Nurses Association Announces Election Results

Latham, NY, October 2, 2007 – At its annual convention held this year in Atlantic City, the New York State Nurses Association announced election results for its Board of Directors. Each member will serve a two-year term. The elections were held via balloting of all 35,000-plus RN members.

Karen Ballard, President-Elect

Karen Ballard, MS, RN, resides in Manhattan. She is a nurse consultant and chair of the Nurses’ Workgroup for the environmental organization Health Care Without Harm. She has worked for New York Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center, City College School of Nursing, Bellevue Hospital, and Terrace Heights Hospital in Hollis. Ballard was on staff in NYSNA’s Nursing Practice program from 1984 to 2005.

J. Howard Doughty, Treasurer

A resident of Congers, N.Y., J. Howard Doughty, BSN, RN, is a staff/operating room nurse employed by Nyack Hospital. He served on the Board of Directors from 2004 to 2006; this will be his first term as treasurer.

Miriam Gonzalez, Member at Large

Miriam Gonzalez, BS, RN, lives in Long Island City, N.Y. She currently serves as a recruitment specialist for the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and has previously held positions as staff nurse, head nurse, and nursing care coordinator.

Lydia Lopez, Member at Large

A resident of Staten Island, NY, Lydia Lopez, MSN, RN, is a member of the nursing faculty at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center School of Nursing. She is a board member of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and chair of that group’s Staten Island subchapter.

Winifred Kennedy, Member at Large

Winifred Kennedy, MSN, RN, is a resident of Brooklyn, NY, and is a senior nurse clinician for Maimonides Medical Center. She has served on the Board of Directors for the past two years and was re-elected to another term as member at large.

Jose Mapalad Planillo, Member at Large

Jose Mapalad Planillo, MSN, RN, lives in New Milford, NJ, and is an assistant head nurse/clinical nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia. He has previously held nursing positions at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Metropolitan Hospital Center.

With more than 34,000 members, NYSNA is the oldest and largest state nurses’ association in the nation. It is an influential union for RNs, representing nurses in New York and New Jersey. Offering a wide range of services to its members, NYSNA fosters high standards of nursing education and practice and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. It is a constituent of the American Nurses Association and of the United American Nurses, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

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