About the Institute for Patient Care

History

Originally known as the Quality, Research and Staff Development Department, the Center for Clinical and Professional Development (CCPD), under the directorship of Marianne Ditomassi, RN came into existence in 1996. Its sole purpose was to provide an educational resource to the nursing and support service staff. Designed to centralize orientation and in-servicing functions, the CCPD quickly became responsible for many activities of ongoing clinical training, education and development critical to the promotion of excellence in nursing care services. Through its 12 year history the CCPD continually grew as a resource and soon included many of the functions currently associated with the professional practice model.

The Present

In 2007, the CCPD was renamed The Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development and dedicated to Mr. Norman Knight. The “Norman Knight Nursing Center” became one of the founding pillars of the Institute for Patient Care and proudly continues to bring to the MGH nursing and support staff high quality educational programming as its principle resource. Several of the activities once associated with the Norman Knight Nursing Center have been strategically repositioned within the Institute to create a more system-wide and coordinated synergy.

Norman Knight

Norman Knight’s career is a story of vision, creativity and perseverance. As a teenager, Mr. Knight ran errands for a local radio station. Through hard work, personal initiative and exposure to great mentors within the industry, Mr. Knight became a giant in the field of broadcast communications.

Throughout his life, Mr. Knight has remained keenly aware of the profound influence one person can have on another. He has said that the greatest gift he received was his exposure to inspirational leaders who gave much more to the world than they received. Mr. Knight embodies this philosophy of giving.

As his own expertise and resources grew, Mr. Knight took on the role of advisor, community leader and philanthropist enabling others to have better opportunities in life. He is a strong supporter of many community organizations such as the Boy Scouts, and is the founder of The Hundred Club of Massachusetts, Inc., which provides financial assistance to families of public safety officers and firefighters seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. The Hundred Club also provides resources to enhance their safety and welfare.

Mr. Knight is very interested in healthcare, and over the years, his admiration for the profession of nursing has inspired him to establish several funds at the Massachusetts General Hospital. As his relationship with the MGH Nursing Service has grown, Mr. Knight and his son, Scott, have come to realize the critical importance of education and support for nursing practice. This culminated in an historic gift to fund the Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical and Professional Development and a generous gift to endow the center’s programs into perpetuity.