Rancho Mirage Healthcare
Rancho Mirage is fortunately located in the center of the Coachella Valley, making it convenient to get to medical appointments anywhere in the valley. Rancho Mirage is mainly served by two hospitals: Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage and Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
Eisenhower Medical Center
Situated on 130 acres in Rancho Mirage, Eisenhower Medical Center is the only not-for-profit, comprehensive healthcare institution in the Coachella Valley. Distinguished nationally in 2005 as a 100 Top Hospital by Solucient®, the market leader for benchmarks and trends in business healthcare, the medical center is renowned for its Centers of Excellence in orthopedics, cardiovascular care at the Eisenhower Smilow Heart Center, and oncology at the Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center. Eisenhower’s campus includes the 289-bed Eisenhower Hospital, the Betty Ford Center at Eisenhower, the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center at Eisenhower and the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower. To meet the demands of a growing Coachella Valley, Eisenhower is undergoing several construction projects including the new 160-bed Walter and Leonore Annenberg Pavilion, expansion of the Tennity Emergency Department, the Stacey and Greg Renker Pavilion and an ambulatory care center in La Quinta. For more information, visit www.emc.org.
Desert Regional Medical Center
Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs is a 397-bed tertiary hospital, including: A Level II Trauma Center, a Level III NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), the Comprehensive Cancer Center, acute rehabilitation, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, electrophysiology and the Institute for Clinical Orthopedics and Neurosciences (“ICON”).
DRMC also offers state-of-the-art medical equipment and cutting-edge technology including a 64-slice CT, PET, MRI, Stereotactic surgery, IGRT, IMRT and digital mammography.
Desert Regional Medical Center is staffed by outstanding doctors, nurses, technicians and other professionals. In addition, more than 300 volunteers contribute 70,000 hours to support the clinical staff and provide services to the patients. Physicians and nurses are specially trained to provide this extraordinary level of care for patients flown in from more than 800 square miles—reaching from the Arizona border to parts of Imperial County. For a referral to the more than 400 physicians on the hospital’s medical staff, call 888-765-5274 or visit the hospital’s website at
www.desertmedctr.com.
2nd Annual Nursing Awards of Excellence
2007 Humanitarian Healthcare Award Recipient
Like many military members, Lieutenant Commander Becky McKnight, a dedicated family nurse practitioner stationed at the Naval Hospital in 29 Palms, left her family, colleagues and patients to serve her country in Afghanistan in March 2006.
She had been assigned as a member of the Medical Mentor Team to the 207th Corps in Herat, Afghanistan. Their primary mission was to assist the Afghanistan National Army in rebuilding medical capabilities and to establish a regional hospital in this 5,000-year-old city in western Afghanistan.
McKnight oversaw the opening preparations of the new hospital including the clearing and designation of hospital spaces; the procuring, assembling and installing of equipment; and transferring staff and patients from a local clinic to the hospital. She also assisted with setting up a medical evacuation procedure to established special care at the National Military Hospital in Kabul.
McKnight served as a vital mentor and resource to medics of the Afghanistan National Army by training new medics in the Medical Specialist Program. In this capacity, McKnight shared her knowledge in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Basic Life Support, infection control and blood bank procedures. She was able to establish an immunization plan and complete medical records for the troops before she returned home in May 2007.
McKnight began her nursing career as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) in 1992. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Cal-State San Bernardino in 1994, and that same year she received her commission in the United States Navy. She was stationed at Camp Pendleton until May 2001 when she reported to 29 Palms to serve in the Emergency Department. During this time she received her Masters of Science degree in Nursing with a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) certificate from Loma Linda University. McKnight moved to Sassebo, Japan, where she served at a FNP until 2004 when she returned to 29 Palms.
Three Dedicated Registered Nurses Honored with
2007 Nursing Awards of Excellence
The Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce was proud to present the 2007 Nursing Award of Excellence to one nurse from each of the three hospitals in the Greater Palm Springs area as thanks for their dedicated service at the second annual Nurses Appreciation Luncheon.
Eisenhower Medical Center
Natalie Ortega’s outstanding qualities as a nurse and person are multi-faceted. She possesses a knowledgeable and caring bedside manner and always finds time to explain every detail to her patients and their family members.
Ortega has been working at Eisenhower Medical Center for ten years. During this time, she has worked in the Telemetry Unit, the Critical Care Unit and the Emergency Department.
Besides managing her time being a devoted wife and mother of six young children, she is always eager to expand her knowledge of nursing and is willing to take on new challenges in her career.
In addition to her regular Emergency Department shifts, Ortega is now a Sexual Assault Nurse. In that capacity, Ortega is on call for sexual assault exams two days a week. Trained as a Sexual Assault Nurse, she is part of the Sexual Assault Team for the community in which helping victims is a major focal point. She gives 100 percent to all her roles.
Ortega also possesses clinical excellence and bilingual skills that help to make her an exceptional nurse and an asset to Eisenhower Medical Center and the community.
JFK Memorial Hospital
As the Infection Control Coordinator at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Marcia Catania’s responsibilities involve oversight, education and compliance with the multitude of activities revolving around infection control.
Infection control responsibilities touch all surfaces of the hospital, its patients and employees. Oversight includes monitoring everything from correct hand washing to teaching housekeeping employees how to mop rooms and assuring correct disposal of contaminated material.
Catania’s responsibilities include close interaction with patients of infectious diseases and with the County Health Department for follow-ups.
Very few nurses begin their careers thinking they will become Infection Control Practitioners. Catania began her career in Nebraska. She graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Bachelor’s degree in Education and did post-graduate work at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Ortega became a junior high school biology teacher and provided oversight to the pep club and cheerleading squads.
Catania was also the excursion leader for the science club. Maybe it was there that her quest for “finding bugs” began. At any rate, she returned to school and graduated from Creighton University in Omaha with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
Catania became the Infection Control Coordinator at John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital in December 2001. Her obsession with cleanliness and eagerness to teach, coupled with her contagious enthusiasm and energy, make her an ideal Infection Control Practitioner and JFK Memorial’s natural choice for the 2007 Nursing Award of Excellence.
Desert Regional Medical Center
Donna McCloudy, mother of five children and grandmother of nine, knew from childhood that she wanted to be a nurse or doctor who worked with children. Thirty-two of her 35 years in nursing have been spent in neonatal intensive care units. McCloudy has opened three neonatal intensive care units in her career, the largest at Desert Regional Medical Center.
McCloudy has been an employee of Desert Regional Medical Center for 18 years and is currently Director of Women and Children Services. She implemented a breast-feeding support program with staff who oversee training as lactation educators and consultants to support the breastfeeding mothers of patients in the Neonatal Unit.
She is actively involved in raising community awareness of autism. She is a member of the Board of Directors for TREACH (Therapies Reaching and Educating Autistic Children), a non-profit foundation to support autistic children. She organized the valley’s first Autism Awareness event and was recognized by Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia for her efforts. She has been instrumental in providing the physicians in the community with tools to effectively identify children with autism.
She is involved in many other hospital projects—among them chairing the Clinical Ladder Committee and serving as the Administrative Liaison to the Professional Practice Committee.
She has been a mentor to the other nursing directors with Nurse Leader Academy projects and professional development. Always actively encouraging her staff to return to school, McCloudy is back in school herself, working a Master of Science degree in Nursing, her second postgraduate degree.
2007 Nursing Awards of Excellence
COD Evening/Weekend Nursing Facility Team Honored with Nursing Vanguard Award
College of the Desert (COD) launched its Evening-Weekend Nursing Track in the fall of 2004 to enable the college to accept twice the number of registered nursing students. This alternate track doubled the enrollment from 60 to 120 students. An extremely successful program, the last of these 120 students completed their studies and graduated in August 2007.
Although it took more than thirty faculty members to make the Evening-Weekend Nursing Track a reality, five faculty members were the backbone of the track. They are Joan Walker, Wayne Boyer, Eileen Hackett, GiGi Kramer, and Betty Baluski.
The five worked two nights each week and every weekend for 18 months straight with no more than a two-week break between semesters. They broke new ground in establishing clinical experiences for students on the weekends. These enthusiastic faculty members were the link between the traditional day program and the evening track, ensuring that the curriculum and program policies were maintained throughout. Their dedication and commitment to this innovative approach in educating nursing students is what made the program a success.
College of the Desert is proud of these faculty members and the contribution they have made in educating students and helping the community address a serious workforce need.
National Guardsman
2007 Outstanding Student Nurse
When Garth Anderson made it his career goal to become a registered nurse, little did he know his path would be detoured by America’s war on terror.
Anderson would be deployed twice—once to Afghanistan and once to Iraq for 18 months—delaying his nursing education. Since 2003, Anderson has been accepted to College of the Desert’s nursing program three times and has left twice to complete his obligations to the Army National Guard.
Upon his return to the United States in 2005, Anderson was able to re-enter the program and complete his education without further deployments. He graduated from College of the Desert’s Registered Nursing program and received his nursing pin at the traditional pinning ceremony in May 2007.
Anderson’s wonderful sense of humor helped him achieve his goals despite the detours put in front of him. Well-liked by his classmates, faculty and patients, Anderson worked at Eisenhower Medical Center’s Emergency Room while attending school.
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