Courtesy Saratoga Hospital
Family nurse practitioner Janice Ceccucci, DNP, typically sees patients at their most vulnerable, in the hours after a sexual assault or a report of ongoing sexual abuse.
In the nearly 15 years since she began providing sexual assault forensic exams, Ceccucci’s skill and sensitivity—and her determination to improve these services for patients of all ages—have benefited children, adolescents and adults far beyond the Capital Region.
These contributions, and her leadership in educating and mentoring nurse practitioners and physician assistants, earned Ceccucci recognition as New York state’s 2019 Nurse Practitioner of the Year.
The Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State presented the award recently at its annual conference in Verona,N.Y.
At Saratoga Hospital, Ceccucci sees patients in the Alfred Z. Solomon Emergency Center and in urgent care centers on the hospital’s campuses in Wilton and Malta. She helped establish and serves as co-director of the hospital’s APP Fellowship Program, which mentors new nurse practitioners and physician assistants, also known as advanced practice providers or “APPs.”
Ceccucci provides significant services outside the hospital setting. She is on-call at home, 36 hours a month, providing teleconsultation to help hospitals in remote areas ensure that sexual assault victims have 24/7 access to sexual assault nurse examiners. At child advocacy centers, she conducts sexual assault exams for pediatric patients—a service that Ceccucci and a colleague introduced in 2011 to better serve sexually abused children.
Ceccucci also is an assistant professor of nursing for SUNY Polytechnic in Utica and helped pilot a hybrid program that delivers live streaming and on-campus classes.
“Janice exemplifies the compassion, expertise and leadership of today’s nurses,” said Mary Jo LaPosta, PhD, RN, senior vice president of patient care and organizational excellence and chief nursing officer at Saratoga Hospital. “She is constantly drawing on her education and experience to provide the best possible care for patients and to support tomorrow’s nurses.
Ceccucci earned a master’s degree in nursing from the SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica, and a doctor of nursing practice from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.
Ceccucci has won awards including the Joan Unger Memorial Award from the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Nursing Excellence Award, from the Omicron at-Large Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, for her work with a vulnerable population.