Three Paths, Three Awards: MCPHS Manchester Nurses Recognized Statewide

Faculty member Carla Smith, alum Rachel Ortiz, and student Elizabeth Nerney were honored by the New Hampshire Nurses Association.

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) Manchester achieved a trifecta of nursing honors this year, with a faculty member, alum, and student each receiving awards from the New Hampshire Nurses Association (NHNA). The recognitions cover nursing education, psychiatric mental health care, and emerging nursing leadership.

Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Carla Smith earned the 2026 Excellence in Nursing Award in the Public Health Nursing category. The award was presented by New Hampshire Magazine in partnership with the New Hampshire Nurses Association as part of the organization’s annual celebration of nursing excellence.

Smith joined MCPHS in 2019 and teaches advanced medical-surgical nursing, nursing leadership, and nursing informatics. Her career has included bedside nursing, school nursing, public health service, and nursing education. She also volunteers with the Global Smile Foundation, providing care to children and families during medical trips in Peru, Ecuador, and El Salvador.

Smith said she’ll never forget one young patient who, she cared for after the little girl had surgery to fix a cleft palate. "The look on her face was the most priceless thing I've ever seen," she told MCPHS News in 2023 as she described one of those moments that reminds her of why she became a nurse.

The NHNA also recognized an MCPHS alum. Rachel Ortiz, a 2022 graduate of the post-baccalaureate nursing program in Manchester, received the Excellence in Nursing Award in Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing. Ortiz works as an outpatient psychiatry triage nurse at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Clinics.

Ortiz began her healthcare career 16 years ago and later returned to school to pursue nursing after discovering a passion for psychiatric care. She told New Hampshire Magazine that working with outpatient psychiatry patients has been “the most rewarding part” of her career.

Rounding out the trio was student Elizabeth Nerney, who received the NHNA’s Student Nurse of the Year Rising Star Award at the organization’s annual meeting on April 17 at Plymouth State University. She is the second MCPHS student in the past three years to earn the honor.

Nerney completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree this spring and will work in the surgical orthopedics unit at Elliott Hospital in Manchester, providing post-operative care. As she enters the profession, Nerney said she hopes to give back to future nurses. “I’d love to teach students everything I know someday,” she said.