Marilyn Reed was honored at the Ohio Hospital Association’s annual recognition dinner on June 9 as an OHA Health Care Worker of the Year nominee. Leaders of each Kettering Health Network hospital selected a health care worker who gives back to the community and regularly goes beyond the call of duty.
As brain tumor program coordinator at Kettering Medical Center, Marilyn shows exceptional compassion for her patients, consoling patients and helping families find necessary resources. She also founded the Southwest Ohio Brain Tumor Support Group 20 years ago, giving attendees a place to share their stories and learn from each other’s experiences. In the community, Marilyn is active in Relay for Life and the American Association of Neurological Nurses.
Her nomination read:
“Marilyn deals with pain and diversity every day when working with her brain tumor patients. She can tell you about every patient she works with, even if it was a few years ago, and tell you their story and also tell you how they are currently doing. Her patients continue to reach out to her and Marilyn takes every call. In the last few weeks, Marilyn has attended the funeral of one of her patients, sent a wind chime to a patient who just lost her husband and taken candy and a stuffed bear to a patient who was just readmitted for a reoccurrence of her tumor. […] Marilyn spends many late nights on the phone with her patients and is always there when they need her, even at the expense of her own personal time.”