Neighborhood Heroes: Nurse quietly saving lives, one treatment at a time

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) Every day, nurses carry the weight of life-saving care. They do it quietly, without fanfare.

This week, as the country marks National Nurses Week, one local nurse is being recognized for her dedication to patients who rely on critical treatments to survive.

Vanessa Handwerk is the registered nursing manager over outpatient infusion centers for Desert Oasis Healthcare. She oversees four centers across the Coachella Valley, including locations in Yucca Valley, Palm Springs, and Palm Desert.

“My name is Vanessa Handwerk, and I am the R.N. nursing manager over our outpatient infusion centers,” she said.

Inside those centers, patients come for treatments they didn’t ask for—but can’t live without.

“The short answer is we do everything outside of chemo,” Handerk explained. “We do blood transfusions, injections, biologic medication, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, osteoporosis, cancer treatments that are not chemo. We take care of all of those patients.”

For some patients, those treatments buy time. For others, they buy hope.

“Many of these treatments… without them, patients' blood counts will just continue to go down and down… until their body cannot sustain life any longer,” she said.

Handwerk has worked in healthcare for 18 years, starting as a medical assistant, earning her LVN, and then her RN. Through it all, she says she’s held onto one guiding principle.

“You just treat people how you want you or your loved ones to be treated,” she said. “Even if I am overworked that day… it’s fine. Tomorrow’s a new day.”

For the full story, or to nominate someone you think should be a Neighborhood Hero, visit KESQ.com.