Hebrew SeniorLife Honors Nursing Staff at Academic Celebration

Carline Cenat, Registered Nurse, recognized as R.N. of the Year and Dadie Petit-Frere, P.C.A., as Personal Care Associate of the Year.

BOSTON - At its annual Academic Program Celebration, Hebrew SeniorLife, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, one of Boston’s Top Places to Work, and New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities, named Carline Cenat, Registered Nurse, as R.N. of the Year and Dadie Petit-Frere, P.C.A., as Personal Care Associate of the Year. Cenat, who lives in Randolph, is a Staff Registered Nurse at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center – Boston and has been employed by Hebrew SeniorLife since 2004, starting as a C.N.A. before becoming a nurse. Petit-Frere, who lives in Brockton and is a Senior Patient Care Associate at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center at NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, has worked at Hebrew SeniorLife since 2012.

Academic Celebration Photo

The ceremony, held May 4, also recognized recent C.N.A.s who graduated from the Certified Nursing Assistant training program based at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center - Boston. This five-week, fully paid program combines classroom time, lab skill training, and supervised time with patients. This year, 10 graduated from the program. 

As part of its effort to recognize the special role that nurses play on the care team, Hebrew SeniorLife also named three nurses as part of its Nurse Excellence Program: Debra Dunlap, staff registered nurse at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center at NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, who lives in North Easton; Laura Hunt, R.N., Nurse Manager at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center at NewBridge on the Charles in Dedham, who lives in Norwood; and Jacquelyn Mello, Staff Registered Nurse at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center – Boston, who lives in Hyde Park. Drawn from throughout the organization, these nurses will receive individually crafted learning opportunities to deepen their knowledge base for a particular area of interest. Participants of the program attend conferences and meetings, participate in policy or educational programming development, and help in special projects to expand their skills in wound management, dementia care, or end of life, to name a few. 

Senior Staff Chaplain Hali Diecidue delivered the invocation and Susan Graff, M.S.N., R.N., Director, Professional Practice and Education, issued welcoming remarks and Jean Roberson, M.S.N., R.N., Clinical Nurse Specialist, provided an overview of nursing programs. Other speakers included Melissa Bayer Tearney, Board Chair of Hebrew SeniorLife and Louis J. Woolf, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hebrew SeniorLife. Margie Lunder, a Hebrew SeniorLife donor, introduced the night’s honorees. The evening concluded with a presentation from Tammy Retalic, D.N.P., M.S., R.N., Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President, Patient Care Services, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center.

National Nurses Month
As part of National Nurses Month, nearly three dozen nurses from Hebrew SeniorLife were nominated for their impeccable work for the annual “Salute to Nurses” supplement published in the Boston Globe.  Nominees range from newly minted nurses to some with decades of experience, and from home health aides to day and night charge nurses to hospice care – showcasing the organization’s continuum of care.

According to Retalic, “Hebrew SeniorLife is committed to delivering world-class clinical quality to our patients. and we support that by offering many opportunities for ongoing education and professional development that can position nurses to advance their careers.” 

Hebrew SeniorLife serves as a clinical training site for students seeking R.N., L.P.N., or C.N.A. degrees, and trains nursing students in inpatient and outpatient settings from partner schools, including Academy Health Care, Regis College, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Massachusetts General Institute for Health Professionals, and Labouré College. 

The organization was recently designated as an Age-Friendly Health System by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement. If you are interested in joining our team for a fulfilling career, please visit our careers page.

About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 3,000 seniors a day across six campuses throughout Greater Boston. Our locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; and Jack Satter House, Revere. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and trains more than 1,000 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, visit https://www.hebrewseniorlife.org or follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.