Penn Highlands Elk Welcomes New Nurse Leaders
Penn Highlands Elk is pleased to welcome Vicki Davidson and Cindy Salerno as our new nurse leaders. Mrs. Davidson joined the emergency department as the clinical director in July, and Ms. Salerno became the director of the medical/surgical/pediatric unit and the critical care unit in July.
“l enjoy working in a smaller community hospital because you get to know the people, families, and the community personally. In the Emergency Department, we work very closely together with the same goal to provide the best care possible. It is a great privilege to be part of that and care for all our patients here like family. ” said Mrs. Davidson.
“I chose to work at Penn Highlands Elk because the control of this health system is kept in the region. The people in charge know firsthand the communities they serve because they live and work in those very same communities. Also our administration has great ideas, good reasons for doing things. They look at the patient’s whole continuum of care and include every department in all patient care decisions. I’m thrilled to be a part of that collaborative, patient-centered care,” added Ms. Salerno.
Ms. Salerno began her career as a respiratory therapy assistant in 1979. She received her associate degree in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and went on to get a bachelor’s degree from Chamberlain College of Nursing. Ms. Salerno worked for eight years as a nursing assistant and 26 years as a nurse in various departments at Kane Community Hospital and became the nurse manager of the emergency department in 2004. She served as the emergency preparedness coordinator. With her certification as a pre-hospital nurse and a certified emergency nurse, Cindy also worked for Emergycare, Inc. and was a critical care transfer nurse and flight nurse for Lifestar. In 2014, she became the manager of the acute care unit at Kane.
Mrs. Davidson received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Penn State University, where she completed her senior internship in a Level 1 Trauma/ Emergency Department in Hershey, PA. She first started her nursing career in orthopedics and neurosurgery at Pinnacle Health Hospital in Harrisburg, PA. Mrs. Davidson then worked for many years in the Emergency Department at Penn Highlands DuBois. She later moved to Columbus, Ohio where she worked several years as the Clinical Educator for the Emergency Department and Chest Pain Unit at Mount Carmel Health St. Ann’s Hospital, the second largest health system in Columbus. Mrs. Davidson and her family returned to the area in 2012, because she states that the heart always leads you home. She had worked at Penn Highlands Brookville’s emergency department until beginning her position at Penn Highlands Elk.
Both nurses maintain certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Trauma Nursing Course and Emergency Nurses’ Pediatric Course. These two women bring a vast knowledge of nursing to Penn Highlands Elk, an experience in leadership, and a respect for community based service in healthcare.
