My adult son recently entered Bon Secours Memorial Regional Hospital with a variety of health issues. His room assignment was changed three times – supposedly due to staffing issues. He was attended by many different nurses, patient care technicians, and a variety of others. However, one particular nurse stands head and shoulders above the others, and I feel compelled to comment on their actions.

Armine is the epitome of a skilled, compassionate, and effective nurse. She was his day nurse for four days– which is unusual because most nurses work three 12 hour days. My son can be a very difficult patient, frequently confused, sometimes agitated, and occasionally belligerent. By the time Armine took care of him, he had been off his psych meds for a little over a week during many testing procedures and surgery. Despite all of this, She spoke to him in a calm, reassuring, but firm voice, and treated him with compassion, courtesy, and respect due to any adult, carefully explaining each procedure – IV placement (again and again), blood draws, gathering vitals, etc. - along with how the information/procedure would be used to help him recover. She also explained everything to me, helping me understand why certain medicines were prescribed, along with what the lab results indicated. She helped both of us understand what doctors recommended and why, and forwarded my questions and concerns to the doctors, seeking answers to our questions. On one of these 4 days, my son was assigned to another nurse, but Armine requested to change the assignment so that she was his nurse because she felt she had developed a connection with him. That action meant so much to me.

There are not enough adjectives to adequately describe this angel of mercy. Thank you for allowing me to bring attention to this dedicated professional. From my perspective, Armine is the gold standard for nurses.