Lontime Mahoning nursing director retiring

BOARDMAN

Diana (Babnich) Colaianni, the little Slovak girl from Lansingville on Youngstown’s South Side, grew up to become a major force for good in the Mahoning Valley as a hospital and public health nurse.

Colaianni (pronounced colley-annie) is retiring Nov. 30 after 19 years as director of nursing at the Mahoning County Board of Health. Her last day in the office was Nov. 21.

But, the last 19 years only capped a 45-year career as a labor and delivery nurse and a teacher, motivator and supporter of other nurses.

“I’ve known Diana my entire professional life,” said Patricia Sweeney, Mahoning County health commissioner.

“She is a consummate professional, a wonderful leader, a role model for women, and a gifted nurse and educator. She has a good soul,” Sweeney said.

Colaianni said she draws inspiration from Pablo Picasso’s drawing of Don Quixote of La Mancha, which hung on her office wall.

“Don Quixote saw the world as he hoped it would be. In public health, we try to do that — to see the world as it is and try to prevent illnesses and help people improve the quality of their lives,” Colaianni said.

Among the highlights of her career as a public health nurse was the response to the bacterial meningitis outbreak at West Branch High School over Memorial Day weekend in 2001. The outbreak caused the deaths of two West Branch students, one at Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Akron and another at Tod Children’s Hospital in Youngstown, and created fear in the community.

Read more about this long-time community servant in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.