Yvonne Troiani-Sweeney ’78 always had passion for the well-being of her patients. She dedicated her life to her nursing career that spanned 30 years after earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) and a graduate degree in nursing from Villanova. Her colleagues and patients became her second family. Nursing led her to leadership roles at what is now the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Franklin Square Hospital in Maryland, Albert Einstein Medical Center, and the Geisinger Health System. Wherever her occupation led her, she became an inspiration to others for the incredible level of care she delivered every day.
All of that changed 13 years ago for Sweeney and her family, who live in Mountain Top, Pa. Diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called posterior cortical atrophy, she set aside her career and focused her energy on the daily challenges she faced, alongside her loving husband, Chris, and her two sons, Christopher III and Michael.
Support came in many ways from Sweeney’s family. Her sister, Linda Niedbala ’83 and Linda’s husband, Sam Niedbala ’82, started the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series at ESU, which kicked off in March 2014. The Niedbalas wanted this initiative to be a lasting tribute to Sweeney’s devotion to others while making a significant contribution to the education of health care professionals and the community-at-large about the cognitive impairment associated with dementia and other diseases of a similar nature.
The lecture series will continue, for the 12th year, on Thursday, October 24 with a keynote address by Marta Kazandjian, M.A., CCC-SLP, BCS-S, F-ASHA, NBC-HWC, titled “It’s All About The Whole Me: Whole Health, Communication and Cognition in Alzheimer’s Disease.”
Marta Kazandjian is clinical assistant professor and department head at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital and Stony Brook University. She is a fellow of the American Speech Language and Hearing Association and is board certified in both swallowing and integrative whole health/wellness coaching. She is an invited national and international speaker and has extensive experience working with complex medically fragile populations, particularly those with neurological and pulmonary impairments.
Kazandjian specializes in swallowing and communication impairment in these patient populations and has a particular interest in neurodegenerative disease, palliative and end of life care. She believes that patient care is patient specific, treating the whole person. Her work in swallowing, verbal and non-verbal communication, tracheostomy and ventilator management are best represented by her peer reviewed articles, book chapters and text books. She recently coauthored her 3rd edition textbook, Communication and Swallowing Management of Tracheostomized and Ventilator Dependent Individuals, a resource for management of medically fragile individuals. Kazandjian is one of the first medical speech pathologists in the country who is certified in integrative, whole health.
The Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture will take place in the Niedbala Auditorium located inside Warren E. ’55 & Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center at 6 p.m. A reception will follow the presentation. The event is open to the general public at no cost.
“This endowed lecture series is a tremendous gift to the university and to our medical community,” said ESU President Kenneth Long.
To register for the event, please visit www.esufoundation.org/troiani-sweeney-endowed-fund-lecture-series-2024 or call (570) 422-3332. Space is limited for this event. For more information about the lecture series, please contact the College of Health Sciences at (570) 422-3425 or swerkheis4@esu.edu. Those interested in making a gift to the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series may contact the ESU Foundation at www.esufoundation.org/give-now or call (570) 422-3333.