PBISN Alumni Association News
June-2014
President’s Update
Dear PBISN Alumni,
It is a pleasure for me to provide you an update for the PBISN Alumni
Association from this past year, and for current and future activities of
the School and the Association. So much news to report on!
2013 Highlights
In 2013, the Association followed through on many of our goals
including reconfirming our Alumni Board membership (see sidebar),
updated the Constitution and By-Laws and member benefits, sponsored
educational and networking events, and recruited a number of new
active members. Many of you got in touch with us via our Alumni
Website and provided contact information and shared your news and
updates. There were a number of events sponsored by the Alumni
Association that were well attended and enjoyed by all.
 A CE Evening Learning Program was held at Phillips Ambulatory
Care Center (PACC) on April 30th where an educational and very
entertaining talk on ‘Health and Humor’ was presented by our very
own alum and Board Member Rita Williams – Class of 1970!
 An ‘End of Summer’ Networking Happy Hour was held at Aleo
Restaurant on September 24th, and it was a great opportunity to
socialize with former classmates, fellow alumni, faculty and the
Dean!
 The Annual Alumni Luncheon was held on October 20th at the
National Arts Club in Gramercy Park where we celebrated 109 years
of Beth Israel Nursing and had attendees from eight decades of BI
graduates. We recognized Alumni from the classes of 1943, 53, 63,
73, 83, 93, and 03, and welcomed new graduates from the class of
2013. The Class of 1963 got together for a class reunion with a
large group in attendance. Annette Stauber Cohn – Class of 1943
addressed the Membership and guests and spoke of her fond
memories as a student at BI, and also of her good friend and
classmate Natalie Berger Strumlauf. Her published memoir of her
days at BI, “out-of TIME and PLACE” was distributed to all in
attendance. In addition to Dean Janet Mackin, honorary BI Board of
Trustee member Carol Green a great friend and supporter of PBISN
, following in the footsteps of her father Seymour Phillips, for who
the school is named, addressed the group, as did Co Chair of the
Committee on Nursing for PBISN Ruth Nerken.
 $1000 Scholarships were awarded to Alumni Susan Brindisi – Class
of 2007 and L’via Weisinger – Class of 1996 who continued their
formal Nursing education (read their stories below).
Officers
Virginia Klunder
President
Lynn Rubinstein
Vice President
Rochelle Bokow
Bronson
Immediate Past
President
Edwina Thompson
Treasurer
Frances Labinger
Assistant Treasurer
Rita Williams
Recording Secretary
Directors
Miriam Fridman
Alisa Gadon
MaryAnne Gallagher
Mary Gribbin
Kathy Kelly Pagliuca
Ruth Merdinger
Bernice Rosario
Audrey Schmerzler
Sandra Stern Winer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time to pay your
 Rochelle Bokow Bronson received the Dorothy Burrill Lindner Award
for her outstanding Leadership contributions to the Alumni
Association and Bernice Rosario was honored with the Elaine Simon
Award for Excellence in Consideration of Patient Welfare.
 The merger of Mount Sinai and Continuum Health was finalized in
the Fall and the Mount Sinai Health System was formed with the
birth of a new hospital name – Mount Sinai Beth Israel. The school
is forging new relationships with its new healthcare partners.
What’s New in 2014
2014, thus far, has been a very exciting year for the school, starting with
a number of important announcements and activities.
 The NY State Board of Regents has finally approved the RN to BSN
Program and PBISN is now designated as a College of Nursing!
Enrollment for the first BSN Program has already begun, and classes
will begin this September.
 The PBISN website has also changed to pbisn.edu, and you can find
out more information about the RN-BSN Program on the Website.
 After 14 years as Dean of PBISN, Janet Makin announced her
retirement as of August 1st. In an email to faculty and alumni, Dean
Mackin stated she felt that she has accomplished her goal of seeing
PBISN become a college of nursing with and RN-BSN program. A
search committee is in place to replace Janet, yet we know those
will be big shoes to fill. We thank her for her never-ending support
for the Alumni Association and the Board.
 To put the icing on this wonderful career, Dean Mackin was recently
the recipient of the 2014 Nurse.com GEM Award for Education and
Mentorship
 The Dean’s Executive Assistant, Cynthia Hall, after 43 years of
service, also announced her retirement. Cynthia has been a great
friend and support to the Association for many years and will be
greatly missed.
 Graduation was held on May 28th at the Mount Sinai Hospital Stern
Auditorium, where more than 100 graduates received their
diplomas from PBISN and became official Alumni members.
 Three students, Thomas Behrens, Jacob Levy, and Michelle Rojas,
received the Rose M. Hauer Award from the Alumni Association for
Outstanding Contribution to the School.
 The Annual Fall Luncheon and Membership Meeting will be
celebrating 110 years of Beth Israel Nursing on Sunday, October
26th from 12-4 PM once again at the National Arts Club. We honor
and celebrate all our alumni who attend, and this year we look
forward to specially recognizing graduates from the classes that end
in “4”.
 Our networking Happy Hour is planned for the evening of, Tuesday,
September 16th at Aleo Restaurant, and an Educational Event
(speaker and topic under discussion) is slated for Tuesday Evening,
October 7th with location to be determined. Please check-in
periodically at the Alumni Events website for updates.
For more information about these activities, please visit our Calendar of
Events and List of Alumni Benefits. We hope you will keep updated about
these and other items of interest by reading the PBISN Alumni Association
annual membership
dues!
Annual dues are
$50.00 Please
complete a
Membership Form
and mail it with
your check or
money order to the
Alumni Office
before July 30th to
keep your
membership
current for 2014. If
you are not current
on your dues,
please consider
rejoining, and a
special thanks to
those who became
active new
members at the
time of the Annual
Fall Luncheon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alumni Weblinks
pbisn.edu
Alumni Home
Alumni Board
Alumni Events
News. We are committed to sending via email two or more times each
year. PLEASE keep your mailing information up-to-date with us by using
the Alumni Information Update Form or call us at (212) 614-6157.
Please take time now to renew your Membership or consider
becoming an active member and supporting your Alumni
Association by completing a Membership Form (also attached)
and sending in your dues today!
With warm regards,
Virginia (Ginny) Klunder, MA, RN, CMQ/OE
Class of 1976
President, PBISN Alumni Association
Forms and
Documents
Will take you to:
 Membership
Application
 List of Alumni Benefits
 Constitution
 And By-Laws
 Newsletters
Thanks from Scholarship Winners
One of the great benefits of active Association Membership is an
opportunity to apply for a one thousand dollar ($1000) scholarship to an
accredited school of nursing, to continue your formal nursing education.
One recipient is awarded each year at the Annual Fall Luncheon.
Applications can be obtained from the Forms and Documents webpage.
The deadline for submitting a complete application packet for 2014 is
October 1, 2014. Two recent scholarship recipients share their stories here.
Susan Brindisi (2013 recipient), a 2007 graduate of the PBISN Alternative
Two-Day Option Program (ATOP) is currently a Nurse Manager at Mount
Sinai Beth Israel. Here is what Susan shared with us recently about the
scholarship. “The PBISN scholarship has enabled me to continue more
easily with my MSN at St. Joseph’s College of Maine Online. In a time
where the future of nursing depends on advanced degrees, this
contribution by the PBISN alumni assn. has assisted when I did not have
tuition reimbursement from being a new employee at BI and also
supporting two daughters in school. I am grateful for the generosity of the
alumni association and for being recognized for my contribution to the
field.”
L’via Weisinger (2012 recipient), is a 1996 PBISN Graduate. We also
caught up with her. “After many years of life getting in the way – kids,
work, finances, health – and admittedly, a dose of procrastination – I
finally bit the bullet and decided to complete my BSN. It was a dream of
mine from the day I graduated PBISN in 1996, and a promise I had made to
all my instructors who believed in me and saw a great future ahead in
Nursing for me. Being awarded the Alumni Scholarship to help me achieve
that dream and promise was an overwhelming and emotional experience.
I have tremendous gratitude to PBISN for providing me with an
extraordinary education and foundation in Nursing that has carried me
through the past 18 years. To have my fellow alumni recognize my
accomplishments, my sacrifice and my perseverance in achieving my goals,
~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOLD THE DATES!!!
Networking
Happy Hour
Tuesday, Sept 16,
2014
6:00 PM
Aleo Restaurant
Evening
Educational
Program
Tuesday, Oct 7,
2014
Time and Location
TBD
Annual Fall
Luncheon
Sunday, Oct 26,
2014
and then support me on my next step, was humbling and so very
gratifying. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity and have pledged
once again to make my alma mater and our alumni proud of their
investment in me and continue to grow and thrive in the Nursing
profession, wearing my PBISN pin with pride.”
About the Alumni Association
The Alumni Association of the Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing is
celebrating 110 years of NURSING! The mission of the Association is to
foster, develop, and improve nursing services and nursing education
through the coordinated action of nurses with allied professional groups,
and other citizens to meet the needs of the community.
The Association aims to achieve this by:
 Advancing the interest of the students and alumni by providing
opportunities to maintain and build on their relationships with the
Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center and the Phillips Beth Israel
School of Nursing
 Providing scholastic achievement and professional development
benefits to the Membership and new graduates via awards and
Association events
 Carrying an active program which maintains the highest standard of
nursing practice by promoting professional education and
advancement via educational programs, networking events and
scholarships
 Encouraging participation and cooperation in professional and
community activities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
12-4 PM
National Arts Club
Check
Alumni Events
periodically for
updates!
Contact Us
Phillips Beth Israel
School of Nursing
Alumni Association
776 Avenue of the
Americas, Alumni Office
New York, NY 100016354
Telephone:
(212) 614-6157
Email: Alumni@chpnet.org
Alumni Website:
http://pbisn.edu/jmla15/al
umni/alumni-home.html