Employees of the Year
Presented April 30, 2015
Laura Saunders, PsyD, ABPP
Employee of the Year
Laura Saunders, PsyD, ABPP, is a licensed psychologist and clinical coordinator of a new LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning/Queer) specialty track in Young Adult Services at the Institute of Living (IOL). She has been an Hartford HealthCare employee for 25 years. She has expertise in child psychopathology, behavior management, child development, mood disorders and family therapy. Dr. Saunders has been instrumental in creating a unique service called “The Right Track,” a day program for LGBTQ youth who are strugglingwith mental health problems. It is one of only two programs of its kind in the United States. Previously, Dr. Saunders was a psychologist on the child and adolescent inpatient units at the IOL, where she supervised psychology interns and fellows in addition to her clinical work.
Mary-Kate Eanniello, MSN, RN, OCN
Employee of the Year
Mary-Kate Eanniello, MSN, RN, OCN, is a nurse educator in the cancer program. She has been a nurse at Hartford Hospital for 30 years, formerly working as a staff nurse, assistant head nurse and radiation oncology nurse. Eanniello is co-chair of the Clinical Nursing Practice Council and the Hartford HealthCare Nursing Practice Council. Her clinical interests include geriatric oncology, delirium prevention, palliative medicine and nursing education. As a leader in the hospital’s Pain Committee, she has been instrumental in improving the safety and quality of nursing pain documentation/protocols. She also has been dedicated to promoting a culture of reducing physical restraints.