Patricia Kurz, longtime Good Samaritan nursing leader and mentor, dies at 81

Patricia Kurz saw possibility in young nurses — sometimes before they saw it in themselves, former colleagues said.

"When I lost my first patient, I questioned whether I should really be a nurse because I was so upset," said Janet Stevens, of Manorville, who worked under Kurz at Good Samaritan. "She made me believe that empathy was exactly why I should be a nurse."

Kurz, a nursing executive who spent more than three decades at what is now called Good Samaritan Medical Center, part of the Catholic Health system, died Sept. 16, surrounded by family. She was 81.

Born March 29, 1945, in Queens, Kurz lived most of her life in Copiague. She joined Good Samaritan in 1979 and went on to serve in a series of leadership roles, including director of the emergency department, director of medical-surgical nursing, interim vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Hunter College and a master’s degree in healthcare administration and management from The New School for Social Research in Manhattan.

During her career, she received the Registered Professional Nurse of Excellence Award from the Suffolk Regional Emergency Medical Services Council and a New York State Certificate of Appreciation for Nurse Excellence.

Nursing was a path Kurz’s family had encouraged from the time she was young, her daughter said. And the instinct to care for others remained central to how she approached the profession.

"She was always driven to pursue a better environment for the patients, to mentor young nurses and push them to be better versions of themselves," said her daughter Donna Kurz, of Boston.

Leading by example

Those who worked with Kurz said her standards were exacting, but so was the support she gave nurses trying to meet them.

Stevens still remembers Kurz teaching her how to start IVs and how to read a patient’s condition as a whole rather than as a collection of symptoms.

"Everything I do is the handprint that she left," Stevens said. "Whenever I’ve had rough times ... I always just hear Pat in my head."

Sister Mary Anna Euring, of Amityville, who worked with Kurz for 15 years at Good Samaritan, remembered her as a "perfectionist" who held staff to high standards for the good of patients, families and staff.

Behind Kurz’s high standards was a deep investment in the nurses she trained, her former colleagues said.

"When people saw this exterior, I never saw that," Stevens said. "I only saw her softness on the inside and how she just really wanted you to be the best nurse that you could be."

In a crisis, Euring said, Kurz remained calm and decisive. And despite her administrative titles, she was not removed from the work happening around her.

"She’s not somebody who sat behind the desk," Euring said. "Pat was right there on the floor, working with them side by side."

Family traditions

At home, Kurz joined in family adventures even when they pushed her outside her comfort zone, going along on boating trips despite her dislike of the water, her family said.

Kurz also made a point of making Christmas special for her daughters, taking them into Manhattan each winter to see Santa at Macy’s and the holiday windows, while Christmas at home was an open-door affair for family, friends and neighbors.

"It was very important for her to allow her children to enjoy Christmas in their own home," Donna Kurz said.

After retiring, Kurz returned to Manhattan and immersed herself in the city she loved, visiting museums, walking through Fort Tryon Park, attending art fairs and going to Broadway shows and the opera at the Met.

"It became a tradition that when each grandchild turned a certain age, they would visit her and she would take them into Manhattan and show them all of the places in the city that she loved so much," Donna Kurz said.

Kurz is survived by daughters Anne Kurz, of North Tonawanda, Sandra "Sam" Blatz, of Amherst, Donna Kurz, of Boston; and several grandchildren.

At her request, Kurz was cremated. A remembrance gathering is planned for spring. Donations may be made to the Sisters of St. Dominic of Amityville.