Congratulations to Gail Carchietta RN, MSE, COHN-S, FAAOHN, the MaAOHN 2018 Dorothy Reid Lifetime Achievement Award Winner!

The MaAOHN Board of Directors is extremely proud to present the 2018 Dorothy Reid Lifetime Achievement Award to Gail Carchietta RN, MSE, COHN-S, FAAOHN. Gail is a past President of MaAOHN and is currently serving as President of the Northeast Association of Occupational Health Nurses, representing the states of CT, DE, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT.

Gail found her path to Occupational Health Nursing after careers in college Residence Life at SUNY Cortland, and in Human Resources with an advertising agency in Manhattan, and as a Benefits Team member for NYNEX.  Her first nursing position was on a hospital medical-surgical unit before moving on to Public Health as a maternal child nurse and finally into Occupational Health Nursing. 

She has worked in old paper mills that were built before 1860 in NY, and Massachusetts.  Gail attributes her early professional collaborations with a Safety Manager and a General Practitioner who knew the difference an OHN can make, for expanding her vision of health and wellness as a right for all.  Gail’s work at Titleist, and later at Johnson & Johnson, enabled her to implement healthy workforce initiatives and to see the direct benefits to clients. 

To paraphrase Gail’s own words, “we are given the opportunity as nurses, to help make lives better.  With the combination of health, science, engineering and our compassion, we make a true difference in the lives of our workers. We are able to keep more people working longer through creative accommodations.  Todays’ work health challenges test our abilities to effectively manage increasing mental health issues, and violence that impacts our workforce. Each and every day we have an opportunity to affect change. 

Gail Carchietta is a board certified OHN and an AAOHN Fellow. She has received nursing awards through Medique, the Audrey Brathwaite award, and the Moore Medical Nurse Excellence Award.  She is motivated by her volunteer work and by the opportunity to serve her state and regional occupational health nursing associations. Gail is involved with support to the Haiti Medical Mission Project. She enjoys traveling with friends, and quilting.

The MaAOHN Board sees Gail as a champion for workers and a motivating leader for all OHN’s. It is our sincere pleasure to honor Gail Carchietta with the 2018 Nurse Excellence Award.