Rita Marie Haley

Passed away in Santa Rosa, CA, January 4, 2014, adored mother of Matthew Goldy of Cotati and Daniel Goldy of Santa Rosa. Beloved sister of Gene Haley (Katherine) of Pt. Reyes Station, Cathy McCool (Kelly) of Freestone, Mark Haley (Charlene) of Sebastopol, Pat Haley (Kathleen) of Sonoma, Mary Jo Lessing (Rich) of Vancouver, WA, Andy Haley (Lynn) of Sacramento, WA, and Elizabeth Clark of Folsom. Dear aunt of Hannah and AJ Lessing, Ann (Jarrod)Salmon, Lauren (Marcus) Santillano, Elise Clark, Adam and Antone Haley, Kevin (Maureen) McCool, Chris McCool, Brad (Talia) Haley, Michael Lessing and Jimmy Clark. A native of Point Reyes Station, CA. Age 63 years. She was predeceased by her parents, Mike and Joan Haley. Rita a member of a West Marin family, was a dedicated RN at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for 38 years. She was an avid quilter and a member of the Quilts2Be group. Her passion was traveling all over the world, especially enjoying her favorite location, Hawaii. Family and friends are invited to attend a Celebration of Life on Sunday, January 19, 2014, 12:30 pm at The Community Church Memorial Hall, 1000 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol. Private inurnment, Olema Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to purchase medical equipment and supplies for the homeless and underserved can be made to: Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Foundation, 1154 Montgomery Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95405. RITA'S LEGACY It is with mixed emotions that I announce Rita's retirement from her role as Manager of Care Management as of this fall. Rita started her journey at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in 1971 as a nursing student and a nursing assistant. in 1975, rita started working as a Critical Care nurse, when the ICU was located on 2CE! In 1977-1980, Rita worked for the Cath Lab and Drs. Reed/Smith and Price Cardiology Group. Rita returned to Critical Care in 1980 and also cross-trained to the Emergency Department. Rita transitioned to a management position in 190 on 2East, which was then the Tele/Renal unit. In 1999, robin Hagenstadt, the CNO at the time identified the need for someone to manage the placement of patients being admitted. Rita developed the new role of "Admitting Coordinator," and was affectionately called the "Bed Czar". On weekends, Rita served as the St. Joseph Home Care on call-nurse. Within a few years, Rita became the Manager of Case Management and the EASE program, as well as the Clinical Manager for Admitting. In this role, Rita handled any clinical issues related to the admission of patients. Rita was known by all the physicians as the "go to" person for any questions they had about admitting their patients, as well as the person who would know how to get their office patients what was needed in the community. Among Rita's accomplishments was partnering with Jan Gritsch and various physicians in the development of the Transfer Center. This led to further development of the Admit Nurse role (currently the day Shift Administrator function), and the formation of the daily bed meeting. Rita played a crucial role in the development of the Case Management Department, implementing numerous programs and software tools during her time as manager of that department. Frequently in these various roles, Rita has served as the unsung "behind the scenes" problem solver, connecting patients and physicians with the right service. Rita has been a resource and help to many over the years.