05/08/2026
We are proud to recognize Leah Marinelli, NP, for receiving the 2026 Beth Baldwin Oncology Nurse Award!!!
Leah’s compassion, expertise, and unwavering dedication to oncology patients continue to make an extraordinary impact across our institution and community. Pictured with Leah are Dr. Jason Wallen (left) and Dr. Michael Archer, DO, FACS (right), both of whom shared heartfelt praise for her exceptional work and commitment to patient care.
As shared by Dr. Jason Wallen, MD, MBA, FACS, FCCP:
“Ms. Marinelli is one of the most caring oncology nurses that I know. She has been caring for cancer patients for nearly 10 years. She is absolutely tireless. I read once that doctors cure and nurses care. Leah certainly does. My surgeons do lots of damage to the bodies of cancer patients. Leah picks up the pieces. She helps them care for their wounds. She holds their hands when they are in pain. She teaches them to eat again and she helps them to breathe. If you think that managing a post-operative collapsed lung is difficult, try to imagine how challenging that it could be to teach a senior citizen how to eat again, after their esophagus has been removed, when they have been eating the same way for 5, 6 or even 7 decades. She sees them often, sometimes once, twice, or even three times per week. She gives out her cell phone number and has even dropped off food at peoples’ houses when a family member was hospitalized. When the outpatient work is done, she heads into the hospital. She sits at the bedside and teaches people how to manage drains and chest tubes. She unclogs feeding tubes and helps heal the excoriation around their stomas. She holds the hands of patients and family members. When all of that is done, she looks to see what she can do to help the rest of her teammates. A lot of this is simple caring and loving, but the Baldwin award is also about expertise, and some of what I have addressed is exactly that. But there is more. Apart from care provider, she is also proceduralist and radiologist. She started and ran our pleural effusion clinic, performing palliative pleural drainage for dyspnea, often with only hours notice. She can read a chest CT better than many radiologists and has diagnosed more lung cancers than most doctors. As a reward, she gets countless letters from our patients and her survey results are the envy of our department. My personal patients are visibly disappointed when they come to clinic and see me there, instead of Leah. She is really a tough act to follow. She is an example for us all.”
Dr. Michael Archer, DO, FACS shared similar sentiments as well — the accolades are simply too many to list.
Congratulations, Leah, on this incredibly well-deserved recognition and thank you for the compassionate, expert care you provide to patients and families every day!!!
