Stephanie Bonnano
October 2020
Stephanie
Bonnano
,
RN, BSN, OCN
Breast Center
Garnet Health Medical Center

 

 

 

Stephanie sits with these patients in the infusion center and offers 1:1 support, often going above and beyond her role. She's also available to her patients when they call her, even if she is not working.
My cancer story started when I found out that I had a lump. From that day to the present every nurse that was in my path of treatment was absolutely wonderful, dedicated care-takers. From the Cancer Center infusion center and hospital stay, I was so grateful to have Stephanie Bonanno as my breast navigator! She was there for me at all times. So many times she talked me off the ledge. I don't know if I can ever repay her. Thank you so very much Stephanie Bonnano!
***
Stephanie is the breast cancer patient nurse navigator. E and I are Stephanie's colleagues.Stephanie is a huge asset to the team and her patients. Stephanie is a visible navigator to her patients and makes an effort to see them at every chemo appointment in the infusion center. She always offers her patients supportive resources that are available to them. She offers assistance to the infusion nurses who are assessing their needs. The patients who Stephanie sees are usually emotional, scared, and very anxious about their chemotherapy treatments and future plans. This includes issues with their image from their treatments, anxiety, or fear about surviving their disease. Stephanie sits with these patients in the infusion center and offers 1:1 support, often going above and beyond her role. She's also available to her patients when they call her, even if she is not working.
Stephanie also offered to be co-PI with our distress screening research project for 2020. She had years of experience completing the distress screening tool while she was a staff nurse in radiation oncology and the infusion center. Stephanie helped us get this project off the ground since it had always been a challenge in prior years to complete the screenings.
Recently, an infusion nurse had a patient with a high distress level who had endometrial cancer. This is not a cancer type that Stephanie is referred to, but Stephanie called the patient and assisted us for the patient to get additional resources that were available. This was integral to the patient's positive progression. Stephanie is a great resource to our oncology team, and we appreciate her!