Page 27 - Healthcare Heroes 2025

HealthcareHEROES
A P R O G R A M O F B U S I N E S S W E S T & H E A L T H C A R E N E W S
Healthcare Provider
By George O’Brien
obrien@businesswest.com
as it may sound — especially given the
Cindy Leonard says that, as incredulous
preconceived notions about cancer
treatment and chemotherapy in particu-
lar — some of the visitors to the medi-
cal oncology infusion services at the Sister Caritas
Cancer Center are sad when those treatments are
no longer needed because they’re getting better
and moving to the next step in their journey.
“They say they’re really going to miss us ... they
want to know if they can come back and visit,”
said Leonard, adding that these sentiments are
commonplace, but hardly universal.
And while they stem in part from doubts about
whether the cancer is truly gone, apprehension
about if or when it will return, and the comfort
derived from seeing one’s care team every
day or every week, they also result from the
family-like atmosphere that exists here, and the
compassionate care provided during what is
generally the most difficult time in a patient’s life.
And no one exemplifies all of this more than
Leonard, infusion manager at the Caritas Center
and one of two 2025 Healthcare Heroes in the
Healthcare Provider category.
She’s been working in the broad realm of
“I can’t tell you how many
patients over the years have
had a goal. Men who wanted ...
needed to get to their daughter’s
wedding, for example. If you’re
able to be a small part of them
achieving that goal ... there’s no
reward greater than that.”
Cindy Leonard
Infusion Manager, Sister Caritas Cancer
Center at Mercy Medical Center
She Brings Empathy and a
Strong Ear to Those Navigating
Their Cancer Journey
oncology, starting in pediatric oncology, for nearly
40 years now, and she described it as a field where
there are obvious challenges and many difficult
days, but also rewards that perhaps few who don’t
do this day in and day out could really understand.
“People who are not nurses or healthcare
workers will say, ‘how can you do that? How do
you take care of someone knowing that they might
not make it? How do you do that without crying?
How do you provide care and not get frustrated
and say, this is not worth it?’” she said, listing
just some of the questions people have for her. “I
always say, ‘it’s not about that; it’s about what’s
happening right now — you’re going to take care
of them, and hopefully, whatever care you’re
providing them makes a difference in their day and
their life and helping them live a little longer so
they can do things they want to do.’
“I can’t tell you how many patients over the
years have had a goal,” she went on, becoming
emotional as she did so. “Men who wanted ...
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