Ellen W. Blair, APRN, NEA-BC, to receive 2014 Award for Excellence in Practice from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA)

June 26, 2014 By Hartford HealthCare

The Institute of Living’s (IOL) Director of Nursing, Ellen W. Blair, APRN, NEA-BC, has been chosen to receive the Excellence in Practice Award from the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA). This award recognizes an APRN member of the APNA who has made significant contributions to psychiatric mental health nursing practice though practice and research throughout his or her career.

“Ellen’s thirty-plus years of dedicated hard work with psychiatric patients coupled with her demonstrated skills as a leader and as a professional make her quite deserving of this prestigious award,” said Harold I. Schwartz, MD, Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the Institute of Living, a division of Hartford Hospital and an affiliate of the Hartford HealthCare (HHC) Behavioral Health Network. “She is an influential role model, an innovative care provider and a health educator beyond compare, and we are proud that she leads the nursing team here at the IOL.”

Blair started at IOL in 1982 as the head nurse in the hospital’s geriatric unit, gaining progressively more responsible posts before taking on the role of Director of Nursing in 2009. She has also trained future nurses as a clinical psychiatric nurse instructor at both the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford and Capital Community College in Hartford. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Adelphi University and a Master of Science in Nursing from the Yale School of Nursing. She has been the lead author on five peer-reviewed journal articles, written two book chapters and presented numerous times in her field of professional expertise. She has recently been accepted into the Doctorate in Nursing Practice program at the University of St. Joseph and will begin her studies in the fall.

“I’m so honored to receive this wonderful award, and I have to thank my IOL colleagues from throughout the years who have energized me to do my best every day and without whom this award would not have been possible,” Blair said. “I’m very blessed to have worked with so many wonderful and talented people who have allowed me to carry forth my vision that the work we do is first and foremost about a safe, positive and engaging therapeutic patient experience.”

Blair will receive her award at the APNA Annual Conference in Indianapolis in October.