Nursing is a natural for Nancy Klatt.
"That's what I always remember wanting to be. I grew up saying I wanted to be a nurse," Klatt said. After graduating from UND in 1974, Klatt worked for in the intensive care unit of a Fargo hospital for about 18 months and then moved to Grand Forks to work for then-Deaconess Hospital. In 1976 she began working for Altru Health System
Klatt spent two years working as a medical surgical nurse at Altru before she started working with Dr. John Laurie, an oncologist, doing cancer research and chemotherapy treatments. During nursing college at UND she had done clinical options in oncology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and found it was an area of health care that interested her, Klatt said.
"When Dr. Laurie came to the clinic, it was the beginning of bringing cancer patients back into the community." Previously, patients received most of their chemotherapy treatments at Mayo Clinic, Klatt noted.
Expansion
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When Laurie and Klatt started working together in oncology Altru Health System began expanding its cancer services, increasing the numbers of doctors and nurses. In 2000, the Altru Cancer Center moved into a separate building just north of Altru Clinic. Two years ago, Klatt was a leader in promoting the need for a cancer center renovation.
"We just quickly outgrew our facility," Klatt said. Though, the newly renovated center is larger, it also is homier and has a 'warmer' feeling than the original center," she said.
Today about 40 people, including nurses, doctors and radiation therapists, work at Altru Cancer Center.
Dedication
Klatt has been relentless in her drive to give excellent care to cancer patients, said Margaret Reed, Altru's chief nurse executive. It's pretty unusual to find a nurse who is so dedicated to his or her professional career, especially one that is complex and has such evolving treatments, Reed said.
Klatt's dedication to care of cancer patients was recognized this month by Altru's Professional Nurse Committee, which presented her with its annual Nursing Hall of Fame Award. The award is given annually to nurses who have shown extraordinary achievements in nursing over the course of their careers.
One of the rewards of working with cancer patients is getting to know them and to celebrate with them when their cancer is in remission, Klatt said.
"There are a lot of celebrations," she said.
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After nearly 35 years working as a cancer nurse, Klatt remains dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients.
"You're always thinking of things that could be better... There's always someone out there who needs something."
Other involvement
Besides her work at the Altru Cancer Center, Klatt is involved in professional organizations, such as the Oncology Nursing Society and the North Dakota Cancer Coalition, which are dedicated to cancer prevention and research.
She also is co-chair of Relay for Life in Grand Forks and will spend Friday night at University Park helping coordinate the event, visiting with Relay for Life teams and celebrating with cancer survivors.
"That's a really fun thing about the Relay is to see the cancer survivor's relay and the cancer survivor's lap," Klatt said.
Reach Bailey at (701) 787-6753; (800) 477-6572, ext. 753; or send email to abailey@gfherald.com .
