“I’m Here for YOU. I Have Time."

It’s a slogan Kathie Keim, R.N., lived every day of her life, even as she battled a deadly disease.

Whether dressed as a clown, working at LVHHN or relaxing at home, Kathie Keim’s cheerful grin put patients at ease and made colleagues smile.

Her dry sense of humor put patients at ease. Her warmth brought smiles to ailing children. Her strength valiantly carried her through a personal battle with cancer, allowing her to live far longer than most thought possible.

On Sept. 5, Kathie Keim, R.N., lost her battle with cancer at age 50, but not before earning the respect and admiration of everyone around her.

A 29-year employee, Keim cared for patients in pediatrics, post-surgery and home care. But it was as a case manager in cardiac care where she, her colleagues and patients forged the deepest bonds. “We were like one big extended family,” says fellow case manager Cindy Hoferica.

Open heart unit nurse Lisa Forstburg, R.N., remembers how her 5-year-old daughter, Megan, adored Keim. “Kathie always brought Megan pens and notepads,” Forstburg says, “and when I pick up one of those pens, Megan says, ‘That’s mine! Kathie gave it to me.’ ”

When she was diagnosed with cancer, Keim was told she had only three months to live.

But, driven by the desire to see her son, William, graduate from high school and attend college (he’s now a junior at Penn State), she thrived for two-and-a-half more years, using humor to get through. “She loved to laugh and volunteered as a clown to cheer up children in pediatric units,” Forstburg says. “She made others laugh on days most people would’ve been feeling sorry for themselves.”

Throughout the years, Keim’s colleagues rallied around her. When she was first diagnosed, they brought her gifts—home-cooked meals and a huge bouquet of flowers with personal notes attached. “Then she told us politely, ‘I’ll be OK; you don’t need to keep doing this,’ ” Hoferica says. “That was classic Kathie. She was the first to help others but never asked for anything in return.”

On her last day, friends gathered at her bedside on the open heart unit. “(Thoracic surgery chief) Raymond Singer, M.D., spoke about her strength,” remembers transitional skilled unit nurse Terry Hilliard, R.N. “Kathie would’ve been overwhelmed at the outpouring of support.”

After her death, Keim’s colleagues found a letter Keim penned. “When you work for one network for so many years,” she wrote, “you are touched by and touch so many lives, it’s truly amazing...I want you all to know how much I’ve appreciated everything.”

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