtime and was put in the freezer,” she recalls. 

“While sitting with this patient during dinner/dessert time, I attempted to assist in cutting the brownie, which was frozen, which then led the chocolate ice cream to go flying once the brownie cut, the ice cream landed all over the patient’s glasses and gown, which then led to an outburst of laughing. After a full gown change and clean up, we were still laughing.”

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Christina Martin MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Advanced Practice Nursing • Nurse Practitioner/Advanced Practice Provider • Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Christina Martin has always been driven by her passion to further address those with underserved health needs — from working
with Doctors Without Borders to helping develop a pediatric multi-drug- resistant TB program in Tajikistan to specializing in hematology/ transplant medicine at Norris Cotton Cancer center. 

After the COVID-19 pandemic, she felt a call to return to her roots in infection disease and help co-launch the Post-Acute COVID Syndrome (long COVID) at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

“My role is blending specialized clinical management with patient advocacy to address the multifaceted nature of Post-Acute COVID Syndrome,” she says. “I provide supportive care for a variety of complex symptoms. In a novel field with no known specific treatments or guidelines, I must rely on humility, honesty, patience, listening and validating my patients’ experiences.”

With long COVID being as much of a social crisis as it is a medical one, Martin also incorporates psychosocial support and education into her care. “As one of only a handful of providers treating long COVID in all of northern New England, I know that my patients living with long COVID are grateful to have found our clinic,” she notes. 

“Although we still don’t have all the answers as to what long COVID is or how to treat it, I reassure them that I remain committed to journeying with them as we all learn more about long COVID into the future.”

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Carla Jean Smith DHSc, MSN, RN, CNE
Public Health Nursing • Associate Professor of Nursing • Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

As associate professor of nursing at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy
and Health Sciences, Carla Jean Smith teaches advanced medical-surgical nursing, nursing leadership and nursing informatics.

“My role encompasses teaching, scholarship and service,” says Smith, who began her nursing career at age 19 as a certified nursing assistant at McKerley Healthcare in Bedford. “This was really my introduction to patient care, and I returned to school to earn my LPN diploma.”

Smith’s career has included working at Portsmouth Regional Hospital as a registered nurse and as a school nurse in the town of Fremont, where she also volunteered as a deputy health officer. 

In 2016, she transitioned to nursing education at St. Joseph School of Nursing and in 2019 joined the faculty of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She also returned to school to earn a Doctorate in Health Sciences with a focus on Global Health.

As a volunteer with the Global Smiles Foundation, Smith has traveled to Peru, Ecuador and El Salvador.

“During one mission, I cared for a young child undergoing cleft repair surgery. Like many families we serve, they had traveled a long distance and had limited access to specialized care.”

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Alison Patten RN-BSN
Maternal-Child Nursing • RN • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Alison Patten graduated from Colby-Sawyer College in 1987, among a nursing class of seven. As an EMT for the National Ski Patrol, Patten assumed that’s the direction her career was taking. 

Patten applied for jobs in either pediatrics or emergency, but at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, she worked in the Intensive Care Nursery.

“Jump ahead 38 years, one new hospital and hundreds of babies, I am still caring for our most fragile population and their families,” Patten says.

Patten is a support system for families going through the worst times in their lives. 

“I feel one of the most important things that I try to do is take one of the most difficult times in a family’s life and make that time just a little bit better, whether that means offering them a glass of water, a kind word or just an ear,” Patten says. 

Patten has created lifelong connections with her patients. 

“I have laughed with my families. I have cried with my families. I have gone to their homes after discharge to help care for their babies as their visiting nurse,” Patten says. “Now when I see babies of babies I’ve cared for, I’d like to think I could trade a rocking chair in for a beach chair.”

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Rachel Ortiz BSN, RN, PMH-BC, RTR, CPC
Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing• Outpatient Psychiatry Triage Nurse • Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Rachel Ortiz’s nursing career began 16 years ago as a registrar in the Franklin Regional Hospital emergency room, while she was starting her clinical education as a radiologic technologist at New London Hospital. 

Today, she works at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as an outpatient psychiatry triage nurse, where she triages patient calls and messages for outpatient psychiatry including clinics for children, adolescents, geriatrics, autism and mood disorders. 

“I kept finding myself drawn to work with psychiatric patients, and that motivated me to go back to school for nursing,” Ortiz says. “I first worked as an inpatient psychiatric nurse, and then I joined the incredible team at DHMC outpatient psychiatry, which has been the most rewarding part of my career.” 

As a psychiatric nurse, Ortiz has found that feeling safe is one of the most important needs of her patients, and that dependability vitally important. 

“Patients need to be able to depend on you to meet their needs consistently, treat them fairly and equitably, and regulate your own emotions so you can maintain consistent healthy boundaries,” Ortiz says.

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Michelle Proulx MSN, RN, NEA-BC, CNML
Senior Nurse Leader (Large) • Vice President of Patient Care Services, Chief Nursing Officer • St. Joseph Hospital

Michelle Proulx’s mother encouraged her to become a nurse and has supported her throughout her career, inspiring Proulx to become a mentor to other nurses. 

Proulx began her nursing journey as a volunteer candy striper at a local community hospital, which sparked her interest in patient care. While in college, she returned as a student nurse intern during the summer and later transitioned into a patient care technician and nursing assistant.

“I remained in that position throughout my education, and after earning my RN/BSN, I was fortunate to begin my nursing career on the same unit where my nursing journey first began,” Proulx says.

As vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer for St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, Proulx oversees inpatient care services and nursing practice.

“My team and the patients we care for inspire me every day to strive for excellence in my nursing practice,” she says. “Seeing the dedication and compassion of those around me motivates me to give my best.”

Proulx has had many mentors through her career who have helped her grow as a leader. She aims to do the same for her team.

“I pride myself on supporting and encouraging nurses to reach their career goals, through further education, advanced degrees and certifications,” she says.

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Paul J. Reczek RN
Front Line / Administrative Nursing (Small)Nurse Manager, Community Based Outpatient Clinics
Acting Nurse Manager Primary CareVA Manchester Healthcare System

As nurse manager for four community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) within the VA Manchester Healthcare System, Paul Reczek also collaborates with interdisciplinary leadership to provide quality care for veterans.

Reczek calls his work “one of the most meaningful aspects of my career.”

An RN for nearly 17 years, Reczek has spent 11 years with VA Manchester and seven as a CBOC nurse manager. He has also brought his skills to a long-term-care rehab unit, a med-surg department, and the wound care center at Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport, Mass. 

Reczek fondly recalls his time in Canada as nurse manager in a kosher long-term care facility. 

“These experiences shaped my leadership style and reinforced the importance of adaptability and cultural awareness,” Reczek says. 

Reczek is inspired to reach excellence in nursing by his father, and paternal and maternal grandfathers, who all served in the military.

“They were men of integrity, mentoring strength, and compassion. Honoring their legacy through my work at the VA motivates me to strive for excellence every day.” Reczek says. 

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Sarah Johnston MSN, RN, CENP, CCRN
Gerontology Nursing • Associate Vice President of Inpatient Clinical Operations • Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital

A nurse for the past 27 years, Sarah Johnston began as an LNA, like her mother did. 

Now, as associate vice president of inpatient clinical operations at Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Johnston oversees about 90 people across the hospital’s med/surg, short-stay, care management and cardiopulmonary teams.

Johnston’s interest in geriatric care blossomed at the hospital, with its strong geriatric team, an assisted-living facility and an independent facility on campus.

The medical community’s understanding of geriatric care has evolved through research and technology, she says. 

“We’re allowing folks to live longer and, in some cases, healthier lives,” Johnston adds.

It’s essential to be dedicated and be a good listener, to better identify a patients’ needs. 

“You really need a champion, somebody who has a passion for it, who can really get behind it,” Johnston says.

Johnston, a critical care registered nurse, loves finding ways to help people feel better.

“I love the complexity of trying to help people through things, put the puzzle pieces together — essentially, what could make somebody feel better? What’s going wrong?” Johnston says. 

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Amanda Brissette RN, BSN

Front Line/Administrative Nursing (Large)Clinical Nurse SupervisorDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Amanda Brissette comes from an entire family who has dedicated time toward helping others. 

Her career began in 2010 at Dartmouth Hitchcock through a medical assistant internship, but she soon wanted to learn more. 

She started nursing school at night and during weekends, while working as a medical assistant. By 2014, she graduated from Rivier University with an ASN and became a registered nurse in GI/Hepatology. 

After her director encouraged her to advance her career even further, Brissette became a clinical nurse supervisor in 2020. She’s currently the clinical nurse supervisor for all offsite specialty clinics at Dartmouth Hitchcock’s Manchester/Bedford division.

Brissette continues her education and is pursuing her MSN at UNH.

Brissette has learned a lot, including that she and her team can handle almost anything. Last year, she and other department members handled flooding severe enough that several departments had to be relocated, including patients and equipment. A similar flood a month later didn’t dampen their spirits or can-do attitude.

“I really do have to commend my staff for all of their perseverance, flexibility and keeping the department up and running as if it were just another day,” Brissette says. 

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Rebecca L. Socci MSN, RN NPD-BC, MEDSURG-BC, WCC

Professional Nurse Educator • Director of Clinical Education, AHA Training Center Coordinator • New London Hospital

Rebecca Socci discovered her passion for clinical education while she was working at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center while completing her MSN in Education and teaching as a clinical instructor at Colby-Sawyer College, in conjunction with her full-time nursing role. 

In 2022, she started working at New London Hospital as the Inpatient Services Clinical Nurse Educator, and in July 2024, she became director of clinical Education.

In her current role, Socci says that patience is one of the most important elements. 

“As an educator and professional development specialist, we meet adult learners through all walks of life in our work. Each person needs something slightly different in order to be successful, and it takes a great deal of patience to sometimes figure out what it is that they need,” Socci says.

In health care, Socci believes that everything comes back to the needs of her patients, which inspires her to reach for excellence. 

“In my role, I believe that by providing the staff with the tools and knowledge to be successful, competent and efficient in their positions providing front line care to our patients, then in turn our patients will have better outcomes,” Socci says.

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Joan Loftus DNP, RN
Academic Nurse Educator/Researcher • Director and Chair of Nursing, Associate Professor of Nursing • Colby-Sawyer College

While reflecting on her nursing career, Joan Loftus believes that the most essential characteristic to nursing is the ability to listen. 

“Listening is an essential character trait of nursing leaders and faculty, guiding trust, collaboration and thoughtful decision making,” says Loftus, who is now director and chair of nursing at Colby-Sawyer College where she oversees the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. 

“By listening carefully to students and colleagues, I can build trust, support meaningful learning, and make decisions grounded in real experiences and needs,” she says. “In many ways, listening is at the heart of nursing as it is how we show empathy, respect and genuine care for the whole person.”

As a nurse for over 40 years, her practice has included all areas of critical care nursing, followed by many years as a geriatric nurse practitioner. She now focuses on the education of future nurses and is inspired by the relationship she has with her students and mentor.

“My mentor continues to show me what integrity, generosity and commitment to the profession truly look like,” she says. “I’m also very fortunate to work with an exceptional team of colleagues. All of this reminds me that excellence in nursing grows from relationships, continuous learning and a genuine desire to serve others.”

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Carley Westenfeld MSN, RN, CCRN

Team • Unit Nurse Manager • Neuro ICU, Neuro Special Care Unit, Interim Neuroscience ENT/EMU Unit • Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Carley Westenfeld currently serves as the unit nurse manager for the Neuro Critical Care Unit and Neuro Special Care Unit, as well as the interim manager for the Neuroscience ENT/EMU Unit at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. 

Westenfeld grew up in Springfield, Vt., which gave her a strong sense of community and connection to the patients and families her team serves. Since beginning her nursing career about 15 years ago, she has spent most of her time in the Surgical Trauma ICU.

“I was fortunate to be surrounded by leaders who recognized my potential and encouraged me to pursue a leadership role, which I formally stepped into in 2018,” Westenfeld says.

In the fall of 2023, Westenfeld was promoted to unit nurse manager for the Neuro ICU and Neuro Special Care Unit.

“Over the past three years in this role, I have had the privilege of experiencing many moments that inspire a deep sense of pride and fulfillment,” says Westenfeld, who is being recognized with her neuro unit nurse colleagues Ellen McGraw, Sandy Thomas-Mathurin, Stephanie Moore and Shawna Malynowski with the “Team” award. 

“Among the most meaningful was our unit receiving the AACN Beacon Award for Excellence in 2025. This distinguished award recognizes units that achieve outstanding patient outcomes,
foster a healthy work environment, and consistently apply evidence-based nursing practices — standards our team exemplifies each day.”