Barbara Callens was my father’s nurse for 2 days in CCU for two of the last days of his life. Her care and proactiveness made a terrifying time much more manageable and gave us some priceless last moments together as a family.

He arrived in CCU after a bout of bleeding and with notable delirium. The doctors were not optimistic, but Barbara treated Dad with compassion and a positive attitude that was the right chord for his engineering mind.

His two days in CCU under her care he was lucid, and she motivated him to try to do things on his own. They had a lovely rapport, with gentle bantering that really worked with Dad’s personality.

When she wasn’t around (there or in PCU subsequently) he cited advice she had given him about keeping moving and trying to do more.

She exemplified each of the “We Care” attributes, but I’d like to really highlight Excellence Always because of her highly proactive care. There were some challenges getting a specific radiation treatment, but Barbara made several phone calls and tirelessly advocated for him, and he was able to get the treatment he needed. She clearly and constantly communicated with me and my family to let us know the status of everything, answered all of my many questions, and followed up to make sure it all went well.

After he was downgraded to PCU, she followed up and checked in on him, which meant a lot to him and our family. On his last day when he went to comfort care, I found her to tell her and she was unbelievably kind and compassionate and made sure to say that she remembered that he was really fighting and trying, which was so comforting to hear.

Though we only knew her for a short time, Barbara made an incredible impact on my family and our experience in those challenging days. I cannot thank her enough.