Pediatric Nurse Clinician Named Employee of the Year
Pediatric nurse clinician Colleen Umholtz, MS, RN, of Schenectady, was named Albany Medical Center’s 2024 Employee of the Year. Umholtz was selected for the honor out of more than 100 nominations submitted by staff members.
Since Umholtz joined Albany Medical Center in 1988, she has served as staff nurse, a pediatric hematology/oncology clinical care coordinator, and a clinical nurse specialist at the Bernard and Millie Duker Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in the region. She has been a nurse clinician on the general pediatrics unit since 2015 focusing on quality and safety.
Umholtz was surprised with the Employee of the Year honor during a leadership meeting on Monday, Dec. 16. She was surrounded by colleagues and family as she was presented with the award by Albany Med Health System President and CEO Dennis P. McKenna, MD.
Dr. McKenna said, “Colleen is a dedicated nurse, an experienced educator, a trusted mentor, a patient advocate, and what many describe as the heart of the unit. We are all grateful to have her on our team.”
“Albany Med has been home to me for many years, through ups, downs and in-betweens,” she said as she accepted her award. “I really appreciate this from the bottom of my heart.”
Staff nominate colleagues for Employee of the Year based on the qualities of the Albany Med CARES program, which emphasizes our organization’s culture of compassion, accountability, respect, and engagement.
According to one colleague, “What makes Colleen stand out is her dedication to her job, this organization, and the community that we serve. When it comes to the staff, there is no time that they cannot contact her. If they need help, they know that they can always count on Colleen to ask questions when needed. Our patients know that if they have questions or want to know what resources are available or if they simply need a shoulder to cry on or someone to make them laugh, Colleen is there.”
Another colleague added, “Colleen is someone who deserves all the recognition but also someone who will tell you she does nothing more than her job. What she doesn’t realize is the impact that she has on everyone she works with. She challenges everyone she works with to do better and to be better for our patients, which at the end of the day is what it’s all about. I hope that no matter what, Colleen knows the impact she is making and how grateful her team is to have her.”
After the presentation, Umholtz said, “There are no words for me to say how I feel right now. It just shows that all the years of hard work and dedication here, people appreciate all the work that not only I do, but that all the nurses do here.”