After graduation from The Chester County Hospital School of Nursing in the Class of 1966, Elizabeth made The Chester County Hospital operating room her first stop on a 52-year journey in nursing. Elizabeth married her high school sweetheart, and the love of her life, Naaman, the following March.
After 10 years as an O.R. nurse, Elizabeth was asked by the Vice President for Nursing Service to advance to the rank of O.R. Nurse Manager. This triggered her decision to seek further nursing education. Elizabeth was the second RN in Southeastern Chester County to receive a Certification in O.R Nursing (CNOR). Elizabeth graduated from Immaculata University, Cum Laude, with a BSN, and received her MSN from Widener University, and finally a Certificate in Role Excellence from Villanova University.
Elizabeth's most favored degree is the one received in preparation for The Chester County Hospital's 100th anniversary parade, a certificate from Clown School. Elizabeth became one of the first Chester County Clowns. Ponder, as she became known, strolled in the grand parade with her new friends Violet, Woozie, Zazz, Hug'ums, Aimers, Naughty Marietta, and others. At a subsequent parade in Kennett Square, Ponder and Naaman carried the Chester County Hospital Banner down State Street. The Clowns paid visits to nursing homes, the Hospital Pediatrics Department, and performed under the big top at the Hospital May Festival.
During the course of her career at Chester County Hospital, Elizabeth assumed additional roles and titles in Surgical Services, including Supervisor, Coordinator, and Nurse Administrator. One noteworthy role was that of operating room and surgical services architect. Elizabeth's drawings for upgrading and adding O.R.s were used for the main operating room renovations. The concept also added a new intensive care unit, increased the size of Central Services, Labor and Delivery, and the main hospital dining area as the plan utilized the space between hospital wings. Some significant changes during this time included computerizing the operating room scheduling process, the first hospital operating room in Chester County to do so.
Honors and awards include Alpha Sigma Lamda and Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Societies, an Award for Teaching Excellence from Delaware County Community College, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. Memberships include Chester County and Pennsylvania State Nurses Associations, National League for Nursing, and The Chester County Hospital Nursing Alumni Association.
Elizabeth's professional career in nursing practice developed into a series of experiences that would be employed for teaching, and coaching nursing students. In 1995, armed with a master's degree in nursing, Elizabeth joined the faculty at The Chester County Hospital School of Nursing, later moving into the Associate Degree program with Delaware County Community College. The experiences and commitment to nursing education, participating in shaping future registered nurses, was profoundly rewarding, a meaningful reminiscence for retirement years.
Jennifer E. (Mento) DiMedio DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC is a nationally-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in adult and pediatric hospice/ palliative care and family practice who is the Lead Nurse Practitioner for Neighborhood Homecare-Hospice-Palliative care. She is a graduate of The Chester County Hospital School Of Nursing Class of 1992, earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Immaculata University, her Master of Science in Nursing/ Family Nurse Practitioner certification from Wilmington University and earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Maryville University. She is a clinical associate in the Department of Biobehavioral and Health Sciences for the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Nursing, previously served as adjunct faculty for Immaculata University Graduate Nursing Department, and contributor and editor for Springhouse and W.B. Saunders publishing.
Before coming to Neighborhood Homecare-Hospice-Palliative care, she had been practicing as a Family Nurse Practitioner in Family Practice for nearly 15 years. Prior to becoming a family nurse practitioner she worked at Chester County Hospital as a registered nurse in the areas of medical-surgical Hematology/ Oncology and the Emergency Department. She credits her mother, Barbara Lilley Mento (CCH SON Graduate Class of 1950) for being her greatest influence in pursuing the nursing profession. "I am humbled to walk in my mother's footsteps, she was the greatest nurse and mother." In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is a wife, a mother of three teenagers, and an active volunteer for school and community events. She enjoys spending time with her family, the outdoors and is an avid long distance runner.
Christine (Chrissie) attended the Chester County Hospital School of Nursing. She graduated with the Class of 1974. After graduation, she was hired at Chester County as an OR staff R.N. Her whole nursing career has been spent in the operating rooms at Chester County, Coatesville, Brandywine, back to Chester County. She retired from Chester County in April 2019, and is now working per diem at the Turk’s Head Surgery Center in West Chester, PA.
She served as president of her local AORN chapter in the 1980’s, and has attended many AORN conferences through the years.
She participated in two separate surgical mission trips with Surgicorps International of Pittsburgh, PA. One was in 2011, to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam. The other was in 2012, to Zambia in Africa.
In Vietnam, a group of committed surgeons, anesthesiologists, CRNA’s, RN’s and many non-medical volunteers worked very hard for a week. Our labor was well rewarded as we preformed surgeries that were life-changing for many patients. These patients would normally have no access or means to such care as: repairs of cleft lips and palates, skin grafts, scar revisions, external ear reconstruction, webbed fingers and removal of extra digits.
In Zambia we treated many of the same types of cases, but we also treated contractures caused by snake bites and burns (many people still cook on open fires). The families were so very grateful and happy with the transformation that happened. It enabled their lives to become more normal.
One forgets how fortunate we are in the US to be able to access many forms of medical care. It was an unbelievable and humbling experience.
Chrissie has been actively involved with the Alumni Association for the past ten years.
Penny K. (Von Rembow) Davis graduated from the Chester County Hospital School of Nursing, Class of 1969. She has worked as an RN in a variety of settings; Pediatrics at CCH, Post-Surgical Department in Paoli Hospital, OR in Paoli, Surgery Center in Exton, Oncology nurse in an Oncology office and the OR at CCH. She also assisted her husband as a part-time secretary in his architectural practice.
As long as she can remember, Penny always wanted to be a nurse. Even before CCH, she was a nursing assistant in a nursing home learning to care for the elderly. She graduated from CCHSON in the Class of 1969. Her first position was on Pediatrics at CCH which she loved.
Though Penny retired from the O.R. in 2010, she has nursed many of her blended family of eight children and 13 grandchildren.
"It has been such a privilege and a blessing to be able to do something that I have loved for most of my life," she says.
Penny enjoys babysitting, knitting and gardening. And keeping in touch with our Alumni as Secretary.