UM SJMC Mourns the Loss of Rosemarie "Libby" Liberatore
University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center mourns the loss of Rosemarie “Libby” Liberatore, a great supporter and cherished friend who passed away on December 18. Libby, throughout her nursing career and volunteerism, left an indelible mark on our institution through her servant leadership and carrying on the legacy of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends as they mourn the loss of Libby.
For 70 years, Libby represented the values of the medical center by rising to every challenge to ensure clinical excellence was delivered to our patients with loving and compassionate care. She started as a nursing student at St. Joseph’s School of Nursing and after graduating, worked in what was known as “The Accident Room” at St. Joseph Hospital’s original location on Caroline Street. When St. Joseph’s Hospital moved to Towson, Libby was entrusted with coordinating the challenging patient transition to the new, much larger facility. The Emergency Room opened just a day after the move, and Libby became its Head Nurse, a role she held until 1968.
Although she worked at another hospital early in her career, Libby was drawn back to St. Joseph where she served as Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services, a position she held for 15 years. During her tenure, she oversaw significant changes, including hospital expansions, the creation of the Mother-Baby unit, a higher-functioning NICU, a state-of-the-art 28-bed Critical Care unit and the development of the Open Heart Surgery program. She also became an active leader in the Maryland Organization of Nurse Executives, serving as one of the organization’s first presidents.
Even in retirement, Libby was never far from UM St. Joseph. From leading the Department of Nursing, she moved into steering the Auxiliary Board and then joined the Foundation Board. But she missed her early nursing days working with patients and volunteered at St. Clare Medical Outreach, caring for our uninsured patients.
In 2011, she was honored with the St. Joseph the Worker award which is given in gratitude to an individual or group for their extraordinary contributions through leadership and service to the medical center. In 2014, Libby was inducted as a member of the inaugural Profiles of Compassion Society which recognizes highly respected clinicians for significant clinical or administrative leadership qualities.
In remembering Libby, we share her philosophy about life and work: “Do good, meet the next challenge, keep going and always make sure to have fun along the way.”
Student. Nurse. Executive. Board Member. Auxilian. Volunteer. Friend. We celebrate that Libby is now in God’s loving arms and keep the entire Liberatore family in our prayers.