Newsmaker: Amy Cashdollar

Noteworthy: The American Heart Association awarded the 2014 Mary Ann Scully Excellence in Nursing Award to Cashdollar. The award highlights a nurse for his or her lifetime of accomplishments in the field of cardiovascular nursing. She will receive the award Feb. 22 at the American Heart Association's annual Heart Ball.

Age: 43

Residence: Cranberry

Family: Husband, Rich; sons, Luke, 9, and Daniel, 7

Education: Master's degree, nursing administration from La Roche College; bachelor's degree in nursing from Edinboro University; certified medical practice executive

Occupation: Cashdollar is the clinical director of the Heart Institute, Dialysis and Infusion Centers, and Ambulatory Quality and Patient Safety at Children's Hospital of UPMC in Lawrenceville.

Background: Prior to Children's, Cashdollar worked as a clinical specialist for Guidant; worked in a cardiac catheterization lab at Allegheny General Hospital; and was the manager of invasive cardiology at St. Francis Hospital. She started as an intensive care nurse at Hamot Medical Center in Erie.

Quote: “I love what I do. It's really rewarding. Everyone is so patient-focused. We truly live our mission every single day.”