Mary Gambosh, RN, CCM
Charlotte, N.C.
Years of Presidency: 1995-1996
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Mary Gambosh Reflects on a Life Filled with Case Management (Video)
“I just want to talk about what case management means to me. It comes from the heart. It comes from the soul. If we talk to people like we wanted to be talked to ourselves, if we talk to our patients like it was our mother or our father or our brother or our sister, we’re always going to get good results.”
Introduction:
Mary Gambosh passed away in July, 2007, after suffering from multiple chronic conditions. She was 69 years young. Despite several attempts to interview Mary, time did not allow due to her declining condition. Through an agreement with her daughter and the Case Management Society of America, we have been allowed to share with case managers Mary’s acceptance of the Lifetime Achievement Award she was presented with in June, 2005.
Mary began her professional life in 1958 upon graduation from the Medical College of Virginia and St. Luke’s Hospital in Richmond, Va. This launched a nursing and business career spanning 50 years. Mary was a care manager, a business owner, a teacher and a consultant. Mary was an integral part of the initial group that founded CMSA in 1989. She is probably best known today as the CMSA National President who, in 1996, forged the consolidation of the Individual Case Management Association and CMSA into the single dynamic organization that is CMSA today. As President, she tirelessly visited chapters to share her limitless knowledge and to encourage and mentor young leaders.
On the personal side, Mary was married to her soul mate Frank since 1976. Together, they had nine children, 12 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. In their free time, they traveled from Alaska to Rome, London to Cracaw, Paris to Prague, Warsaw and beyond. During one of their trips to Poland they discovered there were no little league ball fields, and they subsequently sponsored and dedicated the Frank and Mary Baseball Field. It was also in Poland that they both experienced the moment of a lifetime and were granted an audience with Pope John Paul II.
Part One of the video, including the Introduction and the first part of Mary’s acceptance speech:
Part Two, including the remainder of Mary’s acceptance speech:
