Romen Mary Rivera

Romen Rivera was born at Flower and Fifth Hospital on July 24, 1945. Placed in the care of her maternal grandmother, Mrs. Romen Montalvo, the two lived in a brownstone apartment at Madison and 116th Street, directly above the funeral home that her great-grandfather owned and operated. In 1951, she and her abuela moved a few blocks north and Romen entered St. Paul’s Parish School on 118th St. It was in first grade there that she met her lifelong best friend, Kathy Russell. Romen did well at St. Paul’s and upon graduation attended Cathedral High School, where she again excelled. From there, Romen entered the Roosevelt Hospital School of Nursing, becoming an RN in 1964. Not satisfied with her program certificate, she continued studying for her BSN at the New York Hospital Cornell School of Nursing. Upon completion, she began the Cornell Masters Program but, due to her grandmother’s failing health, Romen halted her studies to begin working full-time at New York Hospital, a career that lasted over 50 years. In those first years at NYH, Romen worked in several services. During her time in ENT on 8H, she had the honor of being named the hospital’s first Puerto Rican head nurse. From there she did a long stint with Renal on M2, where many of her colleagues soon became friends for life. While with Nephrology, she was named Interim Acting Head Nurse. Not long after, she was offered the opportunity to take on the administrative challenges of Patient Care Management, which she did until her retirement just before the COVID era. Wherever she went, Romen Rivera left an indelible impression. Marrianne, a colleague from M2, found Romen to be a great leader who somehow managed to be serious and yet funny at the same time. Carolyn, an early colleague from ENT, characterized Romen as a nurse who loved and cared for her patients while also being an extremely private person with a very resolute sense of her goals in life. As a young nurse Romen had expressed her intention to someday own a co-op apartment. A short time later, she had saved enough to purchase a small apartment in the Bronx. Wanting more, her long-term plan saw her moving into subsidized hospital housing on York Ave until she had saved enough to buy her co-op on E. 66 St. where she lived for the remainder of her days. In addition to her many cherished friends and neighbors, Romen also leaves behind her beloved godson, Brian Hepworth. Romen Rivera was a model nurse and a well-loved leader, but it is as a uniquely caring human being that she will continue to live on in our hearts and in our memories.