When Katina Zaninovich received the call informing her that she was one of the two people honored with the Santa Barbara Foundation’s 79th Person of the Year Award, she thought it was a prank from her brother.
“It is completely and totally humbling, and it feels very undeserved,” Zaninovich said. “I work with so many other parents and volunteers all through these years, and I look at any one of them and I think they could have won this award just as easily as I could.”
Zaninovich spent most of her career in Santa Barbara at VNA Health Care — formerly known as Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care — as a hospital liaison, director of clinical services and executive director.
She has been active in her community, serving on several boards since 1992, including the Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care Professional Advisory Committee, Cottage Health System and the San Marcos High School Royal Pride Foundation.
She also co-chaired the Healthy People, Healthy Community campaign with the Rev. Mark Asmon to build a new Westside Clinic and expand the reach of clinics who serve low-socioeconomic patients and self-employed small-business owners who often lack the money and time to see a doctor.
Zaninovich remains involved in community service as a volunteer and board member for the Montecito Retirement Association, the Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation and the Neighborhood Clinics capital campaign, the Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara and the Alzheimer’s Association Central Coast Chapter.
After graduating from Mount St. Mary’s University in 1978, her first job was as a visiting nurse in the projects of Los Angeles, which shaped the rest of her career.
“I was born and raised in the Central Valley not exposed to a whole lot,” Zaninovich said. “My patients used to ask me, do I have a gun? Because they were afraid for my safety. I’m like, ‘No, I don’t have the gun.’”
As a visiting nurse, Zaninovich went on house calls to people who could not come to the hospital because they were elderly or severely disabled.
“I do like taking care of people in their own homes because, first of all, it’s a privilege and it’s their decision to let you into their home,” she said, “and they can tell you to leave anytime they want. It involves a lot of trust.”
Zaninovich said that one of her favorite patients she visited was a pimp who sent his guys out to protect her car so no one would steal her stereo or wheels while she worked.
“It was so many life lessons, but everything was about families in the community. It’s always the same thing. They take care of each other,” Zaninovich said. “Everybody down in the core was the same.”
When she moved to Santa Barbara in 1982, she said she was blown away by how many services and nonprofit organizations were available compared with Los Angeles.
“If you don’t have meals or if you don’t have insurance or equipment or whatever, you can usually find it someplace,” Zaninovich said.
A majority of her volunteer work is from the perspective of a nurse. Working as a nurse was more than a career for Zaninovich; it was her passion.
“The decision to stay home to raise my kids properly, I know this sounds really weird, but it actually was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Zaninovich said. “Because I was a nurse and we all knew each other and we were a tight group.”
Even though it can be very sad, Zaninovich said the ability to see a patient get helped through her care is what makes her work rewarding no matter the outcome.
“That’s just a really good feeling,” Zaninovich said. “Even if the end meant that somebody died at home, if they wanted to stay at home to die, that also was wonderful because you really helped somebody live their fullest until the end and then to be able to die in your own bed surrounded by people who love and care for you.”
Zaninovich took care of her parents when they were in hospice. Her mother died last year.
“I think our society tries so hard to treat sometimes until the point where the cure is worse than the disease,” she said. “So sometimes it’s important to listen to the patient and their family and put aside your own prejudices about what you think is best and go with their wishes.”
Zaninovich will be honored, along with Ginger Salazar, at the Person of the Year luncheon on Wednesday at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Ticket sales for the event are closed.
— Noozhawk staff writer Grace Kitayama can be reached at gkitayama@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.