Rose and Joe Veneziale, owners of Giggles Gifts, 7400 Frankford Ave., have won the inaugural Jayne Felgen Legacy Award in recognition for the support and guidance they gave registered nurse Heather Munizza when she needed help the most.
The award, which was presented at the Nightingale Awards of Pennsylvania Gala, recognizes people who have had a deep and meaningful positive effect on a Pennsylvania nurse.
“My career has spanned more than 17 years, but that never would have happened were it not for Rose and Joe,” Munizza said.
At 19, she quit a bad job, ended an unhealthy relationship and applied to nursing school.
“I was frightened, lonely and on my own,” she said.
While she waited to hear back from Frankford Hospital School of Nursing, she took a job at Giggles Gifts.
“Working for Rose and Joe was like finding the family I never knew I needed,” she said. “Though they had three children of their own, they welcomed me into their family. They showed me love and gave me the confidence that I could do so much more with my life.”
When Munizza’s housing situation fell through, the Veneziales rented her a room above the shop.
“Rose and Joe became my support system and my biggest cheerleaders,” she said. “They inspired me, taught me so much and pushed me to grow. They showed me the importance of saving money and budgeting, and how to gain respect from others. They encouraged me when I struggled in nursing school and celebrated with me when I graduated. They were excited for me when I started my first nursing job, hugged me when I got engaged, danced at my wedding and cooed at my two sons when they were born.”
Munizza’s nursing career started with work in acute-care hospitals as a staff nurse on med-surg and telemetry units. Later, she became a clinical supervisor and nurse manager. She has also been a clinical instructor for several nursing programs.
“I wasn’t just teaching assessment skills and medication side effects,” she said. “I taught compassion toward patients and families, and how to support colleagues. I challenged my students to listen, to not judge, and to always ask why. Lessons and qualities that Rose and Joe embodied every day.”
Munizza now uses her knowledge and skills as a nurse — combined with the compassion and fortitude she learned from the Veneziales — as a Mobile Care Coordinator for Guardian Nurses Healthcare Advocates, a nurse-led, high-touch nurse advocacy company headquartered in Flourtown. Munizza helps IUPAT District Council 21 members and their families navigate the complex healthcare system to get the best outcomes possible. ••
