Nursing Awards
The Elissa Messori Jacobsen Nursing Awards Fund was established by Dr. and Mrs. Divo Messori to celebrate the life of their daughter Lisa. A nurse, Lisa died in 2001 after a battle with breast cancer. “Doing this, helping others, means something and helps to get through the loss,” said Dr. Messori at the first Nursing Awards Presentation on May 8, 2002. “It’s a measure of comfort. There is pleasure in giving.” This donor-directed fund benefits Chestnut Hill Health System (CHHS) nurses with their continuing nursing education-The Elissa Messori Jacobsen Nursing Awards Fund. Full-time, part-time, pool nurses and nursing staff, with a minimum of one year of nursing experience at CHHS are eligible to apply for a scholarship grant. Applicants must be enrolled in an accredited clinical nursing program before applying.
Since the first awards in 2002, 64 Nursing Awards to 47 students enrolled in nursing programs have been made for a total distribution from the Fund of $146,407. The Messori family, their friends and Chestnut Hill Hospital (CHH) physicians, nurses and employees have contributed to the Fund, as well as patients and family members touched by the skill and compassion of the Hospital’s nursing staff. To make a contribution to The Messori Fund, or to establish a donor-directed fund, please contact Bethany Flood, Executive Director, at 215-438-8102.
about divo messori, M.D.
Dr. Messori pictured with Susan Hansen, former Executive Director and CEO, at the 2006 scholarship reception. Photo by Arthur Ryan.
Divo Messori, M.D., arrived at CHH in 1958 as a resident in medicine. He was responsible for covering the new ICU—one of the first in the country. “There was a young woman acting as head nurse. I will always remember what an excellent nurse she was,” Dr. Messori said at the first Awards Presentation. “Through her, I realized the importance of nursing care and appreciated the quality of nursing at this institution [CHH].” After two years in the Army Medical Corps and another two years of a gastroenterology fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Messori became a staff physician at CHH.
When asked to comment on the role of nurses in health care today, Dr. Messori has said, “Nurses are under-appreciated and under-rewarded. Hospitals are being asked to do more with less and less and nurses bear the brunt. They deserve the greatest measure of our support.”
To make a contribution to the Elissa Messori Jacobsen Memorial Nursing Awards Fund, or to set up an award fund in honor or memory of a loved one, please contact Bethany Flood at 215-438-8102.
how to apply
Eligibility:
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Applicants must be engaged in nursing at CHHS for a minimum of one year.
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Full-time, part-time, pool nurses and nursing staff are eligible.
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Applicants must be enrolled in clinical nursing studies (direct patient care), including but not limited to diploma, associate, undergraduate or graduate programs.
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The Fund does not provide for pre-requisite nursing program courses.
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Previous award recipients are eligible to apply.
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There is one application cycle annually - this year's application deadline is: Monday, January 18th, 2021 at 5:00pm.
To apply, please complete the following:
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Complete your application via Survey Monkey (application cycle closed 1/18/2021).
(for a list of application questions, click here).
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A letter from your academic advisor stating which program you are enrolled in and your current academic standing.
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A completed W-9 (form W-9).
Both the letter from your advisor and W-9 can be emailed to:
NursingAward@greentreecommunityhealth.org
or mailed to:
Green Tree Community Health Foundation
Nursing Award
10 East Springfield Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19118
The Elissa Messori Jacobsen Nursing Education Award will be granted to up to 5 nurses this year.
past recipients
The awards were presented in recognition of each nurse’s commitment to academic achievement, professional advancement, and patient care. The nurses are advancing their studies at a variety of local colleges and universities.
2020 RECIpIENTS
Abigail Benbow, Dempsey Cooper, Caleb Foy, Ashley Rose Frazier-Willie, Jarrell Hill,
Rory Hosephros, Rebecca Kreyer, Bahiya Morton, Maude Orler, Kyle Raczynski,
Britney Rhym, Barbara Strain, Anna Thomas. Elina Vengrinovici
2018 Recipients
Pictured (left to right) are Bethany Flood - Executive Director of Green Tree, Dr. Lisa States, Mallory Dunbar, Jarrell Hill, Joan Scanlon, Kyle Raczynski, Dr. Divo Messori, Anna Thomas, Lisa Heverly, Abigail Benbow, Nora Joy, Maude Orler, and Barbara Strain. Katlyn Monahan (not pictured).
2008 Recipients
(top to bottom, left to right) Pictured are Chestnut Hill Hospital nurses Joanne Markovitz, Barbara Daulerio, Mary Ellen Bower, Natalie McGraw, Susan Esquirrel, Lisa Reiss, Anna Grasela, Cecilia Ford, Bethanne Salomone, Susan Eberwine, Melissa Leach, and Meredith Robison.
Green Tree Community Health Foundation Executive Director Susan Hansen; Board member and Scholarship Committee Chair, Tine Hansen-Turton; and Dr. Divo Messori.
The awards were presented in recognition of each nurse’s commitment to academic achievement, professional advancement, and patient care. The nurses are advancing their studies at a variety of local colleges and universities.
Photo by Arthur Ryan
2007 Recipients
Front row (l to r): Natalie McGraw, RN, enrolled in a BSN program at Immaculata College; Divo Messori, MD; Susan Hansen, Foundation executive director and CEO.
Second row: Anna Grasela, RN, enrolled in an MSN program at LaSalle; Cecelia Forde, RN, enrolled in a BSN program at Immaculata; Tine Hansen-Turton, chair, nursing awards committee.
Third row: Lindsay Novick, RN, enrolled in a BSN program at Gwynedd Mercy College; Jennifer White, RN, enrolled in a BSN program at Immaculata; Rose Mueller, RN, enrolled in an MSN program at Drexel.
Photo by Arthur Ryan
Back row (l to r): JoAnne Jacquette, RN, enrolled in an MSN program at Chestnut Hill College; Joanne Markowitz, RN, enrolled in an MSN program at Gwynedd Mercy; Kathi Reilley, enrolled in an associate of science degree program in nursing at Harcum College; Katrina Hargrove, LPN, enrolled in an associate degree program at Community College of Philadelphia; Erika Keller, CNM, enrolled in an MSN program at Philadelphia University.
Not pictured: Beth Dailey, RN, enrolled in a BSN program at Temple University.
2006 Recipients
From left: nurses Beth Dailey and Anna Grasela, both Elissa Messori Jacobsen nursing award winners, join Beth Thorp; a member of the Friends, Dr. Divo Messori; father of Elissa Messori and founder of the nursing awards fund; Susan Hansen, Executive Director and CEO of the Foundation; Tine Hansen-Turton, chairman of the nursing awards committee; Betsy Whiteside, Jean Alsentzer, Marjorie Pearson and Joyce Shumaker, members of the Friends; and Gina Genesio and Katrina Hargrove, also nurses and award winners.
2005 Recipients
Susan M. Hansen, Executive Director and CEO, Chestnut Hill Health Care Foundation (left) and Dr. Divo Messori, Lower Gwynedd, (right) congratulate Tracy May, a nurse in the Labor and Delivery unit at Chestnut Hill Hospital on receiving an award from the Elissa Messori Jacobsen Memorial Nursing Awards Fund. Tracy is in graduate school at Temple University.
Photo by Arthur Ryan
Photo by Jimmy J. Pack, Jr.
Image via The Crafty Canvas