Registered nurse Kathleen Kerber, clinical quality and evidence-based practice specialist at MetroHealth System, is working with clinical engineers to upgrade patient monitors to be less disruptive and noisy. The upgraded monitors will be installed in MetroHealth’s new Glick Center set to open later this year. Kerber is this year’s recipient of the Top Nurses Lifetime Achievement Award. (Julie E. Washington, cleveland.com)
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Kathleen Kerber didn’t always want to be a nurse. She thought she would be an engineer, like her father, or share her love for math as a math teacher.
Then she volunteered at the former Elyria Memorial Hospital as a candy striper, delivering newspapers and coffee to patients, and watched nurses at work.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do,’ ” recalled Kerber, 65, who lives in Elyria.
Those early experiences were her springboard into a 44-year career as a nurse, most of it spent as a registered nurse at MetroHealth System. Kerber, currently clinical quality and evidence based practice specialist at MetroHealth, is the winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for cleveland.com’s Top Nurses.
As a clinical nurse specialist for the medical intensive care and cardiac intensive care units, Kerber takes a bird’s-eye view of the whole hospital system to ensure nurses have what they need to deliver care.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kerber worked alongside nurses caring for the most ill COVID-19 patients. She trained nurses how to use a bedside dialysis procedure that cleans patients’ blood.
MetroHealth environmental services aide Janice Longcoy, who has worked closely with Kerber, wasn’t surprised to hear of the Top Nurse accolade. Longcoy described Kerber as “the bomb.”
“If any nurses have problems, who do they call? Kathy Kerber,” Longcoy said. “Who rescues them? Kathy Kerber. She’s good at everything.”
Among Kerber’s biggest achievements was implementing continual renal replacement therapy, a special bedside dialysis procedure used in the intensive care unit. In the past, MetroHealth contracted with a dialysis service to set up the equipment for patients, but the hospital wanted nurses to be able to do it themselves.
The renal machines were delivered just as the COVID-19 pandemic put hospitals in lockdown. Kerber had to work with the dialysis company and hospital engineers, train nurses while dealing with supply chain disruptions and decide how the new device would be noted on electronic medical records.
MetroHealth soon learned that very ill COVID-19 patients often needed the new dialysis devices.
“It was just fortunate that we had purchased these machines in advance and we were up and ready to go,” Kerber said.
Nurses were faced with the challenge of turning seriously ill COVID-19 patients on their stomachs, called proning, to help with oxygenation. The procedure took a high level of coordination, because patients were sedated and attached to breathing tubes, IV lines and catheters.
She developed a checklist to be sure the procedure was done safely.
“I was amazed at the resilience and the stamina of these younger nurses,” she said. “Seeing how they responded to the challenge motivated me to try to help them more.”
She also learned from younger nurses about the importance of work-life balance and alleviating stress. Now Kerber sets aside time for reading historical novels, and has joined a book club.
Registered nurse Kathleen Kerber, clinical quality and evidence-based practice specialist at MetroHealth System, is working with clinical engineers to upgrade patient monitors to be less disruptive and noisy. The upgraded monitors will be installed in MetroHealth’s new Glick Center set to open later this year. Kerber is this year’s recipient of the Top Nurses Lifetime Achievement Award. Credit: Julie E. Washington
‘I don’t feel ready to retire’
Kerber, who joined MetroHealth in 1986, feels as if her efforts to support nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her work with pharmacists on drug safety has made a difference for MetroHealth nurses and patients.
“I’m proud that when I walk around MetroHealth, I can actually look at things and say, ‘Yes, I had a part of this, and I actually made it better’,” Kerber said.
Despite her decades of nursing, Kerber has no firm plans for retirement. Every year, she pushes it further into the future.
“I enjoy what I do, and I don’t feel ready to retire,” she said. “I love MetroHealth.”
Follow cleveland.com’s Top Nurses coverage at this link
Where have all the nurses gone? And how do hospitals get them back?
Nurse Educator Award - ‘I love to teach:’ Celeste Aviles shares passion for nursing with students
Nurse Innovator Award -’I like to remove barriers:’ Maggie Tolbert fights for mental health services access
Lifetime Achievement Award - ‘I made it better:’ Kathleen Kerber ensures nurses can deliver best care
Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.
Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).
© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.