Gil Simmons and Renee DiNino to Co-Host VNA of South Central CT’s Nightingale Awards

New Haven (April 29, 2014) – John R. Quinn, President & CEO of the Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut (VNA/SCC) announced that Gil Simmons, WTNH-8 Meteorologist and Renee DiNino of Clear Channel Radio will emcee the 2014 Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing. Other leadership at the event, which will be held on Thursday, May 8, 2014 at Anthony’s Ocean View in New Haven, includes Honorary Co-Chairs Kiki and Ted Kennedy, Jr.

The Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing program was originally developed by the VNA/SCC to be a collaborative effort to celebrate outstanding nurses and elevate the nursing profession. The goals of the program are to encourage retention, inspire future nurses, focus public attention and recognize the breadth and scope of nursing practice at the local level.

This will be the fifth year that Simmons and DiNino will have co-hosted the event. “Gil and Renee are not only entertaining emcees, but also, enthusiastic advocates for the nursing profession and the Nightingale Awards program,” says VNA/SCC President & CEO John Quinn, “we are very happy that they will again be lending their voices to this important event.” 

For more information about the Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing visit the Nightingale website at http://www.nightingalenursingawards.org/index.php/home-newhaven.

To make a contribution to the VNA/SCC in support of this important event, please contact Melissa Healy, Community Development Specialist, at 203-859-6054.

The Evolution of the Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing

The Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing program was developed in 2001 out of a desire to celebrate and elevate the nursing profession. As a nursing organization with more than a century of service, the Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut (VNA/SCC) took the lead in creating the award ceremony. The Nightingale vision was quickly embraced by the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Yale-New Haven Hospital and The Hospital of Saint Raphael, whose financial support brought the idea to fruition.

In 2003, the program grew to include concurrent galas in the Hartford, Norwich-New London, and Stamford regions, as well as the original program in New Haven. The Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing is open and inclusive of all health care settings—hospitals, home health care, health centers, schools, health departments, long-term care, nursing schools, medical practices and more. In 2014 the Nightingale Awards for Excellence in Nursing will be held in three locations; Hartford, New Haven, and New London.