Meet Root Center's 2023 Nightingale Award for Nursing Excellence Winner: Cherie Bochenko, PMHNP-BC

April 20th, 2026

It’s the time of year when we honor and celebrate a Root Center nurse who demonstrates “exceptional courage and devotion” by nominating them to be the recipient of the Nightingale Award for Nursing Excellence. This year, we are so pleased to announce that Root Center’s honoree for the 2023 Nightingale Award is Cherie Bochenko, PMHNP-BC. The Nightingale Award is the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve, so this is truly an impressive achievement! Cherie joined Root Center in March 2020, at the start of a once-in-a-century global pandemic, hitting the ground running, quickly becoming a pivotal and immensely valuable member of the Admissions team. Cherie has been a Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner for 5 years and a Registered Nurse for 14+ years, working in a variety of settings, including extensive experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities, mental health diagnoses, and substance use disorders. Cherie models exemplary clinical judgement and her experience and expertise has helped shaped her ability to act as a valuable resource to clinical & medical staff across Root Center. In the Admissions Department, Cherie meets all incoming patients where they are at in regard to their individual journey of recovery, adapting her approach with expertise to help design a plan of care best suited for them. Cherie’s patient-centered approach and commitment to addressing the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of opioid use disorder is unmatched—-she is a true patient advocate. Cherie is also recognized for her advanced teamworking and communication skills—her Admissions Dept. teammates can attest to her sunny disposition, her willingness to lend a helping hand, and her unwavering support of our community. Learn more about Cherie in this short video, and please join us in celebrating Cherie for this accomplishment and for representing Root Center as this year’s Nightingale Award honoree!

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In this episode of Rooted and Real, we get honest about the highs, the lows, and the unseen impact of scrolling, comparing, and staying constantly connected. From validation and anxiety to the feeling of being hooked on our screens and struggling to put them down—and how all of this is affecting kids growing up in a digital world—nothing is off limits. If you’ve ever caught yourself reaching for your phone without thinking or wondered how it’s shaping your mental health (or the next generation’s), this conversation is for you. 🎧 Tune in, reflect, and get real with us. Special thanks to our guest, UCONN Professor and Digital Media Expert, John Murphy, for all of his excellent insight on this episode! 
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