NUMC staff mourns loss of colleague

Staff members at Nassau University Medical Center’s maternity ward reported back for their overnight shifts late Wednesday night, nearly 24 hours after one of their own, Stacie Williams, was shot and killed outside the hospital during her break.
   
Williams, 45, worked as a patient care assistant at the NUMC. She worked at the hospital for 23 years. Williams, who lived in Hempstead, was formerly of Westbury. Police said her killer was Kim Wolfe, an off-duty corrections officer who they say had a relationship with Williams. Wolfe, 43, shot Williams at about 1:35 a.m. on Wednesday morning, near a door south of the main Carman Avenue entrance, officials said.
   
Dr. Steven Walerstein, NUMC’s senior vice president of medical affairs and medical director, said he was “really struck” when he visited the staff as they mourned the loss of their colleague. "She was someone who was really liked,” Walerstein said. “Someone who really cared about the patients.” Co-workers described Williams as “hard-working,” “vivacious” and “friendly.”

Patient care assistants, also known as nurses’ aides, work closely with patients and tend to their personal needs. Like her colleagues, Williams was a member of CSEA Local 830.
    
“We knew Stacie as a hard-working professional who was a wonderful worker and was a great asset to NUMC,” said Jerry Laricchiuta, president of Local 830. “She had a vibrant personality, and we always saw her with a smile on her face.  Our hearts go out to the families involved in this tragedy.  We lost a great health care professional today."
   
Art Gianelli, president and CEO of NuHealth, which operates the NUMC, paid visits to the maternity ward on Wednesday, one to the early-evening shift, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., and one to the overnight shift, from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. — Williams’s scheduled shift. He offered his condolences and reminded staff members of the counseling and chaplain services that are available for all hospital workers.