Meet the incredible members of Hadassah’s Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Council.
We invite you to join us!

Joyce Backman is the third of four generations of Hadassah Life members. Born in New Jersey, Joyce attended Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, worked in the Cardiothoracic ICU at New York Presbyterian Hospital and went on to obtain a master’s in public health from Columbia University.

Joyce, her husband Ken, and their two children, Spencer and Kate, moved to Westport, Connecticut in 2000, after living in Chicago and New Jersey. Active in Hadassah since 2000, Joyce has held many roles within Hadassah, first within the Westport, CT Chapter of Hadassah, and then Hadassah Connecticut, overseeing 6,000+ members as the President.

Upon completion of the Hadassah CT Presidency, Joyce joined the Evolve Hadassah team as part of outreach to young women all over the US. Presently, Joyce serves as the Vice Chair of the Professional Councils which includes overseeing the programming for the following councils: Attorneys and Judges, Educators, Nurses and Allied Health Professionals and Physicians. Joyce has been a member of the Hadassah National Board since 2022.

Joyce’s full-time job is as Practice Manager to a five-provider Allergy Practice overseeing 25 employees. Joyce holds a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and also enjoys yoga and hikes with the family dog.

Joyce Backman is the third of four generations of Hadassah Life members. Born in New Jersey, Joyce attended Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, worked in the Cardiothoracic ICU at New York Presbyterian Hospital and went on to obtain a master’s in public health from Columbia University.

Joyce, her husband Ken, and their two children, Spencer and Kate, moved to Westport, Connecticut in 2000, after living in Chicago and New Jersey. Active in Hadassah since 2000, Joyce has held many roles within Hadassah, first within the Westport, CT Chapter of Hadassah, and then Hadassah Connecticut, overseeing 6,000+ members as the President.

Upon completion of the Hadassah CT Presidency, Joyce joined the Evolve Hadassah team as part of outreach to young women all over the US. Presently, Joyce serves as the Vice Chair of the Professional Councils which includes overseeing the programming for the following councils: Attorneys and Judges, Educators, Nurses and Allied Health Professionals and Physicians. Joyce has been a member of the Hadassah National Board since 2022.

Joyce’s full-time job is as Practice Manager to a five-provider Allergy Practice overseeing 25 employees. Joyce holds a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and also enjoys yoga and hikes with the family dog.

Becoming an RN at midlife is the most challenging thing I have ever done. Elsie Shemin Roth, public health nurse from St. Louis, inspired me when I read about her starting nursing school at age 54 in Hadassah Magazine. At the time, I was working as Office Manager at Hadassah Greater Kansas City — where my passion for Hadassah began.

After graduation, I decided to revive our Hadassah Nurses Council and served as its president for three years. Later, I became president of Hadassah Greater Kansas City and am currently local Team Coordinator and Hadassah Great Plains Engagement Coordinator. A few years ago, I helped form our local Hadassah Physicians Council, and we are also hoping to start a Hadassah Attorneys & Judges Council here.

Using my nursing knowledge, I was fortunate to work for 13+ years as Medical Library Coordinator at a local community hospital before I retired 9 years ago. My personal mission is to help family and friends and contribute to making the world a better place with my time, talent and treasure through Hadassah and other charities. I am blessed to have my two sons and daughters-in-law plus my six grandchildren all living near me. This year, our local Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Council will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our Walk for Health on Mother’s Day. Each year I sponsor a drawing for a free Hadassah Life Membership in memory of my mother. This is open to everyone at www.hadassahmidwest.org/GKCwalk.

Becoming an RN at midlife is the most challenging thing I have ever done. Elsie Shemin Roth, public health nurse from St. Louis, inspired me when I read about her starting nursing school at age 54 in Hadassah Magazine. At the time, I was working as Office Manager at Hadassah Greater Kansas City — where my passion for Hadassah began.

After graduation, I decided to revive our Hadassah Nurses Council and served as its president for three years. Later, I became president of Hadassah Greater Kansas City and am currently local Team Coordinator and Hadassah Great Plains Engagement Coordinator. A few years ago, I helped form our local Hadassah Physicians Council, and we are also hoping to start a Hadassah Attorneys & Judges Council here.

Using my nursing knowledge, I was fortunate to work for 13+ years as Medical Library Coordinator at a local community hospital before I retired 9 years ago. My personal mission is to help family and friends and contribute to making the world a better place with my time, talent and treasure through Hadassah and other charities. I am blessed to have my two sons and daughters-in-law plus my six grandchildren all living near me. This year, our local Nurses and Allied Health Professionals Council will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our Walk for Health on Mother’s Day. Each year I sponsor a drawing for a free Hadassah Life Membership in memory of my mother. This is open to everyone at www.hadassahmidwest.org/GKCwalk.

Being a new member of this Council is very special to me. Hadassah and the council are the vehicles that feed my passion for Israel and my love of social work.

I am currently President of Hadassah Northern New Jersey. I am married, have three adult children and seven grandchildren, and I am a social worker. I graduated from Wurzweiler School of Social Work, part of Yeshiva University in 1988. I have an MSW and a LCSW from NY and NJ. I was a hospital social worker at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center for over 25 years. I worked in many different units including surgery, ortho, neuro, rehab and oncology. I provided supportive counseling to both patients and families, assisted with discharge planning, led support groups and was a member of the interdisciplinary team. I worked with the homeless population as well people with AIDS in the early 1990s.

I retired in 2016 from the hospital, although my license is still active. Since my retirement, I have been leading a monthly support group for women with gyn/cancer in person and more recently on Zoom.

Being a new member of this Council is very special to me. Hadassah and the council are the vehicles that feed my passion for Israel and my love of social work.

I am currently President of Hadassah Northern New Jersey. I am married, have three adult children and seven grandchildren, and I am a social worker. I graduated from Wurzweiler School of Social Work, part of Yeshiva University in 1988. I have an MSW and a LCSW from NY and NJ. I was a hospital social worker at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center for over 25 years. I worked in many different units including surgery, ortho, neuro, rehab and oncology. I provided supportive counseling to both patients and families, assisted with discharge planning, led support groups and was a member of the interdisciplinary team. I worked with the homeless population as well people with AIDS in the early 1990s.

I retired in 2016 from the hospital, although my license is still active. Since my retirement, I have been leading a monthly support group for women with gyn/cancer in person and more recently on Zoom.

My mother was one of the early members of (the late) Junior Hadassah, and then joined Hadassah as an adult. So Hadassah was something that you could say came to me with my mother's milk.

When I was little, my mom took me everywhere she went, including to many Hadassah meetings. I even had my picture in the newspaper when some meeting rated a local newspaper article. My mom made me a life member for my 16th birthday -- it was a surprise, and it took some doing for her to get me to that meeting, as I had some project deadline for school that I was engrossed in.

Becoming a nurse was a phase I went through in elementary school when a rotten teacher told us (false) horror stories of what academic life was like in college (nursing school wasn't college, in my mind). So I figured I'd go to the Hadassah School of Nursing in Jerusalem (and no, I didn't speak Hebrew then). But after college degrees in Biology and Talmud, in a dual degree program, I thought about nursing again. I had a rewarding career, first as an OB nurse and then as a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, working for Planned Parenthood, and later in clinical research, fulfilling a different childhood dream.

Outside of my professional life, I have been involved in music -- singing, playing recorder and clarinet, and my latest passion, transcribing the musical works of  Biblical texts of Renaissance composer, a priest, of converso descent.

My mother was one of the early members of (the late) Junior Hadassah, and then joined Hadassah as an adult. So Hadassah was something that you could say came to me with my mother's milk.

When I was little, my mom took me everywhere she went, including to many Hadassah meetings. I even had my picture in the newspaper when some meeting rated a local newspaper article. My mom made me a life member for my 16th birthday -- it was a surprise, and it took some doing for her to get me to that meeting, as I had some project deadline for school that I was engrossed in.

Becoming a nurse was a phase I went through in elementary school when a rotten teacher told us (false) horror stories of what academic life was like in college (nursing school wasn't college, in my mind). So I figured I'd go to the Hadassah School of Nursing in Jerusalem (and no, I didn't speak Hebrew then). But after college degrees in Biology and Talmud, in a dual degree program, I thought about nursing again. I had a rewarding career, first as an OB nurse and then as a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, working for Planned Parenthood, and later in clinical research, fulfilling a different childhood dream.

Outside of my professional life, I have been involved in music -- singing, playing recorder and clarinet, and my latest passion, transcribing the musical works of  Biblical texts of Renaissance composer, a priest, of converso descent.

Shortly after I completed my Bachelor’s in Nursing at the University of Michigan in 1969, I became intrigued by a newly emerging concept of teaching patients about their health condition and how to take measures to improve their health. Health care knowledge was more or less a mysterious process, in the sole hands of highly educated health practitioners. At that time, you needed a doctor’s order to teach a patient about diabetes management. No one but the physician could inform a patient what his/her blood pressure reading was. After working in in-service education and public health nursing, I pursued a Master’s in Public Health (University of Michigan), determined to devote my career to creating programs and systems to help people learn to improve their health.

It was an exciting, innovative time. I created one of the first Patient Education Departments at Harper Hospital in Detroit. Because of successes we had in programs geared for the general community, I launched a Community Education Department. These were new concepts at the time.  All programs included the full complement of health disciplines (physicians, nurses, social workers, rehabilitation specialists, and pharmacists). We created a multidisciplinary community with a by-product of further educating health professionals about patient needs. During that time, you could see gradual changes in attitudes towards educating and engaging the public about health.

One program we developed focused on Parkinson disease (PD), of which little was known at the time. When people got wind of the classes, calls to participate came from all over southeast Michigan. Thanks to the support of the hospital, I worked closely with a neurologist specializing in PD and other select volunteers, to create the Michigan Parkinson Foundation. Over the years, I participated on the Board and Professional Advisory Board and took the position of Chief Executive Officer during the last 16 years of my working career. Due to the commitment of many people, MPF is now one of the strongest independent organizations nationally for people with PD.

Throughout my career, I have been very fortunate to have been able to work with a diverse group of talented professionals and lay people; to expand my skill set into areas outside of nursing (management, organizational development, marketing, finance, creative writing); and to meet inspirational people in Michigan and beyond.

I retired 6 years ago. In addition to my hobbies (piano, entertaining, being with dear friends and travel), I wanted to become more active in Hadassah, having attended some of the first meetings of the Nurses Council. When the opportunity arose to morph the Council into one for all Health Professionals, I jumped on it. This took me back to my earlier years when we developed teams back at Harper Hospital. The current Steering Committee is dynamic and committed to expanding our reach to include all health fields. This is an interesting new purpose, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share it with others.

Shortly after I completed my Bachelor’s in Nursing at the University of Michigan in 1969, I became intrigued by a newly emerging concept of teaching patients about their health condition and how to take measures to improve their health. Health care knowledge was more or less a mysterious process, in the sole hands of highly educated health practitioners. At that time, you needed a doctor’s order to teach a patient about diabetes management. No one but the physician could inform a patient what his/her blood pressure reading was. After working in in-service education and public health nursing, I pursued a Master’s in Public Health (University of Michigan), determined to devote my career to creating programs and systems to help people learn to improve their health.

It was an exciting, innovative time. I created one of the first Patient Education Departments at Harper Hospital in Detroit. Because of successes we had in programs geared for the general community, I launched a Community Education Department. These were new concepts at the time.  All programs included the full complement of health disciplines (physicians, nurses, social workers, rehabilitation specialists, and pharmacists). We created a multidisciplinary community with a by-product of further educating health professionals about patient needs. During that time, you could see gradual changes in attitudes towards educating and engaging the public about health.

One program we developed focused on Parkinson disease (PD), of which little was known at the time. When people got wind of the classes, calls to participate came from all over southeast Michigan. Thanks to the support of the hospital, I worked closely with a neurologist specializing in PD and other select volunteers, to create the Michigan Parkinson Foundation. Over the years, I participated on the Board and Professional Advisory Board and took the position of Chief Executive Officer during the last 16 years of my working career. Due to the commitment of many people, MPF is now one of the strongest independent organizations nationally for people with PD.

Throughout my career, I have been very fortunate to have been able to work with a diverse group of talented professionals and lay people; to expand my skill set into areas outside of nursing (management, organizational development, marketing, finance, creative writing); and to meet inspirational people in Michigan and beyond.

I retired 6 years ago. In addition to my hobbies (piano, entertaining, being with dear friends and travel), I wanted to become more active in Hadassah, having attended some of the first meetings of the Nurses Council. When the opportunity arose to morph the Council into one for all Health Professionals, I jumped on it. This took me back to my earlier years when we developed teams back at Harper Hospital. The current Steering Committee is dynamic and committed to expanding our reach to include all health fields. This is an interesting new purpose, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share it with others.

Hadassah (my Hebrew name) the Women's Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA) has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the 60s in Fairfield, Connecticut, long before social action was a buzz word, Hadassah and helping Israel was important to my family, and being active in HWZOA served as a focal point of Jewish life. My mother, aunts and all the women I knew managed fundraising and activist campaigns that took over dining room tables and kitchen counters throughout the community. Women in my world did not work outside the home, but most worked hard and diligently for Hadassah.

So, it was especially meaningful for me to join the Hadassah Nurses Council through the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where I worked as a staff nurse in psychiatry, Nursing Care Coordinator at the Hillside Hospital Division, and as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adolescent Medicine. It was important for me to continue the legacy of Hadassah activism as a Life Member, and I was proud and pleased to do it in a way that also served and engaged my professional identification.

My first opportunity to be in Israel wasn’t until August, 2000, when I was invited to Haifa to provide a presentation for the First World Conference on Adolescent Medicine. Traveling with my sons, I arranged an extensive country tour as I didn’t imagine ever having another opportunity to return to Israel. World events transpired rapidly, however, as the Second Intifada ensued, involving Israeli civilian and military casualties and deaths from bombings in buses and in public spaces.

As a Certified Trauma Specialist, my skills were in urgent demand to prepare school and health professional in crisis response systems, traumatic stress, crisis, catastrophic loss, and community, and public health interventions. Still a relatively new field, I adapted emerging knowledge to a nursing model focusing on the prevention of adverse consequences and promoting health and well-being, especially among children, and teens.

During those years, I traveled to Israel nearly every three months, during every university break, to lecture, consult, and teach regarding trauma and the unique and critical role nurses could provide during times of extreme distress and crisis. I presented to critical care nurses who were suddenly caring not just for elderly patients, but for IDF youth and young victims of terrorism. Pediatricians and psychiatrists appreciated the information and practical suggestions about how they might enhance their clinical care. I consulted with colleagues in the The Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing (SON) and was present for the dedication and opening of the first Master’s degree program in nursing.

I joined Hadassah Nursing Missions and was finally able to see the stunning accomplishments of the Connecticut women and those across the US in building the magnificent high-tech, culturally relevant, nursing focused Hadassah Medical Center.

Since then, I have become a professor, developed a clinical practice, and have spent more than two decades establishing a role and space for nursing expertise and integrity in the United Nation System, addressing contemporary challenges to promote flourishing and thriving among all peoples of the world. I am pleased to collaborate with HWZOA President, Carol Ann Schwartz; Past President, Nancy Falchuk; ICN President, Emerita Dr. Judith Shamian; and Hadassah UN representatives in developing exciting and productive approaches to advocacy and activism in the UN System.

Throughout my career, I have served survivors of trauma on six continents: former child soldiers in Africa, trafficking victims in Asia, survivors of natural disasters in Australia, and throughout the US, even following the Challenger Shuttle Disaster in Concord, New Hampshire. As meaningful as these experiences have been, none have come close to the deeply satisfying significance of my work in Israel and as a member of the WZOA and the Nurses Council. Witnessing nurses become Presidents of Hadassah and the stunning developments at the SON, has sustain my original passion and commitment ignited by the “Hadassah Ladies “I knew growing up. The transformative achievements of ordinary women achieving extraordinary outcomes as demonstrated by Henrietta Szold and her nurse colleagues and by the “Hadassah Ladies” “in Connecticut and throughout the world serve as inspiring exemplars of the power of women determined to connect, commit, and collaborate for the benefit of all humanity.

Hadassah (my Hebrew name) the Women's Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA) has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the 60s in Fairfield, Connecticut, long before social action was a buzz word, Hadassah and helping Israel was important to my family, and being active in HWZOA served as a focal point of Jewish life. My mother, aunts and all the women I knew managed fundraising and activist campaigns that took over dining room tables and kitchen counters throughout the community. Women in my world did not work outside the home, but most worked hard and diligently for Hadassah.

So, it was especially meaningful for me to join the Hadassah Nurses Council through the Long Island Jewish Medical Center, where I worked as a staff nurse in psychiatry, Nursing Care Coordinator at the Hillside Hospital Division, and as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adolescent Medicine. It was important for me to continue the legacy of Hadassah activism as a Life Member, and I was proud and pleased to do it in a way that also served and engaged my professional identification.

My first opportunity to be in Israel wasn’t until August, 2000, when I was invited to Haifa to provide a presentation for the First World Conference on Adolescent Medicine. Traveling with my sons, I arranged an extensive country tour as I didn’t imagine ever having another opportunity to return to Israel. World events transpired rapidly, however, as the Second Intifada ensued, involving Israeli civilian and military casualties and deaths from bombings in buses and in public spaces.

As a Certified Trauma Specialist, my skills were in urgent demand to prepare school and health professional in crisis response systems, traumatic stress, crisis, catastrophic loss, and community, and public health interventions. Still a relatively new field, I adapted emerging knowledge to a nursing model focusing on the prevention of adverse consequences and promoting health and well-being, especially among children, and teens.

During those years, I traveled to Israel nearly every three months, during every university break, to lecture, consult, and teach regarding trauma and the unique and critical role nurses could provide during times of extreme distress and crisis. I presented to critical care nurses who were suddenly caring not just for elderly patients, but for IDF youth and young victims of terrorism. Pediatricians and psychiatrists appreciated the information and practical suggestions about how they might enhance their clinical care. I consulted with colleagues in the The Henrietta Szold Hadassah-Hebrew University School of Nursing (SON) and was present for the dedication and opening of the first Master’s degree program in nursing.

I joined Hadassah Nursing Missions and was finally able to see the stunning accomplishments of the Connecticut women and those across the US in building the magnificent high-tech, culturally relevant, nursing focused Hadassah Medical Center.

Since then, I have become a professor, developed a clinical practice, and have spent more than two decades establishing a role and space for nursing expertise and integrity in the United Nation System, addressing contemporary challenges to promote flourishing and thriving among all peoples of the world. I am pleased to collaborate with HWZOA President, Carol Ann Schwartz; Past President, Nancy Falchuk; ICN President, Emerita Dr. Judith Shamian; and Hadassah UN representatives in developing exciting and productive approaches to advocacy and activism in the UN System.

Throughout my career, I have served survivors of trauma on six continents: former child soldiers in Africa, trafficking victims in Asia, survivors of natural disasters in Australia, and throughout the US, even following the Challenger Shuttle Disaster in Concord, New Hampshire. As meaningful as these experiences have been, none have come close to the deeply satisfying significance of my work in Israel and as a member of the WZOA and the Nurses Council. Witnessing nurses become Presidents of Hadassah and the stunning developments at the SON, has sustain my original passion and commitment ignited by the “Hadassah Ladies “I knew growing up. The transformative achievements of ordinary women achieving extraordinary outcomes as demonstrated by Henrietta Szold and her nurse colleagues and by the “Hadassah Ladies” “in Connecticut and throughout the world serve as inspiring exemplars of the power of women determined to connect, commit, and collaborate for the benefit of all humanity.