We have been waiting to show our appreciation for a special nurse who is very deserving of recognition and her name is Janet Kirschbaum. There are so many words that come to mind when we think about the nurse Janet is. She has helped and guided us through some of the most challenging health issues that we’ve experienced in our lives. Some of the words that describe Janet are sincere, caring, loyal, knowledgeable, compassionate, and dedicated. She is an advocate for her patients, and you can tell she truly cares about the communities she serves. She has many years of experience including Orchard Manor prior to working at Grant Regional. Her past experience as a nurse has led her to care with confidence, which is something that really comforts her patients. It was something that stood out in our care.

When I was going through bladder cancer treatments and then following that with wound care treatments, Janet always made us feel very comfortable and reassured us that everything would be ok. There’s something to be said about going through a very serious health scare, knowing that she would look you in the eyes, be honest but be so confident in her abilities to help us. It puts your mind and heart at ease. We also enjoyed the friendly banter that we shared. We’d share jokes and kid around during our appointments. It really helped to lighten the mood when it was such a stressful time. We feel so lucky to have had her on our care team. And we were considered “regulars” because we saw her week after week for 6 months during the regimen of immunotherapy treating my bladder cancer. She was the same upbeat, positive person each time we saw her.

She’s part of an excellent team. They are the best of the best. They took excellent care of me and made me feel comfortable through it all. Their knowledge and skill were evident, but we also had fun and could make each other laugh. They would try to pull a fast one by always giving me gowns too small to wear. There were always jokes and laughter and I can't thank them enough for being there for me.

Another health issue arose when a wound that wouldn’t heal caused me to return to Outpatients for wound care. I would be a “frequent flyer” again – this time for 9 months of ongoing would treatment twice a week. My experience was better than I ever expected. I saw the same nurses and we picked up right where we left off with our jokes. Janet can also be described as going above and beyond her duties. My wound just wouldn’t heal, she wouldn’t give up until a solution was found. She worked with UW Hospital and Dr. R’s nurses and collaborated with Dr. S to come up with a routine for my wound care. After much effort, the perfect combination for my treatment was decided to be silver nitrate on Tuesdays and Iodine on Fridays. These ingredients added up to a recipe for success with a full recovery and healing was achieved. We are so grateful to Janet for being a leader in her department and never giving up on finding the best care possible for her patients. I call her “my healthcare hero”. I know she says not a hero, just a nurse…but I think she’s both! I hope she knows how much she positively impacted my life. And I’ll never forget what a difference she made.