The Wall Street Journal A Sisterhood of Nurses Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 09 October 2018 10:43 AM America/Los_Angeles The Wall Street Journal A Sisterhood of Nurses From left to right, Peachy Hain, Connie Arostegui, Joyette Jagolino, Nora Levid, Gertrude Tan and Teresa Santos. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. The Wall Street Journal reporter Lucette Lagnado recently covered a story 40 years in the making: The saga of a group of six best friends – all nurses from the Philippines who came to America together four decades ago. They are still together and closer than ever, with five of the six continuing to work at Cedars-Sinai. “The fundamentals of nursing haven’t changed,” Joyette Jagolino, RN, MSN, associate director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Cedars-Sinai, told The Wall Street Journal. “We still care as we did 40 years ago.” The nurses, Jagolino; Nora Levid, RN; Connie Arostegui, RN (ret.); Teresa Santos, RN, BSN; Gertrudes Tan, RN, BSN; and Peachy Hain, RN, MSN, FACHE; attended a prestigious nursing school together in the Philippines. After their graduation in 1976, the group pledged to come to the U.S. and stay together. They were first hired at a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, but unhappy with the bitter midwestern winters, they headed West, in search of California sunshine. The Wall Street Journal story details how all six came to work at Cedars-Sinai by 1980. Over the decades, the nurses witnessed numerous changes in healthcare. The nurses cheer the new technologies and medicines, like anti-rejection drugs for transplant patients and sharper imaging machines that are saving the lives of critically ill patients. But, as they told Lagnado, all bemoan the fact that there is less time to get to know the patients on a personal level. “When I began as a nurse, I was able to spend more time with patients,” Hain, now the Executive Director of Nursing, told The Wall Street Journal. “ I got to know their families, their pets. We were not only rushing, rushing, rushing.” Today Hain oversees 900 nurses and aides at Cedars-Sinai. The women, all godmothers to each other’s children and grandchildren, get together regularly for social outings and lean on each other for support. As they move closer to retirement they joke about sharing a condo like “The Golden Girls.” Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Orthopaedic Nurse by Day DJ by Night May 24, 2022 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Behind orthopaedic nurse Paulina Andujo' s contagious smile lies not only a compassionate caregiver but also a unique talent."I DJ on the side; it's my creative outlet," Andujo said. "It's my therapy."Growing up in Sunray, Texas, a rural town with a … Read more Nurses Week Cancer Survivor Karla Lopez RN Goes Above and Beyond May 11, 2022 06:01 AM America/Los_Angeles Before Karla Lopez earned her RN degree, she was a unit secretary at Cedars-Sinai who was so impressed with the nurses on her team that she decided to become one herself."I was able to see the nurses and how they would react to emergencies and how … Read more Nurse-Led Cedars-Sinai Study Leads to Creating Serenity Lounges May 10, 2022 07:15 AM America/Los_Angeles A new Cedars-Sinai study shows that “Serenity Lounges”–break rooms equipped with massage chairs and other relaxation tools–reduced feelings of stress, anxiety and burnout among nurses.The study, co-authored by Cedars-Sinai nurse investigators … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Share this release The Wall Street Journal A Sisterhood of Nurses Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home