Fox Chase Chief Nursing Officer and Clinical Practice Lead Selected as Finalists for 2023 Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA (September 6, 2023) — Anna Liza Rodriguez, MSN, MHA, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer at Fox Chase Cancer Center, is a finalist in the Nursing Administration – Executive/CNO category for the 2023 Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania, which recognize nursing excellence in the state. The award that Rodriguez is a finalist for recognizes an individual who demonstrates visionary leadership, implements innovations, and promotes effective financial stewardship of operational human resources.

Elzbieta Kowalski, MSN, RN, CCRN, Clinical Practice Lead at Fox Chase, is a finalist in the Clinical Advanced Practice RN category, which honors those who prepare other nurses to work in an advanced practice setting. All finalists will be formally recognized at the 34th Nightingale Awards Gala on Friday, October 27, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“I am touched and inspired to receive this distinguished honor from my peers and this esteemed organization,” said Rodriguez, who is also Vice President of Nursing and Patient Services at Fox Chase.

“Anna’s drive and determination is apparent. She has transformed the nursing leadership culture by identifying, growing, and developing leaders with a persistent focus on excellence. … Anna is a forward-thinking leader who launched the nursing department into a new era,” Susan Rux, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, CNE, Associate Vice President of Nursing Education and Professional Development/Innovation at Temple Health, noted in the submission for Rodriguez.

“She leads by example and sets a high bar for nurse leader performance,” added Joel Helmke, MSHP, FACHE, Chief Operating Officer at Fox Chase.

“Many nurse leaders and staff have developed new talents and skills under Anna’s influence and guidance,” noted Jennie Gilliland, MSN, RN, OCN, Clinical Director of Infusion Services at Fox Chase.

Prior to joining Fox Chase in early 2021, Rodriguez served for nearly five years as Associate Nursing Officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center — a top NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center — in Nashville, Tennessee. During her time there, she led Vanderbilt’s oncology enterprise in collaboration with other senior leaders. She also assumed expanded cancer enterprise operations responsibilities during key leadership transitions.

“Ela exhibits professionalism and is supportive of a team atmosphere, promoting a spirit of cooperation, collaboration, and partnership,” Rux noted in Kowalski’s submission application. She also harnesses “a culture of positive intent and a nurturing culture that empowers others to manage stress and the demands of their work, thus driving even greater efficiency and collaboration across interprofessional teams and improved work relationships.”

Founded in 1989 to promote and support nursing in Pennsylvania as an essential strategy to recruit and retain nurses to meet the state’s future healthcare needs, the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania (NAP) is a statewide nonprofit organization focused on recognizing exemplary nursing practice and granting scholarships to students pursuing degrees in nursing at all levels.

Over the years, NAP has provided more than 200 nursing scholarships totaling over $410,000 and has honored more than 800 Pennsylvania nurses at its annual gala.