Amy Barbee is one of the most extraordinary women and nurses that I've ever had the pleasure to know and work with in my professional career. As a manager, I see her as one of the most highly skilled, intelligent, capable, and compassionate employees a manager could ever hope for. As a fellow nurse and woman, she is one of the most caring, insightful, genuine, and giving women I have ever known in my 30 years as a care provider. As if this is not enough, she still finds time to volunteer in the community, at her children's school and at church. In spite of the incredible hardship that she has had to personally face, she always reaches deep within to give kindness and compassion to others, knowing what it feels to be vulnerable, afraid, and uncertain about outcomes.

Amy, without fail, goes the extra mile; she has even wheeled a bed bound antepartum patient, who had to be flat on her back for weeks through the hospital on her bed and out onto a courtyard, knowing how healing it would be for this patient to breathe fresh air and see the sky. She sat with her for over an hour outside and helped her feel human again. This is just one small example of the many ways that Amy goes out of her way to deliver extraordinary care that goes above and beyond what anyone could ever hope for while being a patient.

Even in the busiest of times, Amy finds ways to help her patient on their journey to healing. She is proactive in their plan of care, makes sure that they get everything that they need medically and socially, updates and educates them (even searching for information so that they can understand their condition), and always finds ways to make their patient experience better. To better illustrate my point, I want to share two of the many letters I have received about this remarkable nurse and the care that she provides to her patients.



This is a letter written by patient.:

"Lent, Day #14 - Amy Barbee, thank you for being YOU! During my long hospital stay you made sure to be a "momma bear" and watch over me. You took me for walks, had regular conversations with me, trusted me alone in my room with scissor (lol), let me meet your beautiful daughter, and never made me feel like 'that patient in 126'. When I had a NICU problem, your "protective momma bear" came out and you got that problem solved. Your family, friends, coworkers, and especially my family are so lucky and blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for all you do for everyone!"

Amy is also frequently mentioned in the Voice of the Customer:

"Amy was an exceptional nurse in the Mom and Baby Unit. She came and checked on me even when I wasn't in her wing to see how I was doing. She gave me really good tips on how to cope with being in the hospital for so long. She was so friendly and always provided me with everything that I needed."

Amy Barbee represents the essence of kindness, compassion, integrity, and professionalism that does the profession of nursing justice. She is an outstanding role model for us all, not only because of who she is as a nurse, but because of who she is as a person.