Bonnie Flores, RN, Intensive-Care Unit, KP West LA

Celebrating Our Nurses

Why do you like working at KP West LA? What is your favorite part of the job? Our patient population is so diverse, many of whom are older adult patients. I love that I have the opportunity to really impact their care and if I am able to intervene, and help them, then it’s my goal to help them have a better quality of life as they age.

What keeps you motivated?I love the teamwork that we have on our unit, I love our patients, and I love their families -- the ICU is a special department because we have such close collaboration – the physicians and nurses really work closely together to do the best we can for the patients. Working in the ICU, you have to be a certain type of person to handle it. There is a high level of skill that is required– everything is fast-paced, needs to be interpreted, reported, and acted upon immediately, but it can also be very emotionally difficult due to the critical condition of our patients.

How would you describe your approach to patient care?So many of our patients are older adults and what breaks my heart is when I see that many of these patients don’t have any family members who are involved in their care. No one is visiting them in the hospital – no one is advocating for them, except for the nurses – because the nurses are there with them 24 hours a day. It’s important to remember that these are people. I always want to make sure to treat them with respect and give them the very best care I can.

What does Nurses Week Mean to You?I think it’s great that Kaiser Permanente recognizes us for a whole week – so often we work hard and it goes unrecognized. Nurses Week is a way that we can be recognized every day. It’s nice and I think that it definitely boosts the morale of the nurses.

NURSES WEEK 2018

Nursing wasn’t a first career for Bonnie Flores but it truly became her life’s calling.

Flores started at the age of 16 as an actress, and has done countless commercials, voiceovers, television shows and movies over the 15 years. After having children, she decided to go back to school and to become a nurse. After getting her bachelors and masters degrees, she is now a geriatric clinical nurse specialist – trained specifically to work with our senior population. She has been working at KP West LA for four years.

Flores shares more about her nursing journey in the following Q&A:

Brenda Orona, RN, 5W, KP West LA

Celebrating Our NursesNURSES WEEK 2018

Cindy Alfaro, RN, 2A, KP West LA

Celebrating Our Nurses

Why do you like working at KP West LA? What is your favorite part of the job? I love making our patients laugh and smile. I will feed off what they’re telling me and always try to find a way to bust a little joke to lighten the mood and make them feel more comfortable.

What keeps you motivated?My family motivates me in many ways. They have been very encouraging and supporting during my nursing career and motivate me to be the best person I can be. Although it feels awesome to be recognized by my patients and my peers, it’s a team effort I could not do it alone.

How would you describe your approach to patient care?I try to create a comfortable atmosphere for the patient and keep their anxiety level as low as possible. I do things to distract the patient from their pain, and I also make it a point to get to know the patient’s family members who are in the room.

What does Nurses Week Mean to You?What’s even more meaningful than Nurses Week is receiving a heartfelt thank you from a patient. That goes a long way. Some days I go home so drained or sad. So when I see a happy patient, I feel very fulfilled.

NURSES WEEK 2018

Cindy Alfaro loves it when her patients yell for her. “I love when they say ‘Cindy, help!’ as opposed to just yelling “Nurse!” Just as much as she enjoys having her patients call her by name, she also makes it a point to know the names of all the patient’s family members’ and friends’ names in the patient’s room. “I really like making the experience more personal,” she says.

Alfaro shares more about her nursing journey in the following Q&A:

Keith Kupper, RN, Medical-Surgical Telemetry Unit, KP West LA

Celebrating Our NursesNURSES WEEK 2018

As a child, Keith Kupper was always at the hospital. Not because he was sick, but because both of his parents worked in the medical field. Kupper started his own journey into the medical field at UCLA studying biochemistry, but three years in, Kupper decided the field simply wasn’t for him.

“I wanted to do something that would let me spend more time with patients,” said Kupper, who is a registered nurse at KP West LA’s Medical-Surgical Telemetry Unit. “I felt that engagingwith patients, interacting with family members – the holistic approach to caring with regard to healing -- was what I wanted to do and I decided that nursing was my passion.” He ended up completing an undergraduate degree in psychobiology

and pursued a nursing degree from National University. He started out as a nurse at KP West LA three years ago, and was honored with the DAISY Award for Exceptional Nurses in 2016.

Kupper shares more about his journey into nursing in the Q&A below:

What’s your favorite part of the job?It’s that time in the day where you feel that you’ve made a difference. I always try to make sure patient preferences are taken into account - we try to do everything to listen to the patients and being able to provide them something that they were not expecting, such as surprising them with a meal item they really wanted, or sitting down to listen to them and hear them out – it’s all about that one time you can make them feel a little more like themselves and a little less like a patient – that really means a lot to me.

What is your motivation?In the hospital, you see a lot of sick people and the desire to see less of that in itself serves as my motivation. You want to see members at the weekly farmers market – not in a patient room. We need to teach our patients to eat better, be active and take care of themselves – I believe we as nurses have the great opportunity to improve the health of our society.

How would you describe your approach to patient care?Holistic. As a nurse, I truly enjoy meeting patients and having them share where they are in their lives. I really try to take the time out to listen to my patients, answer their questions, address their concerns and those of the family members.

What does Nurses Week mean to you?I think Nurses week is a time of recognition, but also an opportunity for us to reflect back on what we are doing in a positive or a progressive way. Nursing is constantly changing, so we need to reflect on ourselves, and use it to push ourselves forward in the field.

MoNesha LaViolette, RN, Labor & Delivery, KP West LA

Celebrating Our NursesNURSES WEEK 2018

Monique Hilt, RN, Charge Nurse, Perioperative Department, KP West LA

Celebrating Our Nurses

before becoming a nurse in the emergency department of KP West LA, and then charge nurse in West LA’s Perioperative Department. Hilt has been married for more than 20 years, has four children and three grandchildren who are her pride and joy.

Hilt shares more about her journey into nursing in the following Q&A:

What’s your favorite part of the job?I love my job, I feel like I am in a position where I can impact change – which allows my voice to be heard. I’m excited to be part of the Journey 2 Excellence with KP. I take great pride in what I do at KP and I truly enjoy working for such a great organization that is concerned about the whole health of each individual member.

What keeps you motivated?What keeps me motivated is my family, friends, co workers and my profession. Achieving the desired end results also keep me motivate to continue doing a great job.

How would you describe your approach to patient care?I always approach patient care with a smile, patience, concern and confidence with the intent to provide high quality of care. I feel that it is important to maintain a positive attitude in all the you do.

What does Nurses Week mean to you?Nurses Week is a time to highlight the nursing profession. It is the time to highlight nurses for all the contributions that have been made in the healthcare field. Nurse week is exciting for me every year. I am proud of the nursing profession, and I am proud to be a nurse.

NURSES WEEK 2018

Monique Hilt, started out in the medical field over 23 years ago as a young medical assistant in pursuit of stable income. However her position as a medical assistant turned nursing into her passion. She’s now a charge nurse in KP West LA’s Perioperative Department – who finds pride in making a difference in her department, while assisting staff and members of the Kaiser Permanente family.

Hilt started working at KP West LA more than three years ago, but has a wide range of career experience – also working as an office manager, licensed-vocational nurse, registered nurse at several Southern California hospitals,