Happily Here and Now -Cyndy My Inspiration

Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award Nomination

June 30,1992

Todd Galles- Product Manager
Syntex Laboratories
3401 Hillview Avenue
Palo Alto ,CA 94304

My nomination for recognition as Nurse Practitioner of this year (and every year ) is Cynthia Roche-Cotter, RN, FNP. Cynthia’s commitment to professional growth and excellence in patient care is truly extra-ordinary and exemplary. As a young wife and mother, and while working part-time as a “store nurse” at a landmark Boston department store, she completed her Associate Degree/RN training. Upon graduation she chose to practice on extremely challenging neurology units at Boston City Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital. During a year of cross-country travel with her husband and son she worked at San Francisco General’s Trauma Unit and also agency private duty. Upon returning home to Quincy ,MA, Cynthia became the first RN and a “Founding Mother”of Manet Community Health Center, largely responsible for the establishment and growth of its model family-community health practice. Over the next thirteen years she served as the first director of nursing, became the Center’s first Nurse Practitioner (graduating from Northeastrern University) and earned her BSN from the University of New York Regent’s Program. All the while she has been a constant advocate-provider for the health needs and rights of women, children, seniors, minorities, the disadvantaged and people with HIV/AIDS. She has reached into the community, local government and schools as HIV/AIDS resource person and sexuality educator. For her beloved and loving co-workers she has been the unoffcial, always sought after “resident health expert and counselor.”

Cyndy can best be characterized as a “human being extra-ordinaire ” with an amazing genius and gift for living. A sense of balance between service to others and self-fulfillment in personal relationships with family and friends, and myriad creative interests led her in the past year to begin a 24 hour weekend position in Pediatric Urgent Care at Harvard Community Health Plan. Quickly she has become a highly respected and valued provider for patients with “special needs” of all kinds. During a weekly evening session at the Manet Center she continues caring for a select group of longterm and referred patients and maintains her close ties to health center friends.

Cynthia’s 17 years of nursing, 10 of them as NP, are filled with literally thousands of encounters in which she has profoundly helped indviduals and families to heal their particular hurts- always with respect, dignity,”commonsensitivity”,humility, humor and love –from struggling immigrant families to traumatized “adult children”, to the 97 year old whom she matched with an African student so the exceptional elder could continue to live in her own home.

Cynthia, this exquisite person and practitioner, inspired me to write song lyrics about a re-awakened young accident victim she cared for –“ when all seems lost , when all else fails, with a touch of your hand ,with one kind word,you reach inside and help me laugh again, love again, live again.”

After a 15 year career as a public educator Cyndy was my inspiration to enter nursing and she will always be my repected and beloved partner and heroine.

This then is Cynthia Roche-Cotter, Family Nurse Practitioner, the pesonification of the humanitarian ideals and caring which are the essence of the art and science of the nurse practitioner.

Sincerely and gratefully submitted,
Mike Cotter ,RN