Hackensack Meridian JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute Clinical Director of Speech Wins Top Honors

(Edison, NJ – May 12, 2022) – The Clinical Director of Speech at Hackensack Meridian’s JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute is the New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s 2022 recipient of the Honors of the Association, the organization’s highest honor.

Kristie R. Soriano, MS/CCC-SLP, was honored for her significant contributions to the professions of speech-language pathology and/or audiology. Soriano is committed to training future and current professionals, volunteering to support the profession, and conducting critical research.

“I am honored to be the recipient of this award at this point in my career. I am blessed that my vocation is my avocation: I love my work as a speech pathologist!” said Soriano, who joined JFK Johnson in 1984.

Soriano completed a Master of Science degree in 1982 at Boston University and began her first job in 1982 at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. She joined JFK Johnson in 1984, where she was staff supervisor and then Manager of Outpatient Speech and Clinical Director of Speech.

In her current position, Soriano develops outpatient programs, coordinates performance improvement and research projects, and has supervised Clinical Fellows and experienced speech pathologists for 38 years. Kristie is the Educational Liaison for the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, where she plans annual conferences and supervises and places more than 25 students annually from the graduate speech and audiology programs in New Jersey and around the nation.

She is an adjunct professor at the Nathan Weiss Graduate School of Kean University, where she has been teaching Clinic 1 and Clinic 2 since 2007, training over 100 graduate speech clinicians.

All nominees must be a member of the New Jersey Speech-Language-Hearing Association for at least 10 years with significant and ongoing leadership roles. The award is approved by the Board of Directors. Soriano served on the association’s board of directors from 1996-2022. Since 2015, she has been on the executive board of the organization.

About Hackensack Meridian JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute:

Named in the Top 30 Rehabilitation Hospitals in the Country by U.S. News and World Report, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute is a 94-bed facility in Edison, New Jersey, that offers the state’s most comprehensive rehabilitation services to restore function and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. For nearly 50 years, JFK Johnson has served children and adults in the tri-state area — and has developed programs in specialties such as brain injury, stroke rehabilitation, orthopedics/musculoskeletal and sports injuries, cardiac rehabilitation, pediatrics, and prosthetics and orthotics. JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute is part of the Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, which also includes Johnson Rehabilitation Institute at Ocean University Medical Center and Johnson Rehabilitation Institute at Riverview Medical Center. Each rehabilitation hospital brings together highly specialized physicians and professionals with the goal of “Advancing What’s Possible” for every patient. The JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute also partners with the St. Joseph’s Health Acute Rehabilitation Unit at St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center in Wayne, New Jersey. JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute serves as the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department of the Hackensack Meridian Medical School and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. To learn more, visit JFKJohnson.org.