My husband is a patient undergoing treatment at RWJ Cancer Center in Hamilton. I am writing this to recognize the outstanding nursing care he is receiving at the Cancer Center. While I am impressed with each and every one of the nurses in the Cancer Center because they are cooperative, supportive, and efficient, I want to highlight the care we have received from Loretta. She is extremely efficient and knowledgeable. Very warm, gentle, and compassionate as she treats my husband, and very efficient and cooperative in providing information and support to me, as my husband’s primary caregiver. While I am extremely grateful to Loretta for all her hard work on behalf of my husband, what prompted me to write this nomination was something I observed while she interacted with another patient.

While my husband was receiving his chemo, Loretta was also taking care of another patient in the next cubicle. He was a very elderly gentleman who looked extremely thin and weak. Loretta was very gentle and caring with him as she provided him with treatment. She gently reminded him that he needed to stay strong and eat healthy to fight this disease. She told him she was concerned that he wasn't eating healthily, and she brought him over a bag with several containers inside. She told the gentleman that she had prepared meals for him to take home. She knew he lived alone and was not eating properly. The man was extremely grateful and on the verge of tears. This would be so much better than hot dogs. I was so impressed that she had gone out of her way to provide not just the medical care he needed but the support and concern for the human being. She did this privately and quietly without any pomp or expectation of recognition. She used her time off to care for the gentleman's health above and beyond the scope of her nursing responsibilities. She is not only an outstanding nurse but a remarkable person, very deserving of recognition and accolades.