NUMC staff remembers Stacie Williams

Staff members at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow gathered on July 1 to remember colleague Stacie Williams, who was killed on June 16 as she was on a break during an overnight shift.
   
Williams, a patient care assistant, was allegedly shot and killed by Kim Wolfe, a corrections officer who worked next door at the county jail. Wolfe, who police said once had an "intimate relationship" with Williams, allegedly shot the nurse's aide outside the NUMC when they met there during a break on June 16. 
   
Williams, 45, was loved by her co-workers. She was known to be a hard worker, with a bubbly personality and her bouncing curls, said Maureen Chase, head chaplain at the NUMC.

   
Though the two were not close friends, Chase said that Williams greeted her like she did with everyone else: with a smile.
   
"She was a very special lady who has touched so many here," Chase said. "We were all captivated by her smiling face. She showed us how to live with joy, hope and compassion.
   
"Stacie was a beautiful stain glass window for us and the hospital community," she added.
   
Arthur Gianelli, president and CEO of NuHealth, reflected on the night after Williams' death. He visited with the nurses and aides on the same shift that Williams died on the night before.
   
Gianelli said he asked the staff on the maternity ward to talk about Williams and tell stories about their beloved colleague. Most of the descriptions were the same: an "infectious smile" and "she brought joy to her co-workers." Another common theme about Williams that drew laughter from audience members was her "uncontrollable hair."
   
"We endured that night — smiles emerged and laughter occurred," Gianelli said. " We needed to approach our jobs with her same enthusiasm. It's the best way we could honor her memory."     
   
Susan Novelli, head nurse in the Maternity Ward, touted Williams' work ethic and leadership through the overnight shift. Novelli said that Williams, a mother of three grown children, was to graduate nursing school in January. She never told her colleagues of her pursuit of a nursing degree.
   
"She was the life of the unit," Novelli said. "We will miss her laughter and smiling. To know her was to love her."