University of Washington Regional Epilepsy Center at Harborview Medical Center

Nurse Manager, Regional Epilepsy Center

Sharon Geist, R.N., is the Nurse Manager of the Regional Epilepsy Center at HMC. She has been an employee of Harborview for 15 years. She brings to the position a background of a BS in Sociology, an RN degree, and an extensive history and education in business administration. In addition to her Nurse Manager position, she is a member of the Ethics Committee, and a Board Member of the Spiritual Care Department. One of her most compelling interests is cultural diversity and its impact on healthcare. She speaks at national conferences regarding the care of culturally diverse patient populations. She feels a strong commitment to the needs of the epilepsy patient population and to the specialty caregivers that make such a positive difference in the lives of these patients.

Epilepsy Nurse Coordinator

Nancy Johnson, B.S., R.N. joined Harborview in 1980 as a staff nurse when the epilepsy inpatient unit opened. She served as assistant nurse manager of the unit for 19 years. In March 2000, Johnson was named epilepsy nurse coordinator. She is a graduate of Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing and received her B.S. from Western Washington University. Johnson schedules patients that require admission to the long-term monitoring unit and coordinates their care from admission to discharge.

Epilepsy Resource Nurse

Lynne Smith, BSN, RN, CNRN, has been a member of the Regional Epilepsy Team since June of 2001. She received her ADN from Highline Community College in 1989 and worked on the Neuro/Neurosurgery Acute Care floor at Harborview from 1989 to 2001. She received her BSN from the University of Washington Tacoma in 2002 and was certified as a neurology nurse in October 2005. Smith triages telephone calls for the Regional Epilepsy Center, manages prescription refills, acts as patient advocate for finding primary care, rehab services, social assistance and provides epilepsy education to callers.

Clinical Social Worker

Tanya Oberle, MSW received her Bachelors of Social Work from University of WA in 2003 and received her Masters of Social Work from UW in 2004. Her background includes working with individuals with disabilities, both children and adults as well as homeless youth. She was hired on the HMC SW staff in June 2004 and provided clinical SW to a variety of Medical Specialty Outpatient Clinics as well as coverage for Primary Care Clinics and Social Work in the Emergency Department prior to coming to the Regional Epilepsy Center in September 2005. She provides information and referral for general needs such as housing and transportation as well as referral for Mental Health. She assists patients with funding for medical care and medications, and provides brief crisis intervention and patient support.

Patient Financial Advocate

Debby Ratty began her career in financial services at HMC in 1999 while working on her AAS degree. Her area of specialty includes knowledge of state (DSHS) and federal (SSA) programs, as well as subsidized insurance (BHP) and medication assistance programs (PAP) available for primarily low-income patients. Aside from working with HMC's Financial Counseling Department (formerly Health Coverage Services) and billing system, she also worked with Labor and Industries (L&I) while serving the Orthopedic Clinic. Her current goals include working with long term disability patient's to obtain funding for treatment from available resources.

Physician Assistant

Noor Aaf, PA-c, graduated from Kabul University Medical School, Kabul, Afghanistan in 1972 and received his General Surgery degree from Armed Forces Medical College, Puma, India in 1974. He practiced as a general surgeon in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan before coming to Seattle in Sept, 1989. He received his AA in Respiratory Therapy in 1992 from Seattle Central Community College and his PA-c degree from University of Utah Physician's Assistant Program in 1995. He returned to Seattle and worked at UW/VA cardiothorasic surgery and Puget Sound Behavioral Health before joining the the Regional Epilepsy Center in December, 2005.