Honoring Excellence: Felician Confers Honorary Degree on Deborah Visconi!

Deborah Visconi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bergen New Bridge Medical Center was awarded an Honorary Degree by Felician University at the School of Nursing at the first of three commencement ceremonies on Saturday, June 26.

Felician University President James W. Crawford, III credited Ms. Visconi with creating an environment of diversity and inclusion in the largest public health hospital and long-term care facility in the state of New Jersey.” In introducing Visconi, Felician Trustee, Dr. Thomas Bellavia, spoke of her more than 30 years of experience as a healthcare leader at major hospitals in New York and New Jersey. “Her life’s work clearly embodies the Felician Franciscan values,” Dr. Bellavia told those who was attended the commencement exercise on Felician’s Lodi Campus.

The only Latinx hospital executive in New Jersey, Ms. Viscon was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens, and was the first in her family to earn a college degree. In her commencement address, she offered Felician’s nursing graduates suggestions that did not include following their passion, “since for most of us, if we are honest, it took years of trial and error to really identify that passion.” Instead, she shared ideas on how to navigate the next ten years saying, “if you successfully handle your post graduate decade, I’ll bet the ensuing years will be just fine.”

Ms. Visconi, did however offer some concrete ideas on how the graduates could best navigate those next ten years, including recognizing intellectual excitement when they feel it, and letting that be their guide. Ms. Visconi shared how she became a lab technician after seeing a trade school advertisement on the subway. “Yep, I credit the New York Subway systems for getting me into a field I now love, one that has allowed me a career I could not have envisioned at nineteen.” At Memorial Sloan Kettering where she had what she calls her first real job, and found her first real mentor, Ms. Visconi says she was, “intellectually present, came in early, stayed late,” and was encouraged to become a hospital administrator and earn a master’s in hospital service and administration. Nursing she told the graduates remains a noble profession for both women and men, particularly in the COVID-19 era, and she applauded the graduates for choosing a career in healthcare. In conferring the Doctorate of Humane

Letters on Ms. Visconi, President Crawford commended her for her efforts, “to lead the state in providing efficient and effective access to testing and vaccinations.”

The hospital administrator was also commended for transforming Bergen New Bridge Medical Center into a beacon of hope as the largest public hospital in New Jersey providing care for anyone who needs it, regardless of their ability to pay. Under the leadership of CEO Visconi, New Bridge became a Veterans Community Care Provider ensuring care for 40,000 veterans. Partnering with other agencies, she has increased access to behavioral health, addiction treatment, intervention, and counseling services, changing, and saving many lives.

Ms. Visconi told Felician’s 2021 graduates that attitude and work ethic are important and can carry them far saying, “hard work, punctuality, respect, and responsiveness were among the things that accelerated and elevated my career.” She advised Felician new nurses to stay curious, engaged, and open to possibilities, saying they are poised to enter an exciting and growing field, “that is in great demand and does great good” and reminded them that the Felician Franciscan values that underpinned their Felician education are the same values now woven into their careers in nursing.

To view diploma photos with President Crawford and photos of all three ceremonies click here.