ONCOLOGY NURSING TEAM
Kaiser Permanente, San Rafael Medical Center

The 2010 Healing Professional award was presented jointly to the Oncology Nursing Team at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center and the Radiation Therapists at Marin Cancer Institute at Marin General Hospital. These professional teams’ expert and compassionate treatment of breast cancer patients is instrumental in the healing process.

The Kaiser Permanente Oncology nurses are an experienced, talented and caring group of ten nurses, many of whom have worked together in the infusion center for years. They are a significant part of the breast cancer team whose contributions are vital to the outcome of the patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

The Kaiser Oncology nurses are: charge nurse Kathleen Hunter, RN; Ruthann Lovetang, RN; Janet Ryvlin, RN; Jolize Gronbeck, RN; Suzie Swick-Horowitz, RN; Beth Smylie, RN; Kathy Wright, RN; Susan Jones, RN; Kurtsie McEntire, RN and Bob Giebert, RN.

The nurses create a respectful, supportive and safe environment to receive chemotherapy treatments. They put the patients at ease, get to know them personally and build a sense of trust. This team of highly skilled nurses provides a sense of professionalism and calm that helps the patients face whatever they are going through. They are as well loved by the patients and their families as they are highly valued by staff and physicians at Kaiser. They are the heart and soul of the oncology treatment team.