My name is Kathie Nunes.

I am an Advocate on Janet Needham’s committee with the purpose of bringing forth an Urgent Care for Ocean Shores.  Ocean Shores is in dire need of an Urgent Care as medical services are definitely needed for the community. The nearest hospital is 45 minutes away with the closest urgent care being Summit Pacific in Elma. As a homeowner in Ocean Shores, my family including myself has required medical attention in the last year. It is apparent Sea Mar is not an urgent care facility and the only recourse the community has is to call the EMT’s or travel by car to Aberdeen, Elma Olympia and beyond. My husband and I drive to the Tacoma area for our care and that is where our daughter receives her care. It is inconvenient but necessary to receive good care. Not only do we need good care but those who visit Ocean Shores deserve to have urgent care in case they require it.

 I have two Associate degrees. One in Early Childhood Education and the other in Arts and Sciences. I earned a BA in Psychology from Chapman University and a Master’s degree in Psychology from Brandman University with an emphasis on Marriage and Family Therapy. Throughout the years I have worked in the Early Childhood field starting the first Infant/Toddler Children’s Center in the Tacoma area. I worked in mental health field as an advocate and mental health therapist. Additionally, I worked in the hospice field as an advocate and Bereavement Counselor working with many grieving families. As a hospice volunteer, I was honored to sit with patients as they passed away. Currently, I am focusing on LMFTA licensing to specifically offer mental health therapy for older parents with adult children who have mental illness.

My husband and I have been happily married for 49 years, have four adult children, seven grandchildren and two Pekingese.  We are homeowners in Ocean Shores and I enjoy photography, walking on the beach, baking cookies, spending time with my family and friends, helping people and animals. Most importantly, is my faith in Jesus Christ. In 1981 our three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia and received treatment through Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital with her medication regimen coming from St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. As a teenager my daughter was diagnosed with a severe mental illness and she is doing well. She is a cancer survivor who had six weeks to live without cancer treatment. Further more she has learned to  deal with the stigma and marginalization as an individual with mental illness.  As an advocate  I have been honored to help children, their parents, those suffering with  mental illness and  those dying on hospice care.