PITTSBURGH, PA—June 14, 2022—ONS honored a long-time member, Margaret Hansen Frogge, MS, RN, for a career of contributions to cancer care with its 2022 ONS Lifetime Achievement Award during the 47th Annual ONS Congress® in Anaheim, CA. The award commemorates Frogge’s passion for the profession through decades of oncology nursing practice and leadership.
“I am honored and humbled,” Frogge said. “I am grateful for ONS and the opportunities that I have experienced. My hope is that each ONS member will think big and step in to lead to ensure that we have a strong and vibrant oncology system.”
The ONS Lifetime Achievement Award, given annually at ONS Congress, recognizes ONS members who make outstanding contributions to the field of oncology nursing and to the Society and serve as critical leaders in the Society and their communities.
Frogge spent more than 30 years at Riverside Healthcare in Kankakee, IL, making her way up the clinical ladder from an administrative consultant and clinical nursing specialist to Riverside’s senior vice president and chief strategy officer. Frogge initiated the first comprehensive cancer program in the area to fill a significant gap in care, created a rural outreach cancer program, established the first formal pain management program in the region, and founded and launched the community’s first hospice program.
Frogge also spent nearly 30 years as an assistant professor at Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago, IL, and held numerous positions at the university’s medical center. Frogge was also an adjunct faculty member at Northern Illinois University and Kankakee Community College, and she most recently served in executive leadership development and coaching, helping her oncology nurse colleagues pave their own path in the profession.
Throughout her career, Frogge received 13 additional awards, including Riverside Healthcare’s Samaritan of the Year Award and the institution’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Riverside Medical Center’s President’s Mission Award, and the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for Cancer Nursing: Principles and Practice (fourth edition). She has held positions on several ONS and Oncology Nursing Foundation boards, advisory panels, and committees at both the local and national levels. Frogge also contributed to National Cancer Institute, American Hospital Association, and Association of Community Cancer Centers committees.
Frogge has authored and edited 60 publications and has served on nursing editorial and advisory boards such as the Seminars in Oncology Nursing Editorial Board and the Bristol Myers-Squibb Advisory Board. Additionally, she has presented at national and international conferences, including several ONS Congresses.
“Margaret has been a stalwart figure in oncology nursing since the beginning of ONS and an exemplar in oncology nursing authorship, clinical practice, education, and leadership,” 2020–2022 ONS President Nancy Houlihan, MA, RN, AOCN®, said when presenting the award to Frogge at ONS Congress. “She has secured the future of ONS with her dedication to the evolution of the Leadership Development Committee and mentoring so many ONS leaders.”
ONS is a professional association that represents 100,000 nurses and is the professional home to more than 35,000 members. ONS is committed to promoting excellence in oncology nursing and the transformation of cancer care. Since 1975, ONS has provided a professional community for oncology nurses, developed evidence-based education programs and treatment information, and advocated for patient care, all in an effort to improve quality of life and outcomes for patients with cancer and their families. Learn more at www.ons.org.