Two City of Hope nurses will be honored as CURE Today 2023 Extraordinary Healer® award finalists, which recognizes oncology nurses for their compassion and expertise.
Kerry O’Neil, B.S.N., R.N., OCN, from City of Hope Newport Beach Fashion Island and City of Hope Newport Beach Lido and Mary Colasuonno, B.S.N., R.N., BMTCN, from City of Hope Duarte will be recognized during a ceremony in San Antonio on Wednesday, April 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT. The colleagues who nominated them will read their nominations.
O’Neil and Colasuonno are among three finalists for this prestigious award.
O’Neil, a nursing manager, wanted to work on the oncology floor after realizing that her most difficult class in college was oncology. A few years later, she started working as an inpatient nurse, which she eventually moved to the outpatient setting when cancer treatment moved to outpatient clinics.
When City of Hope Newport Beach Fashion Island opened, O’Neil applied to be an oncology infusion nurse. Once City of Hope added another location, O’Neil became nurse manager for this clinic as well, where she manages all the nurses and clinical staff. She says she particularly enjoys being a patient educator, especially to those with a new diagnosis, since it is crucial to have someone explain aspects of care to a patient.
Colasuonno, a registered nurse at City of Hope in Duarte, worked as an interim practice nurse at City of Hope until they opened a bone marrow oncology unit in 1991. She then worked as a bedside and charge nurse for the next 10 years. In 2001, Colasuonno left her job to be a stay-at-home mom, but over time, she started to miss the clinical life. Seven years later, she called City of Hope and returned to her career as a nurse.
Learn more about these exceptional nurses: 2023 Finalists - CURE Extraordinary Healer 2023 (curetoday.com)
Register to watch virtually: Cure Educated Patient Summit - CURE Extraordinary Healer 2023 (curetoday.com)
