2 Si<strong>St</strong>erS o f <strong>St</strong>. Jo S e p h o f <strong>Carondelet</strong> By Jenny Beatrice Sister Patrice Coolick, CSJ, RN Serving the Dear Neighbor in Today’s Changing Health Care Landscape
She may be 20 years senior to many <strong>of</strong> her colleagues (and the only one still donning her white nurse’s uniform), yet Sister Patrice Coolick, CSJ, RN is a progressive thinker who is successfully navigating today’s changing health care landscape. As an oncology nurse at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, Calif., the only private not-for-pr<strong>of</strong>it hospital left in the South Bay area, Coolick remains focused on the patients, constantly seeking ways to better serve them. “Nursing is three things to me: it’s my passion, it’s hands on, and it’s teaching and mentoring,” Coolick says. This philosophy has brought her to the top <strong>of</strong> her pr<strong>of</strong>ession and into the hearts <strong>of</strong> her patients. O’Connor’s Cancer Care Center <strong>of</strong>fers diagnostic, clinical and support services and Coolick strives to work collaboratively with them all, bringing the pieces <strong>of</strong> the puzzle together. “I’m always trying to think how we can make it better for the patients,” she says. “I’m driving home and I review what happened. What piece could we have done better? How can we make it even more comfortable, less painful? How can we make it better for the family?” One <strong>of</strong> the gifts Coolick brings to the table is a unique multi-cultural perspective stemming from her mission work, having spent 10 years at a clinic in the mountains <strong>of</strong> Peru, one year with refugees in Southeast Asia, and one year with refugees and famine relief in Africa. San Jose is a widely diverse region and when she began working at O’Connor in the 1980s, she realized she could make instant connections with patients from all over the world. “I either knew what country they were from or I knew their language. Sometimes I only had two patients that spoke English,” she recalls. “It was wonderful for me and wonderful for the patients and families…it was really a good fit.” Sister Patrice Coolick stands at O’Connor’s new oncology resource room. Coolick led the charge in renovating the room, which she ensures <strong>of</strong>fers the most current data, both in print and online at the computer station. Coolick sees her ministry as one filled with hope, no matter what stage <strong>of</strong> the journey with cancer her patients are in. Connecting with the patients is always Coolick’s first priority, as her long-time friend and esteemed colleague in oncology nursing, Deborah Thaler-Demers, RN can attest. Today, Thaler-Demers has cancer and is experiencing Coolick’s generous and caring spirit first-hand. “I think that her strength is that she goes the extra mile for everybody—it’s not just the occasional person but whomever her patient is, if they need something she gets it. I’m not even her patient— I’m just a friend—and she’s done so many things for me.” Coolick sees her ministry as one filled with hope, no matter what stage <strong>of</strong> the journey with cancer her patients are in. She says, “What we <strong>of</strong>fer is a level <strong>of</strong> hope and the big hope is that we are going to cure you and sometimes we can. Then, if we can’t cure you, we’ll <strong>of</strong>fer hope to give you as many quality years as we can. Finally, I tell patients, ‘We will do everything we can so that you’re not in pain and that you’re comfortable. We’ll be here.’” The promise to “be here” holds great significance in today’s for-pr<strong>of</strong>it health care environment. Although all hospitals are required to treat and stabilize, they do not have to provide continued care. O’Connor, a Catholic hospital sponsored by The Daughters <strong>of</strong> Charity, engages in a ministry <strong>of</strong> healing that will not leave people behind. Yet the burden this puts on the facility is certainly a challenge. “We are now getting a lot <strong>of</strong> people who have absolutely no insurance or who are homeless,” Coolick says. The result is that Coolick cares for people beyond the realm <strong>of</strong> oncology, whether Co n n e C t i o n s • Fa l l/Wi n t e r 2009 3
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