Alwine "Winny" Knowles (co-Lead Mentor)
indomom@sbcglobal.net
Alwine has been working in the nursing profession for more than 30 years now. She 
started as a unit assistant in an acute hospital setting and realized that was where she belonged; she became an LVN and after 7 years became an RN. For the 24 years that she has been an RN she has worked in the Pediatric Unit, but she has experience with all the different units since she floated as an LVN. She has her ADN, and is currently working towards her BSN. Alwine also has her Pediatric Certification and obtained her Staff Nurse III last year. She is fluent in both English and Dutch. It is the knowledge that there is a high turnover of nurses in her facility and few nurses who want to work in pediatrics that has motivated her to become a mentor. Alwine thinks that "Just having a dedicated group of RNs to support the RN staff would be awesome". Alwine is the PPC Co-Chair for Kaiser Hayward, a CNA Nurse Representative, and belongs to several unit specific committees such as the Pediatric Joint Practice Committee. Even with all this in addition to her nursing duties, she also manages to find time to Precept new RNs.
Wendy Vu (co-Lead Mentor)
wendyvu@comcast.net
Wendy is a Med-Surg, her specialty, nurse at Kaiser Hayward where she has been working for six of her fourteen years of nursing. She has her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and speaks both English and Vietnamese fluently. Wendy stays active in her facility by attending meetings and participating on committees such as the floor-safety committee and improving patient satisfaction meetings. She is also a resource nurse and a preceptor for new and re-entry nurses. She has chosen to become a mentor because she wants to help new graduates or new nurses survive in their new working environment and in nursing.
Tammy Rice
ricesmt@comcast.net
Tammy has been working in the Emergency Department at Kaiser Hayward for a year 
and a half, and prior to that she spent three years seeing the country as a travel nurse. Her nursing career began nine years ago and she has spent most of that time developing her skills in her specialty areas of Emergency and Critical Care. She has her Associates Degree in Nursing and is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association. When asked what is motivating her to become a mentor Tammy says that, it comes from remembering how overwhelmed she felt as a new nurse entering the workforce, and how blessed she was to have good Preceptors that took the time to help her with the transition to Critical Care Nursing. She wants the new nurses to have the same experiences that she had and to help them see what a great profession nursing is.
Renita Cruz
rcruz214@yahoo.com
Renita has been a nurse for three years and works in the Emergency Room at Kaiser Hayward, where she has been precepting new nurses for over a year. She has her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Cal State Hayward. When asked why she wanted to become a mentor she replied, "I feel Emergency Room nursing is extremely fulfilling and rewarding and I want to be able to share my experience with other nurses and staff." Her goal is to provide a foundation of support so that those she mentors will be able to find the motivation and strength to continue giving professional and nurturing care.
Nona Eidelberg
eidelberg@yahoo.com
Growing both personally and professionally are important career goals for Nona. She graduated with her BSN from La Concordia College in Manila and has been nursing for over twenty-five years. She is a Staff RN III at Kaiser Permanente Hayward since 1992. Nona is involved in several hospital committees and has recently become involved with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Mentoring, to Nona, is a win-win situation where she will share her experience and humanity in exchange for new opportunities to learn from her mentee.
Susan Forsyth
srfosyth1916@msn.com
The anxiety of a new job for most people can be quite an obstacle to face. Add to that the fears of making a mistake and potentially causing your patient harm. These concerns are all too common for new and returning nurses says Susan, a University of San Francisco graduate (BSN) and nurse for thirteen years. Her transition to L&D in 2001 at Kaiser Permanente - Hayward had its ups and downs. Susan wants to be supportive, the way her coworkers were for her, someone to share their fears, triumphs, and set-backs to make smoother transition for new and returning nurses.
Lori Hudgens
rgbaseball@comcast.net
The work world for RNs is very fast these days. IN addition to the usual challenges of starting a new job nurses have a vast array of technologies to learn. Lori, an RN for over twenty years, enjoys the challenge and sees the value in providing the professional and emotional support necessary for successful transitions. Her wealth of experience in various settings throughout her nursing career makes her a valuable part of the mentor team. Lori has worked in the Emergency Room at Kaiser Permanente-Hayward since 1993.
Regina Johnson
ginapullens@yahoo.com
Regina has worked at Kaiser Permanente-Hayward since 1990, and for nearly six of those years she has been an RN in their Emergency Department. While working as a unit assistant she attended school and earned her BSN from San Jose State University. Regina feels that helping each other, as well as the patients, is an important part of creating a healthy work environment, especially for those new RNs during their overwhelming transition period from student to staff nurse.
Uem Young Kim
uemyoung@yahoo.com
How many of us sing-loudly in our car on the way to work? After nursing for thirty-six years Uem Yong still sings and still has the passion that has driven her to be a success. An L&D nurse for twenty-five years, she has worked for Kaiser Permanente for over twenty-eight. Uem Yong earned her nursing degree in Seoul, Korea, where she was born and raised. She now wishes to share her enthusiasm with new nurses through being a mentor, so they too can continue to sing loudly.
Rosanne Rush
calileopard@aol.com
Rosanne, an L&D nurse at Kaiser Permanente Hayward has been at Kaiser since graduating from her nursing program in 1974. Sharing her love of nursing has been an ongoing activity. Roseanne volunteers for career fairs speaking with young people interested in careers in healthcare and even letting them "shadow" her throughout a typical workday. Rosanne sees mentoring as another avenue for her to share her enthusiasm for nursing and helping her mentees realize that they have what it takes.
Maria "Luisa" Vengco
luisa17@aol.com
Luisa has her BSN from University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, where she was born and raised. Maria is fluent in both English and Tagalog, and can understand Ilocano (a regional dialect in the Philippines). For three of the last six years she's been in nursing Luisa has been at Kaiser Permanente-Hayward where she is a Staff Nurse III in the CCU. Luisa views this opportunity as a mentor as a way to help bridge the gap between more experienced nurses and those who are fresh to the field.
Maria Acorda
acordam@sbcglobal.net
Born and raised in the Philippines, Maria is fluent in English and Tagalog. A nurse for sixteen years, she has faced challenging transitions both when beginning her career in the United States and more recently when, in 2001, moving from Memorial Medical Center of East Texas to work in the Med/Surg unit at Kaiser Permanente - Hayward. Each time Marias's love of nursing prevailed and she feels that she is ready to share her passion and experience
with others who may also be experiencing some difficulties with transition.
Dolores "Dee" Davies
Although an adventurer at heart, Dee has been an example of stability with her forty-two years in nursing. In 1965 she hopped in her red Corvelle and headed to California from New Mexico and has been here ever since. She made a similar commitment to nursing and is now mentoring with the hope to instill her spirit of commitment and dedication to new nurses. Dee holds college degrees in nursing, psychology, and social work and has been a staff nurse for Kaiser Permanente for twenty-nine years.
Cynthia Montano
robandthia94@comcast.net
Cynthia's four years in Med/Surg unit at Kaiser Hayward follows more experience as a home-health aide and a charge nurse at a skilled nursing facility. She earned her BSN from CSU-Hayward and continues to enrich her education through classes at Kaiser and home study courses. When it comes to nursing, Cynthia is well aware that there are a number of stressful times in your career and stating a new job is one of them. She has come to enjoy her job and learned strategies for managing and minimizing stressful situations making her overall perspective much better.
Tanya Joy Kelley
coot1211@yahoo.com
A Med/Surg charge nurse at Kaiser Hayward, Tanya has been in nursing for twenty-two years. Beginning as a part-time job in high school she was a Certified Nursing Assistant and after graduation earned her LVN and eventually her RN from Chabot College. Tanya enjoys the time she spends with new nurses mentoring and encouraging them to integrate their knowledge with what they are learning to make them the best nurses possible.
