Family-Advised Funds

Karen Hays Oncology Commemorative Fund

The Karen Hays Commemorative Fund is established in memory of a compassionate caregiver, colleague, friend, and loving mother. This fund will help to provide financial support for nurses who have selected oncology as their profession.

Karen Ann Hays was a registered nurse at Mercy San Juan Medical Center since 1987. She served many years in the oncology ward, encouraging and inspiring her colleagues with her work ethic and dedication all the while assisting countless patients that passed through the ward.

After working a full shift on the ward on July 6, 2009 Karen felt a little “under the weather” and decided to stay home the next day. What felt to her like a bad cold or flu accelerated into double lung pneumonia within 24 hours. Her own professional training made her realize how serious it was getting and she checked herself into Mercy San Juan ER that night. By morning she was on a respirator and the suspicion was H1N1 virus exacerbated by a staph infection.

With little hope to last through the following evening the outcome seemed inevitable. What happened next is testimony as to Karen’s determined nature to fight back against the dire predictions.

Every hour that passed could have been the moment that the sickness took it’s final toll, yet as each hour passed Karen seemed to be fighting hard to keep her life-force going. After several days of non response to any treatment, small increments of improvement added up to larger improvements, what looked like certain death gave way to hope of recovery. Nine days after being admitted it seemed like she had turned the corner on the illness.

Tragically at about 12:30 a.m. on July 17, Karen incurred a massive heart attack, which proved to be fatal. The H1N1 illness had taken its toll and regardless of how hard she fought to stay with us, it just wasn’t to be.

Karen left her two boys Jeffery & Ian as well as many family members, friends and colleagues all too soon. There was much left for Karen to do in life as there always is for people that are taken from us at an early age. Karen was born July 23, 1957 in London, England and attended Ursuline High School before immigrating to Vancouver, Canada along with her family in August 1975.

Her deep and personal commitment to providing Oncology care extended to raising funds for cancer research over the past two decades through her involvement with the Team in Training family. Karen participated in the Ironman Triathlon Florida and completed numerous marathons, triathlons and other ultra distance races.

Karen had much more to give within her chosen vocation and her dedication to charitable causes. She previously occupied the role of supervisor, but returned to nursing directly as a way to give the best part of her skill, the one on one with patients. Because of this she occupied a unique position within the Oncology ward, that of co-worker and mentor to nurses entering the vocation of oncology nursing.