National Nurses Month and National Hospital Week serve as a time to give thanks for the groundbreaking innovations and compassionate care provided by the health care workers who are motivated by City of Hope’s singular focus on delivering better outcomes for all patients and their families
“During Nurses Month and Hospital Week, we thank everyone for their commitment, their efforts and their accomplishments,” said Michael Caligiuri, M.D., president of City of Hope National Medical Center and the Deana and Steve Campbell Physician-in-Chief Distinguished Chair. “It is truly an honor to serve patients and their families alongside you.”
City of Hope nurses were recently featured prominently at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 46th annual congress, held April 27 through May 1 in Anaheim.
Susan Brown, Ph.D., R.N.
Betty Ferrell, Ph.D., M.S.N., CHPN, was selected by the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Board of Directors to receive the society’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Elisabeth King, RN, FNP, AOCNP, AGN, CBCN, was announced as the 2021 Certified Breast Care Nurse of the Year by the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation.
Dozens of other City of Hope nurses — including Chief Nursing Officer Susan Brown, Ph.D., R.N. — presented oral and poster abstracts on a variety of topics, from precision medicine to geriatric oncology to COVID-19 and beyond.
Ferrell Honored for Lifetime Achievement
Betty Ferrell, Ph.D., M.S.N.
With nearly half a century of outstanding contributions to the field of oncology nursing, Ferrell was selected to receive the society’s 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award. Ferrell is the director of the Division of Nursing Research and Education at City of Hope, principal investigator of the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium project, and a world-renowned author and lecturer.
“I am so honored to receive this award from ONS,” Ferrell said. “It has been a great privilege to be a part of oncology nursing for the past 44 years and to witness the role of nursing in improving care for patients and families.”
The ONS Lifetime Achievement Award is given annually at ONS Congress. It recognizes an ONS member who makes outstanding contributions to the field of oncology nursing and who has been a leader in the society and community. Ferrell joined a group of nearly 30 individuals to have received the award since 2002.
King Named Certified Breast Care Nurse of the Year
Elisabeth King, R.N.
The Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) has chosen King as the 2021 Certified Breast Care Nurse of the Year. King was selected for the award based on her contributions to breast care nursing, service, support, and promotion of oncology nursing certification.
“I am honored and humbled to be recognized for excellence in oncology nursing. I am part of a team of nurses at City of Hope who are dedicated to providing compassionate cancer care that yields improved patient outcomes. I and my fellow nurses at City of Hope are sensitive to patients’ needs and provide them with quality, safe and innovative cancer care,” said King.
King is the executive director of Genomics and Precision Medicine at City of Hope. She established a same-day genetic testing program for breast cancer patients who need urgent testing for surgical decision-making.
Working with physicians in other areas, she has helped to develop genetic risk assessment services for patients with family histories of breast cancer. In 2020, she helped ease transitions to telehealth and stepped up as a leader at City of Hope to help deal with COVID-19 impacts on patients.
ONCC is the premier provider of nationally accredited certifications for nurses in oncology and related specialties. ONCC has more than 40,000 certified nurses in adult oncology, pediatric hematology oncology, breast care, or blood and marrow transplant nursing.
City of Hope Nurses Present Trailblazing Research
Also at the ONS Congress, nearly two dozen City of Hope nurses presented research on a variety of subjects.
The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health care systems around the world, creating the need to alter patient care delivery and staffing practices. In a dynamic session featuring Brown, a panel of chief nursing officers from across the United States shared their experiences with COVID-19 and how it affected their organizations, discussing their efforts and innovations to respond to the pandemic while optimizing safe, quality cancer care.
City of Hope’s Peggy Burhenn, M.S., CNS, RN-BC, AOCNS, spoke about the necessity of individualized care for older adults with cancer during the Mara Mogensen Flaherty Memorial Lecture. David Rice Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N., NP, NEA-BC, offered moving insight during his lecture, Improving Quality Care for the LGBTQIA+ Community: Exploring the Lived Experience, while Jeannine M. Brant Ph.D., APRN, AOCN, FAAN, discussed the critical implications of precision medicine in her presentation, Screening for Genetically Transmissible Cancers: Patient Perspectives and Implications for Cancer Care.