Awards and Recognition

2021 Advanced Practice Provider Awards

• Core Value Award: Compassion

  Anne Casto, NNP, is a nurse practitioner in Neonatology. She has worked as a bedside neonatal nurse, transport nurse and now as a senior member of the NNP team. She tirelessly works to ensure excellent care for the babies in the NICU, and is a wonderful and supportive communicator.

  She is very family focused and centers her care around the whole family unit. She will spend a long time to help families understand their baby’s condition, but also to help them cope with the stress of having a sick baby. She is the common "go to" person for staff to talk about work challenges and routinely trains nurses, residents, fellows and other practitioners who then form a safety net for other hospitals and providers across the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.

  She has dedicated a long career here and has never wavered in her commitment to patients, families and the community in the NICU at Children's National Hospital overall.

  Please join us in congratulating Anne Casto as our Advanced Practice Provider Core Value Award Recipient for Compassion.

• Core Value Award: Commitment

  

  Daniela Herrera, CPNP-AC, is a nurse practitioner for the Division of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. She has been a committed provider on the Pain Medicine team since 2018, which brings her in daily contact with patients who hurt the most.

  In 2020, she started the outpatient pain catheter program for post-surgical patients, giving these patients optimal pain control at home. Daniela is one of only 52 individuals in the U.S. who holds an advanced practice pain management nurse certification.

  In addition to her busy clinical service, she organizes the Hospital Pain Committee agenda, communicates with committee members and follows up on action items to ensure the institution is providing the best care in opioid prescribing, pain assessment and meeting regulatory requirements.  

  Please join us in congratulating Daniela Herrera as our Advance Practice Provider Core Value Award Recipient for Commitment.

• Core Value Award: Connection

  Jennifer Tran, PA-C, is a physician assistant in the Emergency Department. She is also an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Physician Assistant Program.

  Her colleagues say her standard response is "I can do it! No problem at all." She triages employee symptoms and she delivers test results with care, compassion and empathy. She has been an essential provider in creating all Occupational Health COVID-19 algorithms and testing protocols.

  Jennifer uses her social media platform to address injury prevention. She is also always willing to volunteer for community events by giving COVID-19 talks and hosting huddles to address vaccine hesitancy.

  In the most difficult of all years, despite extraordinary work stress related to working in the Emergency Department and the COVID-19 Response team and personal tragedy, Jennifer rose above it all with professionalism and a positive attitude.

  Please join us in congratulating Jennifer Tran as our Advance Practice Provider Core Value Award Recipient for Connection.

• Advanced Practice Provider of the Year

  

  Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders

  Thrombosis/Hemostasis Nurse Practitioner 

  Jennifer Meldau, CPNP-PC, has over 30 years experience as a nurse, with 17 years as a PICU nurse prior to becoming a nurse practitioner.

  A true expert on the team, Jennifer is able to manage consistently growing inpatient consult services, including patients with pneumonia and MIS-C related to COVID-19, requiring prophylactic anticoagulation. Jennifer helps recruit patients for the nationwide database, the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network, in addition to involvement in other industry related studies. She has participated in projects reviewing Children's National data that have driven policy in collaboration with other departments in the hospital.

  Her colleagues describe her as caring, generous, committed and thoughtful. 

  Jennifer is an accomplished educator, speaker and author with multiple presentations and publication. She is truly committed to disseminating her expertise in hemostasis and thrombosis. 

  We are truly fortunate to have her contributions as a top tier advanced practice provider to Children’s National Hospital and most importantly, the patients and families.

  Thank you, Jennifer!