CNL Vanguard Award
2021 Winner
Latasha Kast, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNL, Advanced Clinical Education Specialist for Critical Care, UPMC Passavant
Latasha Kast is an Advanced Clinical Education Specialist for Critical Care at UPMC Passavant. Latasha provides on-boarding, education, mentorship, and leadership support to nurses in her role as an Advanced Clinical Education Specialist for Critical Care. She previously worked in progressive clinical and leadership positions within Trauma/Vascular Step-Down, Surgical Trauma ICU, and Neurovascular ICU. Additionally, she serves on the CNL Advisory Board at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Ms. Kast was selected for this award for her commitment to nursing practice by leading and developing several quality improvement projects to improve patient outcomes, including hair washing to reduce surgical site infections in neurosurgical patients.
Honorable Mention
Sinai Hospital CNL Team; Elizabeth Krug, MS, RN, PCCN, CNL, Nursing Outcomes Leader, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore; Kristen Liberto, MS, RN, CCRN, CNL, Nursing Outcomes Leader, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore; and Sarah Stanley, MS, RN, CNL, Nursing Outcomes Leader, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
The Sinai Hospital CNL Team is comprised of Elizabeth Krug, Kristen Liberto, and Sarah Stanley who all work as Nursing Outcomes Leaders at the Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. These individuals were nominated for this year’s award to acknowledge the additional value that accrues to patients and organizations when teams of CNLs collaborate with interprofessional colleagues, across units and divisions within a hospital. Integral to optimizing the full potential of CNL practice, as demonstrated by the Sinai Hospital CNL team, is taking a strategic approach to redesigning patient care at the interface of education and practice with CNLs, who bring both their unique, individual clinical expertise and preparation for advanced clinical leadership to the urgent need to transform the delivery of health care.