Veteran Nurse, Manager Named
Gifford Surgical Services Director

Veteran operating room nurse and administrator Diane Zeller of New York has joined Gifford Medical Center as its new Surgical Services director.

Zeller had most recently been administrative nurse manager of the Moses Campus Operating Rooms at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. She has also been a case manager at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, assistant hospital director at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, N.Y., anesthesia manager at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and nurse manager at the New York Hospital at Cornell Medical Center.

Zeller became a registered nurse in 1976 and previously worked as a licensed practical nurse, infant care technician, nurse’s aide and even as a candy striper in high school.

"Before I graduated from the eighth grade I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I just liked interaction with people," says Zeller, who earned her associate’s degree in applied science from Rockland Community College, part of the State University of New York system. She earned her bachelor of science in nursing from the Bellevue School of Nursing at Hunter College in New York City; and her master’s degree in health administration from Connecticut State University.

A member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Association of Operating Room Nurses, Zeller said she joined Gifford in part for the opportunity to live in Vermont.

While she grew up in New York and has spent most of her career there, Zeller visited Vermont with her family as a child and continued the practice long into adulthood.

"I always knew I’d wind up in Vermont," Zeller says, "and this opportunity became available and I was really excited about it."

Although Gifford is significantly smaller than hospitals at which she has previously worked, Zeller says. "I love it, because you don’t have the layers of bureaucracy." she says, adding that, "Gifford is an outstanding place to work."

An outdoor enthusiast, Zeller is currently in hospital housing in Randolph, but hopes to make the community her permanent home.

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