College of Mount Saint Vincent Alumna Elodia Mercier ’84 to be Honored by NAACP for Her Contributions to the Field of Healthcare and to the Bronx Community
1/17/2012
Riverdale, N.Y.—The University of Mount Saint Vincent is pleased to announce that alumna and Mount Mentor Elodia Mercier ’84 will be honored by the NAACP in March 2012 for her work in devising the Shhh Initiative (Silent Hospitals Help Healing) at Montefiore Medical Center, as well as her mentorship of Mount and Hostos Community College students.
Ms. Mercier is associate clinical director of nursing at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, N.Y. She began her career as a nursing attendant at Montefiore, and became a staff nurse in 1984. In 2004, she was promoted to manager. During her tenure as a manager, she initiated the Shhh Initiative, which stands for Silent Hospitals Help Healing.
This program helps reduce noise within the hospital environment, and creates an atmosphere that promotes healing. The program has been recognized worldwide, and has received grant funding from the Balm Foundation. Ms. Mercier continues to invest in noise reduction measures to help maintain a quiet healing hospital culture. Her passion for effective communication, teaching, and customer service have earned Ms. Mercier the legacy of achieving the highest and longest-running customer satisfaction outcomes for both patients and staff.
She received a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from the University of Mount Saint Vincent, a master’s of science in health administration from Iona College, and a post-master’s certificate from Pace University. She is certified in gerontology from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and is a member of the New York State Nurses Association, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the New York Organization of Nurse Executives, and the American Nurses Association.
Ms. Mercier gives back to the community by participating in the Mount’s Mentorship Program, launched in 2009, which aims to foster an understanding of the connection between academic study and the professional world and to expand the opportunities available to and the expectations of students. In addition to mentoring CMSV students, Ms. Mercier has been recognized by the Allied Health Career Program at Hostos Community College for helping to mentor students to become certified nursing assistants.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
The University of Mount Saint Vincent is an academically excellent, authentically inclusive, Catholic and ecumenical liberal arts college. It combines a strong core curriculum with a full array of majors in the liberal arts and selected professional fields of study, including accounting, business administration, education, and nursing. Through its School of Professional and Continuing Studies, the College extends its primary undergraduate mission by offering high quality graduate studies in business, education and nursing and an array of undergraduate and certificate programs serving non-traditional students. Mount Saint Vincent is located on a pastoral campus in New York City, with easy access to all the educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities that the City affords.