Kathleen Sullivan Doerner, '81, experienced a life-changing moment at a home for the dying.
In 1987, Doerner became involved with the newly opened Isaiah House, a comfort care house in Rochester that serves people with the fewest options and greatest need.
“Isaiah House was the only place that would take in and care for people with AIDS. Caring for those with nothing, working with AIDs patients, caring for those whom no one else will” was a career-defining moment, she said.
As a volunteer with the two-bed home, Doerner assisted in meeting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the residents, the majority of whom were from "the streets" of Rochester, she said, or were those with no one to care for them.
One in particular, a Vietnam veteran named Jerry, has remained in her heart. She was working as the director of the home at the time.
“I met him on the palliative care unit of a local hospital,” she said, adding that the staff warned her that he would not be appropriate for a comfort care home because he was aggressive and did not speak.
Undaunted, Doerner approached his bedside. Although Jerry’s eyes were closed, Doerner introduced herself and explained what Isaiah House was. After about five minutes, Jerry opened his eyes.
“They were the most piercing blue eyes I have ever seen,” she said. “He stared at me for what seemed like forever. I invited him to come to Isaiah House. After a few minutes of silence, I saw a slight nod, and I told him he could come the next day.”
When Jerry arrived, he did not speak, other than demanding that his door remain closed at all times. Doerner visited him the following day to find out what he would like for dinner, and his whispered reply—"Why are you doing this? I am not worthy of this”—haunts her to this day, she said.
Doerner learned about the importance of helping the underserved, about “service above self,” while she was a student in Niagara University’s College of Nursing. Initially interested in a career as an emergency room nurse, a clinical placement at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center during her senior year refocused her aspirations on oncology nursing. She had a job secured at Roswell Park before she graduated in May 1981, and spent five years there before moving back to her hometown of Webster, N.Y.
Back home, Doerner worked as a hospice visiting nurse until 1988, when a position as nurse manager for the oncology team—at that time, two oncologists and one other nurse—at Rochester General Hospital became available. The hospital was planning to expand the program and Doerner drew on her experience at Roswell Park to assist with identifying the corresponding clinical, personnel, and structural needs, including the addition of a pharmacy, phlebotomy and clinic areas, and a patient library.
Doerner held that position until 1992, when she took a pause from full-time work to raise her two children, but she stayed in contact with her colleagues.
In 2009, Doerner returned to what was now the Lipson Cancer Institute to manage another expansion of its oncology clinical practices into Monroe, Genesee, and Ontario counties. She was primarily focused on staff development for the oncology nursing team, as well as the physicians and nurse practitioners who came on board. She remained there until her retirement in June 2021.
Doerner was honored for her work at the institute in 2016, when her colleagues selected her for the Champions of Hope Award. She has also been recognized with the Healthcare Achievement Award from the Rochester Business Journal, and with the Jacob Gitelman Award from Guilda's Club of Rochester.
Although retired, Doerner continues to provide care for others. She recently accompanied a close friend who was being treated for pancreatic cancer on a trip to Lourdes, France, where 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous witnessed apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858, and where the infirmed from all over the world travel in hope of a miracle. She has been invited to return this year as a member of a nursing team that will accompany the sick, suffering, and those in need of special accommodations on their pilgrimage.
“I was not intending to visit again so soon,” she said, “but I was asked by the leader of our group from last year if I would accompany the group as a part of the 2025 nursing team. I immediately said yes. I am not exactly sure what this entails!”
When asked why she does what she does, Doerner answers simply, “All I know is I love being a nurse. I love hands-on patient care, I love being a resource to others, I love learning about all the new medical initiatives.”
This passion has been evident in her life’s work and continues to motivate her as she navigates a retirement that also includes providing end-of-life care for patients as a per diem nurse with the Hildebrandt Hospice Center and continued work with Isaiah House as clinical liaison to its board of directors.
“I ‘failed’ at retirement,” she jokes.