Colleen Orillio, RN is a Labor and Delivery nurse at Maimonides Medical Center for 21 years. She is considered the embodiment of nursing. Coleen is not only respected by her peers, but also by the leadership team within maternity services. She displays a quality of work ethics that reflects highest professional standards.

Colleen displays the confidence needed to face the various challenges on labor and delivery; not only does she display a high level of leadership ability, but she is also quick to learn the operation of new methods, procedures and techniques. She volunteered for extra projects and demanding assignments on the unit and actively participates in performance improvement activities.

She is an adept negotiator and is very effective in resolving misunderstandings among the staff, and effectively uses empowerment to achieve and improve quality on the unit. In addition, she is a confident and polished speaker and excels in verbal and nonverbal communication. Coleen demonstrates a calm assertiveness when faced with stressful situations on the unit and effectively handles multiple demands from staff and physicians. Her ability to remain calm is unparalleled, and it is due to the excellence in these areas why she is frequently asked to mentor new nurses on the unit. She quickly learns any new technology that is implemented on the unit and is willing to mentor and teach her peers.

Her enthusiasm for the job creates a positive work environment for her peers. She continues to find ways to improve the units performance, while enhancing teamwork; therefore, creating a cohesive working environment. In her role as the circulator for the operating room on Labor and Delivery, she implemented a process, which significantly decreases c/section turnaround time, decrease the backlog of c/section on the unit; thereby increasing the efficiency of the operating room staff. As a result of her project, patients satisfaction regarding wait time for procedure increased and staff and physicians were extremely satisfied.