© University of Rochester 1996-2012
Brooke Paquin ’08N and Tristan Hanna—both nurses at the University-affiliated Highland Hospital—died as a result of a December 10 car accident in North Carolina. Paquin was also a student in the School of Nursing’s Adult Practitioner Program.
“Brooke’s passing is such a tragedy and felt deeply by her extended family of fellow students, faculty, and staff at the School of Nursing,” said Kathy Parker, dean of the school.
Paquin and Hanna met at Highland Hospital, where he began working in 2004. Paquin began her career as a patient care technician at Highland in 2005 and later worked as a nurse in the emergency department.
According to friends, Hanna had said he planned to propose to Paquin in North Carolina.
Paquin graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a business degree and worked for a company in Boston for several years. But she wasn’t happy, according to her mother, Patti Paquin, a nurse at Strong Memorial Hospital for 17 years.
“She was fascinated with nursing stories and decided nursing was for her,” Paquin said. “She was such a compassionate and caring person. Her patients in the emergency department wrote her thank you notes. She was one of those special people.”
Hanna, a graduate of St. John Fisher College’s nursing school, began his career as a patient care technician at Highland.
“Tristan loved nursing,” said his father, Brendan Hanna. “He wanted to be in a position where he could help people. He enjoyed making a difference. He really loved the direct patient contact. He wasn’t a ‘paperwork’ kind of nurse. He didn’t like anything that took him away from patient time.”
Said Cindy Becker, vice president and chief operating officer at the hospital: “Highland is a close-knit family, and we feel the loss of these two young nurses very deeply.”
© University of Rochester 1996-2012