Local nurses win University Hospital's William J. Painter Award

Three University Hospital nurses have been honored for excellence in the areas of nursing management and clinical service. Nancy Towne, R.N., Linda McAleer, R.N., and Kristen Kovalewski, R.N., have been name recipients of the William J. Painter Award. The awards were presented at the 16th Annual Nursing Recognition dinner, held Oct. 9.

Towne, patient services director for the hospital's neuroscience unit, was honored with the William J. Painter Award for Excellence in Nursing Management. She earned her bachelor's degree in nursing at SUNY Upstate's College of Nursing in 1999. She resides in Manlius.

McAleer, nurse manager for the pediatric and adolescent clinic at University Health Care Center, was also honored with the William J. Painter Award for Excellence in Nursing Management. She earned her bachelor's degree in nursing at SUNY College of Technology at Utica in 1982. She resides in Cazenovia.

Kovalewski, patient service leader of the critical care unit, was honored with the William J. Painter Award for Excellence in Clinical Service. She earned her bachelor's degree at SUNY Oswego in 1989 and graduated from the Crouse School of Nursing in 1991. She resides in Fabius.

The award is named for William J. Painter, R.N., who worked at University Hospital from 1981 to 1993, and was known for his excellence in the areas of clinical practice, nursing management.