Executive Director of Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Forest Hills, Susan Browning, hasn’t just cracked a glass ceiling in the healthcare industry, she’s shattered it. And she has the award to prove it: Susan was among eight leaders to receive the Glass Ceiling Award, which honors women who rose through the ranks in their respective industries. Though there are still plenty of glass ceilings that need breaking, these women have paved the way for many others! We talked to Susan about mentorship, one of her biggest career decisions, and what’s next for her at Northwell Health:

Tell us about your career journey at Northwell Health!

I joined Northwell Health eight months after the merge of what was then North Shore Health System and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. When I was recruited, I initially had responsibility for ambulatory care operations. However, due to the evolution of the health system, I moved into a role within system operations about a year and a half after joining. From that role, I transitioned back into hospital leadership positions, first at LIJ Forest Hills and then at Staten Island University Hospital. Subsequently, I provided administrative leadership within four of our clinical service lines. And, about three years ago, I was asked to return to LIJ Forest Hills as executive director.

What was it like to make the decision about healthcare administration vs. practicing medicine?

I always knew that I wanted a career in health care, and early on I thought that would be as a physician. However, during my undergraduate studies, I met several healthcare executives through various professional experiences. It was through those experiences that I reoriented my interests towards administration, where I was focused on the health of the community and development of services to meet community needs.

What does it take to earn a Glass Ceiling Award?

I view this award as a great recognition of Northwell Health’s focus on building services in the Queens community, which meet the needs of the community. This is an award that is reserved for individuals that have achieved professional recognition, but most importantly, community recognition for their leadership within the community.

Have you had any mentors along the way who made a big difference in your career?

Absolutely. The mentors that I have had (and continue to have), provide extraordinary support, guidance, and objective insights as my career has developed. Having strong, trusted mentors is one of the most important positive factors in one’s career development.

What should women know about working at Northwell Health?

Northwell Health is an extremely innovative health system, with visionary leadership. There is a focus on building diverse talent across the organization, as having diverse voices contribute to organizational decision-making enhances the sophistication of those decisions. The culture is very supportive.

What’s next for you in shaping careers for women in STEM?

I prefer to focus on shaping careers of any young professional interested in STEM, not solely women. There is a great opportunity for talented leaders, and it is up to my generation to mentor these leaders and prepare them for the evolving industry and opportunities that will present.

Are you Made for this?

At Northwell Health, we already stand out as one of the Best Workplaces™ in Health Care and Biopharma. Now we’re aiming to be the healthiest. Our leadership is focused on food and nutrition as well as fitness and mental wellbeing initiatives to build a healthier workplace for all our employees.

“In the past few years, we’ve been able to do more in food and nutrition to create a better, more effective infrastructure for wellness at work and it’s because we’ve had a lot of great support from leadership.”

–Michelle Milgrim, Employee Wellness Manager

It all starts with the ingredients. Over the past two years, we’ve worked to ensure that our chicken, turkey and beef burgers are 100 percent antibiotic free. Our fish is sustainably sourced and harvested and we work, as much as possible, with local farms across Long Island, NJ and the Hudson Valley to source local produce. Through Community Supported Agriculture, employees are given the opportunity to get local produce – freshly harvested that morning — delivered weekly to their offices.

With great ingredients, we need great chefs. Northwell Health has four Michelin Star chefs that are driving chef talent development including our new AVP, system food services Bruno Tison. Our new partnership with the Culinary Institute of America’s fellowship program is going to bring culinary students into our pipeline of talent.

Now that we have put wellness on our plates and in our kitchens, we’re focusing on wellness in other areas. For starters? We want employees to be eating well at home. So, we’ve invested in teaching kitchens and work in close collaboration with chefs and registered dietitian teams to create hands-on demonstrations that have become a popular, accessible tool for staff. And we’re supporting these initiatives by providing healthier options throughout our facilities, not just the patient and cafeteria menu. We’re updating our coffee shops, gift shops, and vending machines so that the default options at our facilities will be healthy ones.

Though these changes are already making an impact to our employees’ wellness, they’re not the only lifestyle initiatives that we’re putting in place to support the wellbeing of our people. We’re putting our best foot forward through on-site stairwell and fitness campaigns and corporate walking challenges like our Walk to Dublin contest. As we pursue promoting wellness for our bodies, we also seek wellness for our mental health. We offer opportunities for stress management at our sites through guided meditation and reiki, and simply giving our employees time to unwind. We’re also making our facilities mom-friendly. By August, all of our sites will be equipped with dedicated lactation rooms to make pumping at work more accessible and comfortable for mothers.

At Northwell, every role matters, every person matters and every healthy moment matters. We’re invested in our employees’ health, inside and out and we continuously strive toward making our facilities a more nutritious, fit-friendly and welcoming place to work.

Be part of this transformation. See where you fit in here.

Change is rarely a smooth transition. For Registered Nurse Eva Galan, the road back to civilian life was a challenge that she felt unprepared to attempt.

Eva had spent 10 years in the Army as a medic and was now seeking a civilian nursing position in the health care world. Though she had skills superior to fellow applicants, she found it hard to compete for local nursing jobs.

That is, until she found Northwell Health.

While attending a veteran-centric job fair at Northwell Health, she met a Veterans Program Specialist who showed her how our health care system has everything she desires to help her get the job she and her family needed for her career post-military.

Northwell Health offers job fairs, veteran recruitment events, and webinars to support each veteran’s transition. In addition to these events, our Barracks to Business webinars and workshops cover practical needs like resumes, interviews, and networking advice with the goal of translating your military skills into career success.

For many veterans, like Eva, the transition to a civilian career is a difficult one and our military services are designed to help veterans understand the job search process and create a strategy to pursue civilian employment while introducing you to vast career opportunities and benefits at Northwell Health.

“Northwell Health offers employment workshops for transitioning service members, partnering with the VA to provide female Veterans much needed women’s services, a dedicated job site that matches Northwell Health jobs with applicants military skills, and even being a leader in new prosthetic technology. I am so very grateful to finally feel like someone out there has my back.”

— Eva Galan, Registered Nurse

You’ve served us, now explore our veteran-focused events to help you grow your career. 

You’ve chosen to pursue a career in one of the rehabilitation disciplines because you’re passionate about restoring the quality of life to those recovering from illness and injury. If you’re looking for the best place to grow your rehabilitation career, there are many reasons to join the rehabilitation team at Northwell Health. Here are the top five!

#1 – Made for Flexibility

With positions that cover the full continuum of rehabilitation care and opportunities throughout Long Island, the boroughs of New York and Westchester County, you’ll find a career that’s right for you. Northwell Health seeks professionals to join our team as physical and occupational therapists, speech-language therapists, rehabilitation aides, physical therapy assistants, clinical rehabilitation supervisors & directors, activities specialists and more in a variety of settings, including:

• Hospital acute care
• Sub-acute
• Inpatient rehabilitation
• Outpatient therapy
• Home care

#2 – Always reaching higher

If you’re looking to take your rehabilitation career further, Northwell Health has what you’re looking for. Our rehabilitation services cover every specialty imaginable, including:

• Inpatient/outpatient brain injury
• Spinal cord injury
• Pediatrics
• Orthopedics
• Sports
• Stroke
• Women’s Health/Pelvic Floor
• Oncology/Lymphedema
• And much more!

In addition, Northwell Health features CARF-accredited rehabilitation facilities that ensure the highest standards of care.

#3 – Innovation in motion

We are always looking for smarter and better ways to restore quality of life. For example, Glen Cove Hospital is the only facility in New York and one of only seven in the country to offer the G-EO System ™. This Robotic Assisted Gait Trainer is the world’s most advanced robotic-assisted device for restoring ambulation. We also utilize:

• Upper and lower extremity robots for stroke patients
• Functional electric stimulation bikes for spinal cord injuries
• Motion capture technology to assess athletic performance
• And much more

#4 – Stretching your professional possibilities

Northwell Health offers a range of educational and professional development programs, including continuing clinical education, conference networking, physician rounding, clinical research opportunities and advanced training at the Center for Learning and Innovation. Northwell also provides individual mentoring in order to identify and develop outstanding clinicians.

#5 – Stronger together

Talk about your winning teams! Our teams systems-wide have been recognized as a leader in employee engagement with scores ranking over the 97^th percentile nationally for four years in a row. With strong interdisciplinary collaboration, the rehabilitation professionals at Northwell Health are always better together.

Ready to take the next step? Learn more about job opportunities within our rehabilitation department here.

Didn’t find what you were looking for? Join our talent community and learn about future rehabilitation career opportunities here.

Fortune and Great Place to Work® have named Northwell Health as one of the Best Workplaces™ in Health Care and Biopharma! In the newly released nationwide survey of healthcare employees, Northwell Health, New York’s largest health system, ranked 13th nationally. But, what does this actually mean for a potential employee?

At Northwell Health, you’ll find a close-knit work family. Based on a strong sense of mission and camaraderie among our 66,000 employees, we ranked second in the Northeast! This sense of purpose extends from inside our system out to the community. We’re making an impact and of our surveyed employees, 90 percent feel good about the ways we contribute to the community. These numbers only reinforce our ongoing commitment to community outreach.

So let’s get into our numbers: 83 percent of Northwell Health’s 700 respondents say their workplace is great. But what makes this place so great? When someone sets out to work in health care, they’re joining an industry unlike any other. Eighty-eight percent of our surveyed employees found that their work here has special meaning, that this is not “just a job” and 86 percent feel that they make a difference here.

“There is purpose in everything we do and the results are often life-saving,” said Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health. “That can be incredibly stressful at times. But it is always rewarding. Keep in mind that we are in the people business. We put our patients first, but to do that we need to take care of our employees and ensure a workplace that’s safe, life-affirming and team-oriented. Everyone at Northwell Health is connected by the common bond of service to our community.”

Along with this distinction as one of the Best Workplaces™ in Health Care and Biopharma, Northwell Health ranked No. 55 on Fortune’s annual Best Workplaces for Diversity list in December and was recently highlighted as a leader in LGBTQ healthcare equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Healthcare Equality Index 2018. We’re excited about all of these distinctions and they encourage us to keep making our health system a great place to work.

Learn about opportunities to join one of the Best Workplaces™ in Health Care and Biopharma.

The continuum of care is incredibly broad, and for patients looking to navigate this alone, the process can at times become overwhelming. That’s why at Northwell Health we created the Clinical Coordination Center, which takes patient referrals from our physicians and helps them discover what the next step should be in their path toward better health.

The Clinical Coordination Center consists of experts who are capable of addressing the needs of a patient and coordinating their access to care. They take into account the urgency of patient needs, their location, physician availability, and many other nuanced factors that play into providing the best possible care. Clinical Coordinators work at the center of Northwell, gaining insight into nearly every aspect of the health system. It’s the sort of role that attracts high-level intellectual caregivers, and fosters collaboration. The results of this team have been astounding. Patient satisfaction is through the roof reaching a whopping 95%, and physician satisfaction is at 93%.

The rewarding reception to the work being done at the Clinical Care Center is matched by a rewarding work environment. Clinical Care Coordinators benefit from a bright room, flexible hours, fun activities and, above all, a team of enthusiastic colleagues.

“There are no wrong numbers in this office. If you call us by accident, we’ll never steer you away. We are the yes people. Yes, we can!” – Ronda Gross, Assistant Vice President, Clinical Coordination Center

Northwell Health is excited to offer new opportunities to join this dynamic team in the following roles:

Clinical Coordinators

As a Patient Care Coordinator, you will be the eyes and ears of the Clinical Coordination Center. As the first line of defense, you will triage patients to determine the next step in their care and what the patient needs.

To qualify you must have:

• Associate’s Degree required, Bachelor’s preferred
• A minimum of three years clinical experience. Candidates with experience in careers such as, but not limited to, LPN, Medical Assistant, CNA, PCA, OR & ED Tech are encouraged.

Advance Care Managers

Looking to work beyond the bedside? Join a team where you will have an even greater hands-on approach to patient care. In this role, you will help take patients through their entire care journey from triage to referral to outcome discussions and future follow up visits.

We’re seeking Registered Nurses or Nurse Practitioners with:

• BSN and a Master’s Degree (MSN, MPH, MBA, etc.)
• Clinical care experience required

Grow your expertise of our world-class health system while guiding patients, physicians, and a multitude of other departments toward a more seamless health journey.

What makes a great leader? To some, tenacity. To others, grit. To others, a vision. At Northwell Health, we believe that what makes a great leader isn’t necessarily one specific trait, it’s the culmination of all of these ideals with time, experience and determination. Which is why our recent panel highlighting some of our most ambitious female leaders, was so uniquely inspiring. It takes an exceptional level of leadership to redefine health care while creating tomorrow’s health system.

Despite adversity throughout their careers, these women have created real change in our health system, inspiring their peers and motivating their department teams to do the same.

Panelists discussed their career progressions, the challenges they’ve faced and the inspiring women who helped them along the way.

In particular, each participant drew from her own career to offer a piece of advice for overcoming adversity to those looking to be leaders themselves. Their answers, much like their careers, will inspire you:

“Seek to become a change agent. Do not fear adversity as it usually manifests itself in your life to challenge you, to build your resiliency, to help you evolve and achieve greater goals. Always seek to participate in something greater than yourself, something with a community or global impact. The effects will be powerful and meaningful. Don’t just wait for change to happen, lead the change and make it what you want it to be.”

— Emmelyn Kim, AVP, Research Compliance and Privacy Officer – Office of Research Compliance

“Stay grounded in who you are. Be confident and authentic. Those who approach the world with bias have a smaller world than those who approach the world through a lens of possibilities. Remember, the bias speaks about who they are, not who you are. You are the architect of your own destiny! Stay true to who you are and learn from the mistakes of those who are biased.”

— Mary Comerford-Hewitt, AVP, Talent Acquisition

“Women continue to make extraordinary contributions in healthcare leadership roles. To continue to do so, we need to believe that everything is possible – we are limited only by our imaginations. Seek out role models and mentors. I love the quote from the Greek philosopher, Epictetus, ‘We all carry the seeds of greatness within us, but we need an image as a point of focus in order that they may sprout.’’

–Penny Stern, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACOEM

“My advice will be the same advice my mother gave to me, which was why are you letting other people define you? If you know what you want to do, then do it”

–Tochi Iroku Malize, MD, MPH

We’re proud to call these Truly Ambitious women part of the Northwell Health Family. If you’re looking to make the most of your passion, vision and ambition, we have opportunities that offer the autonomy and support you need to reach your true potential. Watch the full diversity lunch and learn below and learn more here.

Physician Assistants (PAs) are playing a larger role in defining and delivering outstanding patient care, and Northwell Health is helping to drive some of these changes. At Northwell, advanced clinical providers (ACPs) are greatly valued and given a tremendous amount of autonomy, support and professional respect. Whether PAs are assisting complex hand surgeries on professional athletes or working on cutting-edge bypass procedures to restore cerebral blood flow, their expertise and insight are highly sought after. As a leader within Northwell as well as the overall PA community, Jonathan Sobel is playing a leading role in these exciting developments. He is not only the Senior Administrative Director for PA Services, he is also President Elect at the American Academy of PAs. Get to know Jonathan.

Tell us about your career at Northwell Health.

After graduation, I joined Cohen Children’s Medical Center, caring for pediatric open-heart surgery patients alongside a world-class team of surgeons, cardiologists, and nurses. I then joined the CT Surgery team at LIJ Medical Center and later became the Supervising PA, leading innovations in care, quality improvement, and patient experience. I received leadership training and resources at Northwell’s Center for Learning and Innovation and went on to complete my MBA through the Northwell-Hofstra University partnership. Thanks to Northwell Health, my career has continued to progress. I am currently the Senior Administrative Director for PA Services for our Manhattan campuses.

How are PAs being innovatively utilized at Northwell Health?

At Northwell, we realize the tremendous role that PAs bring to the changing healthcare landscape as we move toward value-based care. We’re integrating PAs into roles where they can increase access to quality, cost-effective care in a highly autonomous way. Our PAs serve in every clinical area and medical specialty. They are a big part of our new cardiac transplant team at North Shore University Hospital and are key members of the robotic surgery program. As we increase our focus on our outpatient facilities, our PAs are right there to be an integral part of caring for these patients and in responding to gaps in the healthcare workforce.

Why is being a PA at Northwell unique?

We recognize the value that PAs bring to the new arena of health care. Our supportive environment includes a dedicated PA Leadership structure with direct linkage to medical leadership. Our PAs participate on medical staff committees and are actively involved in quality improvement initiatives. Their clinical expertise and leadership are highly sought after, creating pathways for advancement into senior leadership. Our neurosurgery PAs are learning cutting-edge bypass procedures to restore cerebral blood flow. In orthopedics, they’re reducing fractures and dislocations in the ED and assisting complex hand surgeries on professional athletes. Our Urology PAs are helping with robotic prostatectomies. PAs in our Vascular Birthmark Institute provide total care for these complex cases.

How does being President-Elect of the AAPA help you shape patient care at Northwell?

I’m involved in national conferences focused on advancing the PA profession, the scope of practice, reimbursement, and much more. I’m helping define where health care and the PA practice is heading in the next five to ten years. I can then apply these strategies to our PA practice here at Northwell.

What career paths are available to a PA at Northwell Health?

There’s no limit to what a PA can do here. They can advance their clinical career from PA to Senior PA and Supervising PA. A Senior PA mentors new PAs and students, participates in quality improvement and helps develop educational programs. A Supervising PA takes on the role of team leader, managing administrative functions. There are opportunities to become an educator, with roles for PA Fellowship Directors and Coordinators. We have PAs who run service lines, hospitals and clinics, PAs working in clinical informatics, and serving on our Joint Ventures team. Our Chief People (HR) Officer is a PA!

What training and development opportunities are available to PAs?

Our orientation programs are robust, tailored to individual PA needs and include the use of state-of-the-art simulators. For ongoing education, our academic medical centers offer directed didactic and clinical skills training. PAs can enhance their surgical skills at our Bioskills lab, or on simulators at our Patient Safety Institute. We also have a vast catalog of courses available both online and in person through The Center for Learning and Innovation. We encourage our PAs to attend national meetings and participate in the governance of their PA societies. Through our partnership with Hofstra, we offer generous support toward advanced academic degrees.

Think you’re Made for this challenge, advancement, and enrichment Jonathan is talking about? Start here. 

Celebrating the 4^th Annual Spark! Challenge

“The Spark! Challenge is a wonderful way to excite students about the vast scope of clinical and non-clinical careers in health care.”

 –Cheryl Davidson, Sr. Director of Workforce Readiness

It only takes a spark to light imaginations. For the past four years, that’s exactly what Northwell Health’s Spark! Challenge has done. This unique program teams local high school students with Northwell Health employees in order to:

• Grow student interest in STEM health care related careers.
• Build a pipeline of students to energize the future workforce.
• Creates career awareness through exploration and experiential learning.
• Provide an introduction to Northwell Health’s culture, values and mission.
• Give teachers/school counselors insight into the scope of health care careers.

This year, 600 junior and senior high school students from 32 local schools participated in the Spark! Challenge. They were supported by 50 Northwell Health teams, representing careers in areas such as:

• Bioelectronic medicine
• Emergency Services
• Operating Room
• Rehabilitation
• Laboratory Science
• Industrial Engineering
• Culinary
• Pharmacy
• Human Resources
• Revenue Cycle
• And MUCH more….

You can view the complete list of participating departments and careers here.

Engaging future healthcare leaders.

Through the Spark! Challenge, students were given the opportunity to preview clinical and/or non-clinical career paths through practical and engaging encounters with professionals in the field. After their visit to a Northwell facility they had two assignments:

1. Create an advertisement spotlighting one of the careers highlighted during their visit,, successfully connecting the job to one of Northwell Health’s values.
2. Share the career they explored through a two-minute presentation at the Spark! Challenge award celebration (with their student team).

“It was a privilege to participate. I was energized by the experience!”

–Deborah Schiff SVP and Executive Director, Ambulatory Strategy and  Business Development

The envelope please…

The Spark! Challenge Award Ceremonies were held on April 12, 2018 at The Cradle of Aviation Musuem. Northwell Health’s EVP and Chief Operating Officer Mark Solazzo and Joseph Moscola, SVP and Chief People Officer awarded the prizes. In true Northwell Health fashion, Mark doubled the originally planned prize money and ended up awarding a total of $26,000 to the winning school teams. Congratulations to the winners:

Presentation Winners – $2,000 awarded to each school team

• Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School
• Valley Stream Central High School
• Tottenville High School
• Sacred Heart Academy

Presentation Honorable Mentions – $1,000 awarded to each school team

• William Floyd High School
• Baldwin High School
• Tottenville High School
• John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore-Merrick School District
• Amityville High School
• Smithtown High School

Poster Competition

First Place Winner:   Glen Cove High School, $5,000 award

Second Place Winner: Lindenhurst Senior High School, $3,000 award

Third Place Winner John F. Kennedy High School, Bellmore-Merrick School District $2,000 award

Northwell Health is grateful to all of the student participants as well as the Northwell Health employees who donated their time to make this year’s Spark! Challenge such a success. Next year promises to be even better!

“Kudos, to the Spark! Challenge winners and every participant. You each brought your whole self to the Challenge – not only your knowledge and expertise but also your enthusiasm and appreciation for our values. Stay true to who you are, keep your convictions, be courageous and you will become an authentic leader!”

— Tom Thornton – SVP, Northwell Ventures

At Northwell Health, we’re committed to empowering veterans to succeed in their professional careers. That’s why, since 2013, we’ve been growing our Barracks to Business program, which addresses the need for practical tools to prepare veterans for the civilian workforce.

The Barracks to Business program started as a guidebook to help veterans prepare other veterans for civilian life. But we knew we could do more. We’ve since created in-person seminars that eventually led to Webinars so we could reach veterans no matter their location or situation. Now, veterans don’thave to wait to move to New York to get started on the next step in their civilian careers.

As we expanded the program’s offerings, we extended our reach by partnering with the Department of Labor and various N.Y. organizations and universities. Then the program expanded even further, adding valuable education to Northwell Health employees by creating an internal Barrack to Business program for our recruiters, which armed them with the knowledge and tools necessary to understand the value of hiring veterans.

After five years, Barracks to Business continues to grow and set the precedent for veteran outreach. The network has expanded to over 200 veteran-focused points of contact in the N.Y. region including colleges, organizations and nonprofits. Barracks to Business is offered at college sites and when students are about to graduate, we invite them to our annual student graduation event for veterans. The program and our outreach has grown across the state of New York and, most astounding of all, the number of overall hires since the beginning of the program has grown by 110%!

“Northwelll Health has shown support for my career by holding special events and recruitment sessions for veterans. (Because of one of those programs), I am now in a year-long Operating Room Fellowship which trains nurses new to the OR.” – Anthony Holdorf, RN

We’re constantly developing our own internal programs to better support veterans once they join Northwell Health, focusing on mentorship and networking from within. In the words of Veteran Inclusion Specialist and U.S. Air Force Veteran Lyndon Chichester, “It is an honor and a privilege to work with our Veterans. My goal is to help all of our Veteran applicants gain successful employment with Northwell Health. Veterans bring an unmatched array of strengths and experiences to the workforce including leadership training, integrity, teamwork, working with diversified groups in high-pressure environments and more.”

Here’s how Northwell Health can take you from Barracks to Business.

We spoke with nurse leaders at Katz Women’s Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJMC) to find out what makes our Labor and Delivery and Postpartum units such special places for nurses to grow their careers. Here are the top 10 reasons!

1. Magnet® Recognition

LIJMC is proud to have the exceptional practices, facilities, resources, staff and leadership to be honored with Magnet recognition — the highest recognition for nursing excellence — and our commitment to excellence runs through everything we do.

2. Amazing Facilities

The new tower at Katz Women’s Hospital is supporting one of the busiest labor and delivery centers in the area and features 60 single-patient postpartum rooms with 30 rooms per unit.

“It’s not just that the facility has the latest technology, it’s the entire structure of unit. Every detail, from the decor to the single-patient rooms, is designed to elevate the experience for patients and caregivers.”

-Jennifer Santoro Shickler, MSN, RN, NE-BC

3. The Beautiful Moments of Bonding

Speaking of our postpartum rooms, we facilitate bonding by providing single patient rooms for mother and child, allowing the new, growing families to enjoy as many precious moments as possible.

4. Opportunities for Career Advancement

As part of Northwell Health, New York’s largest health network and private employer, we set RNs up with a wealth of opportunities to advance their careers. Whether they want to advance to a management position or make a lateral move, the opportunities and resources are at your disposal.

“Nurses here have so many opportunities. They can progress to a director or do a lateral move to another unit, really there’s unlimited potential inside Northwell Health.”

-Angela Gomm, RN MSN CNRN, Nurse Manager

5. Professional Resources

With some of the best training programs in the nation, Northwell Health is committed to empowering nurses to develop professionally. We bring classes and testing onsite for the convenience of our staff.

“Northwell has excellent management courses at the CLR. There are classes that go over discipline, decision control, budgeting, and so much more. Really there’s everything you need to make the transition into whatever career path you see yourself moving toward.”

-Angela Gomm

6. Making Baby-Friendly a Priority

We’re working toward the prestigious Baby-Friendly designation — that means we’re constantly looking at new standards and new practice guidelines that enable optimal infant feeding and mother/baby bonding.

7. Supportive Leadership:

One of the most important parts of a job is knowing that your leaders have your back and are ready to help you with anything you need.

“It starts with leadership that fosters an open and transparent environment, one which leaves you room to implement changes to benefit the patients. Once you start working among colleagues who are empowered in this way, you quickly begin to see how easy it is to grow and learn the skills necessary to advance your career. There’s really no hospital system like it.”

– Deborah Zaleskie, MS, RN, NE-BC, Director, Patient Care Services

8. We Can Rely on Each Other

We deliver 9,000 babies a year. With that kind of volume, it’s so important to be in a culture of open communication, where everyone is willing to step in and help you provide the best possible patient experience. Providing a safe environment where nurses feel comfortable asking for help, means we’re fostering teamwork.

“It is so busy that there’s a great culture of teamwork and communication. Our RNs work well with physicians and safety officers, and they’re not afraid to say when they need help!”

– Angela Gomm

9. Flexible Hours

Nurses work a difficult job that requires 24/7 responsibility. That’s why it’s so great that at Katz Women’s Hospital, scheduling is done with nurses as a top priority—with flexible hours offered for the afternoon and evening shifts.

10. The First to Try Something New

Nothing beats working alongside individuals who are passionate and innovative.

“There’s just something about the culture here. We’re always the first ones to raise our hands to try something new.”

– Deborah Zaleskie

 Take on one of our nursing roles as the next step in your career. Register for our system-wide Women’s Health Interview Day!

At Northwell Health, we understand that in order to live up to our core value of being Truly Innovative, we need to be constantly investing in our people and our facilities. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’re renovating one of the busiest emergency departments on Long Island: The ED of Long Island Jewish Valley Stream.

“The LIJ Valley Stream Emergency Department is going through a long awaited ED renovation. The ED is being designed, not only to accommodate the current volume of patients, but to do so in the most efficient manner possible.” — John D’Angelo, Executive Director & Senior Vice President, Emergency Medicine Service Line

This renovation is more than just your average face-lift. The new ED expands the care that we’re Made for- going from serving 42,000 annual patients to 55,000.

These updates include 27 beds, two isolation rooms, a decontamination room that limits patient and staff exposure to environmental or other dangerous contaminants and a dedicated computed tomography scanner, part of a state-of-the-art imaging area.

The renovation is an investment in not only patient experience, but in the way doctors and nurses perform medicine. The new ED will use a “split-flow” model. Staff will triage and assess patients based on the severity of their conditions and assign them to the appropriate treatment level. Split-flow is the future of emergency care as it eliminates redundancy and waste wherever possible and has already proven effective in other Northwell Emergency Departments including our new facility at Southside Hospital.

“The vision of our leadership is palpable. The new Emergency Department at LIJ Valley Stream showcases Northwell Health’s commitment to our patients, communities and staff.” – Paula Fessler, Vice President of Emergency Medicine Service Line

We’re excited to show off our new look and enhanced experience! Imagine what you could accomplish at these new facilities as a member of our team.

At Northwell Health, we’re always up for a challenge and our innovative 2018 employee step challenge, Walk to Dublin, is no small feat. Teams of 10 will compete in a virtual journey from New York City to Dublin (approx. 3.7 million steps!) by tracking their real physical activity and unlocking remarkable virtual destinations throughout Ireland all along the way. All teams to virtually reach Dublin together will qualify to win an ACTUAL trip to Ireland. The inspiration for our Walk to Dublin comes from our Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling, who has instilled a passion for wellness throughout our organization.

We asked the manager of Employee Wellness Niha Malcomson for her take on Northwell Health’s employee wellness goals: “This is something that our leadership emphasizes and we practice and share it: we want employees to say they’re healthy because they work here, and that they can improve their health because Northwell Health supports their goals.”

We’re so passionate about the health of our patients, but their success depends on the health and well-being of our people. That’s why we’re so excited to see 1100 teams as of today ready to focus on their own wellness while challenging themselves, working as a team, and having fun! AND there’s that grand prize…

Just as we rely on each other to do our best work for our patients, we are Truly Together in our goal to be a Healthiest Place to Work by 2022. Wellness is a team effort, and from our Walk to Dublin step challenge to creating healthier environments for all, we can only accomplish these goals together. Sure, some of us are focused on weight loss or running marathons, but as a team, we’re focused on engagement and fun for all employees!

We’re excited to take the first steps on our walk to Dublin! Stay tuned to meet our winners and see what we accomplish when we all work together to reach our wellness goals!

You don’t need a college or advanced degree to begin a rewarding healthcare career that can really take you places. Whether you’re not sure if a traditional four-year degree is for you, or you would like to enter the workforce sooner, you can begin your career journey in a middle skills position at Northwell Health. There are huge benefits to starting your career in one of these high-demand jobs, and that’s why we’re spreading the word about these opportunities.

“Middle skills” is defined as anything above a high school diploma but lower than a baccalaureate degree including certifications, trade schools, associate degrees and certain licensing. Opportunities include specialty technicians such as EEG, EKG, surgical techs, sterile processing techs, radiology techs and careers as medical assistants and phlebotomists, nursing assistants and more.

A middle skills position offers you opportunities to create a robust career. From initial hire, there are multiple career pathways available– complete with competitive pay and benefits packages. Imagine this…

You begin your career as a central sterile technician, ensuring surgical equipment and instrumentation is sterile, and begin to gain essential work experience in the healthcare industry. You decide that you want to work directly in the operating room, and pursue education as a surgical technician (did you know Northwell offers tuition reimbursement for qualified employees?!). After that, you decide to go back to school to study nursing, and eventually, you could put all this experience and education into becoming an OR nurse. Perhaps you decide that’s not the direction for you and continue to management in your particular role. We’ve seen it happen!

The real attraction of working in middle skills is the demand. There is a shortage of people working in these essential jobs across the country and these positions are critical to the healthcare workforce. Starting in a middle skills job can give you the experience, the network, the demand, the education and the opportunity to succeed in the health care field without a college degree.

About Workforce Readiness

We’re spreading the word about middle skills opportunities through Northwell Health’s Department of Workforce Readiness,  which partners with educational institutions and creates initiatives to support the workforce of tomorrow. We work collaboratively on local, state and national levels to increase awareness and address the STEM workforce gap. We provide a collaborative voice between industry and education.

 Students: Start your healthcare career journey at Northwell Health. Visit NorthwellCareers.com/Students. The opportunities are endless.