Congratulations to our 2026 Nurse of the Year, Kathleen Jabasa!
“Advocating for our patients, our practice, and the future of healthcare is not easy, but together we are stronger, together our voices are louder and together we create meaningful change”
We are honored to celebrate Rainier Olympic Nurses Association 2026 nurse of the year, Kathleen Jabasa. Kat’s career began at age 19 in the Philippines, where she followed in her mothers and her grandmother‘s footsteps to become a nurse.
In 2019 after starting at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma, she served as a local unit bargaining team member and grievance officer. While precepting new nurses, Kat began to question why she was paid less than nurses with less experience. At that time, international nurses from countries, including the Philippines, were only having half of their work experience counted, which placed them on a lower salary step. Kat brought her concerns to her local unit leadership and Washington State Nurses Association who helped her fight to change the policy.
Even though the policy change was successful, the hospital resisted re-stepping all 31 nurses impacted. Once again Kat advocated for herself and her fellow nurses, insisting the situation be remedied without further delay. Reflecting on this fight for equity, Kat said, ‘the victory is more than financial, it is a restoration of dignity, our pride and our rightful place in the field of nursing”.