Maureen Daly Maroney, MS, MSN, RN-BC, CCRN
Assistant Director of Nursing/Nurse Educator
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island

Maureen Maroney says the experience that best exemplifies her pride in being a 36-year veteran of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island is the aftermath of Superstorm
Sandy in 2012.

The nursing staff was sent to various facilities while their hospital was being repaired – even as they were dealing with the devastation themselves. “Many of us were unable to live in our homes. Our cars were destroyed,” Maroney recalls. “But we worked together as a team to adjust to our new workplaces and deliver quality patient care. And when we went back we had one goal: to get the hospital ready for the return of our patients and the community we serve. We knew we would be successful because, as a Joint Commission surveyor later said, ‘At Coney Island Hospital anything is possible.'”

A nurse educator, Maroney leads by example and uses creative strategies tailored to the individual learning needs of the hospital’s nurses. “I’m passionate about teaching and get great satisfaction watching them transition from novice to expert nurse,” she says. “Health care is evolving, and nurses need to use the latest evidence based practices to improve care.”

She traces her inspiration back to her teenage years when she helped care for her grandmother, who moved in with her family after suffering a stroke. “My grandmother loved telling stories of her childhood in Ireland, but she had some difficulty choosing the correct words. This experience made me cognizant of how meaningful it is to listen to someone and be present for them in their time of need and not just focus on their illness,” she said.

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