No testament to the 40-year career of Fay Rafferty, patient services coordinator at the Mass General Cancer Center, could be more impressive than the words of patient James Hill:
“Over the past dozen years—through two bone marrow transplants, dozens of visits to the Bone Marrow Transplant Program, help with numerous issues, and many stressful trips to the hospital—there has been one individual whose smile and upbeat approach to it all has been a major source of support—Fay Rafferty.”
Fay brings her special brand of caring and competence to hundreds of patients in the Leukemia and Bone Marrow Transplant Programs at the Mass General Cancer Center. Her keen attention to her patients’ needs may find her tracking down a heating blanket for a patient, greeting another with a birthday cake, or keeping a family member company in the waiting room. Fay also avidly fundraises for Caring for a Cure, a staff-run Mass General fund that provides modest, but meaningful gifts to patients.
“When we first asked Fay to transfer to the Cancer Center more than 10 years ago, she said she couldn’t imagine what she could do for cancer patients,” says Amy Annese, her colleague in the Outpatient Infusion Unit. “Today, Fay is the heart and soul of the unit. I often wonder what our patients—and our staff, for that matter—would do without her.”
