Rutgers Nursing Magazine - Summer 2020

R U T G E R S N U R S I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 4 / 5 J UD I T H P E R S I CH I L L I (MA , B SN , RN ) , CAN ’ T R EMEMB E R A T I ME WH E N SH E D I DN ’ T WAN T T O B E A NUR S E , AND F U L F I L L I NG T HAT DR E AM , SH E S AY S , “WA S T H E B E S T D E C I S I ON I E V E R MAD E . ” A L U M N I E X C E L L E N C E That’s especially true today, as Persichilli, the first nurse to be appointed New Jersey’s commissioner of health, draws on her nursing background to lead the state through the most urgent public health crisis the world has experienced in over a century. “Helping people in New Jersey live long, healthy lives,” has been Persichilli’s core mission throughout her distinguished career in nursing, hospital administration, and public health. Then comes COVID-19, an enormous threat to that mission. But it’s precisely her career experience, and the education propelling her through it, that she’s drawing on now. COVID-19 As New Jersey Commissioner of Health, Alumna Judith Persichilli Spearheads State’s Fight Against