Nurses From Montco Patient Advocacy Group To Receive Nightingale Award

FLOURTOWN, PA — Three nurses employed by a Montgomery County-based patient advocacy business will be honored with awards during an upcoming ceremony in Harrisburg.

Charlotte Jaroma of Flourtown, Christine McCarrick of Collegeville and Megan Swider of Lafayette Hill will be honored during the 33rd Annual Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania, which is a statewide recognition honoring exemplary nurses and their work in the healthcare field.

The three women are employees of Flourtown-based patient advocacy organization Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates.

The Montgomery County organization, which is inspired by the work of Florence Nightingale, helps local patients navigate the healthcare system with physicians, hospitals, insurance companies, nursing homes and other medical services, according to a news release about the upcoming awards, which began back in 1989 out of a need to recognize and promote the nursing profession in Pennsylvania.

Jaroma is a mobile care coordinator nurse for AFSCME District Council 47 Health & Welfare Fund in Philadelphia. She will be given the Patient Choice Award, for which she had been nominated by a former patient she cared for.

McCarrick, who is a mobile care coordinator nurse for Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 19, and Swider, a mobile care coordinator nurse for AFSCME District Council 47 Health & Welfare Fund, are two of three finalists in the Community Nursing category, which recognizes nurses for their outstanding patient dedication, top-notch clinical skills, extraordinary compassion and exceptional communication skills, according to the awards ceremony news release.

In a statement, McCarrick said she was honored to be named a finalist, saying that she is "grateful to work with our patients and help them navigate through the uncertainty of an often-complicated and frustrating healthcare system."

Swider, who has worked a nurse for more than two decades, also stated she was honored to be recognized in this capacity, saying that it is "more important than ever that we recognize the significant contributions nurses make in our healthcare system."

Awards finalists and winners will be recognized during the gala in Harrisburg on Oct. 28.

Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates, which is headquartered at 1201 Bethlehem Pike in Flourtown, was founded by Betty Long, a nurse whose calling was born out of her guiding her own elderly family members through the healthcare system, according to an online bio on the organization's website.

"She wondered, 'What happens to patients who don't have a nurse in the family?'" the bio states.

Long ended up developing a business plan and incorporating in the fall of 2003.

Today, the organization provides personal advocates for patients who need assistance navigating the healthcare world.

"Your nurse advocates for you with doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, nursing homes, equipment suppliers — anyone and everyone involved in your care," the website states.

The business was inspired by Florence Nightingale, a British nurse around the time of the Crimean War in the mid-1800s who is widely considered to be the founder of modern nursing.