Updated February 27, 2026
- CNO Corner
- You Said, We Did
- News & Updates
- Professional Development
- Magnet
- Nurses Hub: Welcome
- Safety and Security
- System Nursing News and Events
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CNO Corner
Posted 2/27/26
A Greeting From Our Chief Nursing Officer
Dear Team,
Happy 2026! It is with a tremendous sense of pride that I reflect on the achievements of the past year and the progress we continue to make as a team. Our successes are not only visible in our outcomes, but in the experience of the patients, their families, and the members of our team.
In 2025 Rahway has realized meaningful improvements in patient experience, quality, and safety, confirming our commitment to sage, compassionate, and evidence based patient centered care. The strides made are a direct result of your skill, compassion, accountability, and unyielding attention our nursing and interdisciplinary teams bring to the bedside every day.
Equally important is how these teams feel while doing this important work. Achieving top-decile employee engagement score is a testament to our culture that is rooted in trust, shared governance, professional autonomy, and respect for the voices of our frontline teams. We know engaged teams deliver better care, and our results continue to prove that connection.
We are also proud to have celebrated earning our 9th consecutive Leapfrog “A” for hospital safety. This distinction reflects disciplined execution, transparency, and a hospital-wide commitment to doing the right thing even when no one is watching.
As we look ahead our Magnet journey remains a top priority. Magnet is more than a designation, it is the framework that challenges us to elevate nursing, advance professional practice, and sustain outcomes. Strengthening structure, investing in leadership, and evolving nursing innovation positions us well as we continue on this journey.
Thank you for the care you provide, the standards you uphold, and the pride you take in our hospital. What we are building is excellence in action.
With gratitude,
Tara Cullen, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC
Chief Nursing Officer
Vice President, Patient Care Services
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway
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You Said, We Did
Posted 2/27/26
Keep That Feedback Coming!
To improve staff experience, we’re committed to working on solutions to issues that are relevant to the team at every level. Here are a few recent accomplishments based on nursing/CCT feedback:
Superbowl Thank You Celebration
In February, we had our always fun and popular Super Bowl, Super Thank You Celebration for our employees.
We celebrated and thanked our employees for taking the Employee Engagement Survey.
We had an 86% participation rate and our overall Engagement score of 4.33 is the highest in the System.
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News & Updates
Posted 2/27/26
RWJUH Nursing News and Updates
RWJUH Rahway Good Catches
Congratulations to Katherine Loveland, RN in the Emergency Department at RWJUH Rahway on her “Good Catch” – Katherine had a questioning attitude about protocols for lactic acid reflux. She researched the issue with the Laboratory and with Epic, also referring to system level protocols, and identified and corrected the issue on internal documents and informed the ED nurses of the revised protocols. Thanks to Katie, the ED is a safer place today.
Congratulations to Shellie Ogle, Nursing Assistant at RWJUH Rahway on her “Good Catch” – Shellie was asked to pick up a patient’s jacket for him in the middle of the night as it was dropped off by his brother. He said he wanted to make sure he had his keys. Shellie looked through the jacket and couldn’t find any keys. She did find a cigarette box. She just had a gut feeling, a questioning attitude, and decided to look in. When she opened it there were paraphernalia – small bags of white powder. She discussed told the nurse and also notified security. With security’s help, they found more questionable drugs on the patient. Shellie spoke up for safety! She kept her team safe and the patient!
Congratulations to Julia Giordano, RN, in the Operating Room at RWJUH Rahway on her recent Good Catch Award.
Recently she had a great catch when she recognized that a 5 pack of laps (Sponges) only contained 4. Its important laps are counted accurately to prevent retained items. Having a pack with 1 less than expected can create confusion and errors and could lead to a retained item being missed without robust count practices.
The standard to address such an issue which occurs extremely rarely is to take the laps and packing out of the OR, ensure they are given to the charge nurse who then ensures they are reported to supply chain. The packaging is important as lot numbers and items numbers are necessary when supply chain notifies the company.
They can then determine what happened and whether this error is widespread or contained. All these things occurred because of Julia’s timely action.
Keep up the great work Julia!
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Professional Development
Posted 2/27/26
Transition to Practice
Providing a safe, supported transition into practice that nurtures confidence, strengthen competence and helps new-to-practice nurses feel comfortable every step of the way.
Posted 2/27/26
Advancing Standards of Practice Through Interdisciplinary Simulation
Simulation is essential to advancing nursing practice by providing an environment that is safe, supportive, and conducive to learning. Applying Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (1986), the CPDIR team promote learning through observation, practice, feedback, and clinical decision-making. This approach builds confidence and competence, improves standards for practice, and supports patient safety and continuous professional growth.
Posted 2/27/26
RN Professional Advancement Program (Clinical Ladder)
The clinical ladder is a structured system for providing career advancement for nurses while remaining in the clinical setting, providing direct patient care. It is used to recognize professional development and to differentiate the level of nursing expertise and contribution. This concept is based on the understanding that the art and science of nursing is practiced at different levels of expertise, from novice to expert, based on Patricia Benner’s Novice to Expert Theory.
There are four levels of clinical practice in which the RN demonstrates initiative and progression towards clinical competence.
The purpose of the clinical ladder is to:
- Enhance, recognize, and reward the professional development of nurses.
- Retain staff nurses in direct patient care positions.
- Enhance employee satisfaction of staff nurses.
- Facilitate the recruitment of registered nurses by being recognized as a “nurse friendly” organization.
- Promote the nursing vision throughout RWJBH at Rahway.
- Enhance nursing care by recognizing and utilizing nursing expertise in the care RWJBH at Rahway patients.
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MAGNET
Posted 2/27/26
It is with great pleasure and excitement, on behalf of nursing at RWJUH Rahway, we have submitted our application of Pre-Intent for Magnet® Recognition with the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
The Magnet® Pre-Intent Membership Program provides organizations with regular access to Magnet Program Office resources, high-level contact with Magnet team members, and additional opportunities to help your organization manage and navigate the Magnet application process.
By submitting intent for RWJUH Rahway, we will have the necessary guidance and support to showcase our many strengths and accolades and guide us through the process to meet the many requirements for a Magnet designation. We are excited and energized in learning and becoming a part of the Magnet community.
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Nurses Hub: Welcome
Posted 2/27/26
Please see the below video message from Nancy Holecek, MAS, MHA, BSN, RN, FNAP, Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, RWJBarnabas Health.
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Safety and Security
Posted 2/27/26
Nonviolence in the Workplace
At RWJBarnabas Health, we are committed to fulfilling our vision to be the premier health care destination offering a best-in-class work experience to every member of the team. Pursing our mission starts with each of us – this is the foundation of our total wellbeing promise – Wellbeing starts with you. As part of this promise, we are committed to providing a safe environment for you, your colleagues, and our patients and visitors. Working closely with local leadership, the site and system Workplace Violence Committees, Corporate Security and local security leadership, a network of vendors and subject matter experts, and local law enforcement, we are constantly enhancing and deploying the latest security and safety capabilities.
However, your security is your responsibility too. We have a responsibility to work together as one system, one family to maintain safety across RWJBarnabas Health. Please take the opportunity to review RWJUH Rahway Protect Together flyer for guidance and tips and be sure to stay current on your annual education including the online De-Escalation to a Safe State (DESS) module and Protect Together Workplace Violence class.
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System Nursing News and Events
Posted 2/27/26
RWJBH Nurses Night at the New Jersey Devils
RWJBarnabas Health and the NJ Devils are hosting Nurses Night at the Prudential Center on March 8 at 7 p.m.
Detroit Red Wings vs. New Jersey Devils
Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 7 p.m.
- Scrub top included with all tickets purchased from the link
- In-game recognition for New Jersey RWJBH Nurses throughout the night
- Group photo on center ice after the game
- Special discounted ticket rate
View Flyer for Additional Details (PDF)
Posted 2/27/26
SBAR: Unplanned Readmission Risk Stratification Tool
On Wednesday, December 10, RWJBarnabasHealth went live with the Unplanned Readmission Risk Stratification Tool in Epic. Please see the attached SBAR for details, including specific recommendations for the nursing team for decreasing the risk of readmission for high-risk patients.