Catherine Mazzola, MD, FAANS
Pediatric Neurosurgeon

I will never forget the Thursday of the Paramus Eastbrook School bus accident. Our team at NJPNI was just about to start our Thursday “lunch and learn”, when Dr. Louis Difazio called me. Lou is the Chief of the Trauma Team at Morristown and a great friend. He told me there was a bus accident and about 24 children were being transported to Morristown Emergency Room. While he was talking, I called my colleagues together, and we headed across the street. We were there within ten minutes, and the Trauma Bay was filled with pediatric patients, nurses, physicians, and surgeons. There were four children with serious head trauma that we cared for that day. We train for polytrauma events, but thankfully, we seldom must deal with multiple pediatric trauma patients at once.

Triage, or the rapid evaluation and management of emergency patients, is a skill acquired after years of training and experience. I remember evaluating the four head trauma patients and one of my colleagues questioning my direction. I remember feeling neither insult nor anger, but I repeated my “request” and stated that this was really not a request, but an “order” based on my experience. I told him that I would take full responsibility for all my decisions, regardless of the outcome. Days later, he asked me how I “knew” what to do in that situation. After years of training in Newark, Pittsburgh, and Hackensack, NJ, I have seen numerous head trauma patients and I knew what had to be done, expediently.

I made many decisions that day. I spoke to many parents. I will never forget sitting in the Pediatric ICU conference room and telling the mother of a child I had just operated on that her daughter had a 50% chance of making it through the night. There were tears in my eyes and she was sobbing. Today, with the efforts of so many great doctors and nurses and therapists, that child is alive. She will always have scars, both physical and emotional, that she and her family will live with forever. We were all changed that day.

I remember driving home that night and going to the Lions Club Carnival, where I was supposed to be volunteering. I recall looking at all the young kids, teens, and their families. I was thinking about how quickly life can change and how grateful we should be for everyday with our children.

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Laura Natoli, RN, BS, MS, APN, RNFA
Advanced Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

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Tatiana Sikorskyj, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

Tatiana has been with the New Jersey Pediatric Neuroscience Institute for 9 years and has continued to be a major asset for our patients! After graduating in January 2012 from Rutgers University College of Nursing with her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Degree, Tatiana became certified as a Registered Nurse First Assist in 2013. She has grown her surgical skills throughout her career and loves to assist our surgeons in the operating room. Tatiana is NJPNI’s Clinical Manager, who manages our nursing team as well as maintains a high volume of patients!

Outside of her professional responsibilities, Tatiana is a mom of two beautiful children. She enjoys, hiking, skiing, traveling and exploring new places. She is an active member of Plast, a non-profit Ukrainian scouting organization, where she mentors youth and volunteers in the summer camp clinic.

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Laura Natoli, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

In January 2012, Laura graduated from Seton Hall University College of Nursing with her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. She started her nursing career at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center working as a registered nurse in Telemetry and the Intensive Care Unit until she pursued her interest in pediatrics. Laura served as a member of St. Joseph’s Nurse Practice Council for 4 years and organized their first Children’s Hospital Bone Marrow Donation Drive, “Will You Marrow Me?”

In January 2017, Laura graduated from Seton Hall University College of Nursing with her Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Master’s degree. Later that year she joined the NJPNI team! Laura is a Registered Nurse First Assistant and enjoys assisting all of our surgeons in the operating room and providing a more comprehensive quality of care to her patients.

Outside of her professional responsibilities, Laura is involved with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Be the Match Bone Marrow National Donor Program, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She enjoys spending summers down the shore with her family and friends.

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Dawn Milligan, LPN

Dawn Milligan, LPN received her nursing diploma from Passaic County Technical Institute where she graduated as valedictorian. Dawn worked for over six years for a family practice where she helped care for pediatric patients with acute issues as well as following their growth and development. She also spent a number of years in other areas of nursing, working as a charge nurse and also managing and directing long term care and adult day care facilities.

Dawn has been with NJPNI for 10 years! She has advanced pediatric neurosurgical knowledge and helps onboard many of our new clinical staff and summer interns. Dawn is the clinic coordinator for our NJ Craniofacial Team, who are a group of specialists from a variety of disciplines that meet one Friday a month. Dawn has pursued her love of patient and staff education over the years by instructing Lamaze and CPR classes and conducting in-services for staff members. Dawn’s love and dedication to pediatrics is evident by the service she provides to the children and families under her care.