Skip to contents
In This Issue:
BWH this week mourns the loss of Coliscia Elwin, 22, unit coordinator for Connors Center 10. She died Sunday after a brief battle with lung cancer.
Her colleagues in the Connors Center remember Ms. Elwin’s enthusiasm, courageous spirit, fondness for the color pink and, most especially, her love of helping people. Prior to her illness, she was studying to become a nurse.
“She had such an infectious smile, and she would always bring light into the room,” said Sherry Adams, operations supervisor for Connors Center 7 and 8, who hired Ms. Elwin in 2002.
Ms. Elwin was a life-long resident of Boston and graduate of Fenway High School. While a student, she interned for six weeks in BWH’s Emergency Department. “That’s when she really became passionate about nursing,” Adams said.
Ms. Elwin attended North Carolina Central University for two years before returning to Boston to begin in the nursing program at Bunker Hill Community College last fall. She worked as a unit coordinator for several floors in the Connors Center part-time throughout school, most recently on Connors Center 10.
“She was such a happy person with a lot of enthusiasm,” said Paulette Melanson, MSN, RNC, nurse manager of Connors Center 10.
Matthew Paley, a fellow unit coordinator on Connors Center 10, recalled that Ms. Elwin was always smiling. “That’s definitely what I’ll remember about her,” he said.
Colleen Kelly, operations supervisor for Connors Center 10, echoed Paley’s sentiments. “Coliscia was a wonderful employee who took her job seriously. She was a great role model for customer service.”
Ms. Elwin floated to several floors in Connors as needed, always offering to help anyone she could. “Everyone was her family,” Adams said. “She just had a beautiful spirit. She truly will be missed.”
She is survived by her parents, Sheila Beal and Colbert Elwin; grandparents Lillian Wilson, Plaze Gray and William Bailey; and many other relatives and friends.
A memorial service was held on Thursday at the Jubilee Christian Church in Mattapan.