June 20, 2016 – Connie Kraft, RN, MSN, MS, CEN, who recently received the Registered Professional Nurse of Excellence award from the Suffolk Regional Emergency Medical Services Council (REMSCO) has just been rewarded with the New York State Emergency Medical Services Council Nurse of Excellence award.
Kraft was honored for her dedication to the advancement of emergency patient care at both the pre-hospital and hospital levels in Suffolk County. Throughout her career, Kraft has sought to continually strengthen the relationship and collaboration between Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the nursing profession.
“This is a well-deserved honor for Connie, and we congratulate her,” said Reuven Pasternak, MD, Chief Executive Officer, Stony Brook University Hospital, and Vice President for Health Systems, Stony Brook Medicine. “The community has greatly benefited from Connie’s expertise and reputation in her chosen field, and we are lucky to have her on our team.”
“I’m so grateful for all the opportunities for growth I’ve experienced while at Stony Brook,” Kraft said when she learned of the recognition.
As a multi-term officer and President of the Suffolk County Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), Kraft has worked to ensure that EMS is included in many ENA educational programs. She has a unique perspective on both pre-hospital and hospital emergency patient care, which helps the Emergency Department staff have a close working relationship with EMS providers.
Currently, Kraft is a sitting member of the Suffolk County REMSCO for Suffolk ENA. She is also a respected member of Stony Brook University Hospital’s Emergency Management team, with responsibility for developing and conducting one of the County’s largest full-scale emergency preparedness exercises.
Kraft has been a registered nurse for approximately 30 years. She is certified to teach numerous pre-hospital EMS provider courses, such as CPR, ACLS, Basic and Advanced Disaster Life Support, TNCC and disaster triage classes. She spent the majority of her career as an emergency and transport nurse, and serves as a preceptor for all levels of New York State pre-hospital EMS certification. She also volunteers as a member of the Suffolk County Medical Reserve Corps.
Her expertise is continually sought as an integral part of the County’s Emergency Support Function (ESF 8) group, which is responsible for coordinating the county’s medical disaster response. She also coordinates the MARO Regional Training Center, which makes emergency preparedness training available to the downstate healthcare community.
Kraft will be presented with the New York State award on October 15 at the Vital Signs Conference of NYS Emergency Medical Services in Syracuse, NY.
