Carlie Jenkins and her family have done so much to support the med/surg staff during COVID. Her sister raised money to provide many catered-in meals from local businesses to say thank you to the staff. Her mom made generous Christmas gift bags to hand out to staff on the 25th. Carlie has embodied whole-person care in caring for her colleagues and engaging her family (the community) in support of the local hospital nurses.
Carlie's Mom has made numerous hats for staff, donated meals from her work, and made generous Christmas gift bags. Carlie's sister set up a Go Fund Me page and raised money from the community for meals for the St. Francis med/surg staff. She and Carlie coordinated with several area businesses to cater in meals.
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The generosity of the Jenkin's girls and the community brought so much joy to a unit that has been fighting this pandemic from the very beginning. Some days get incredibly long and difficult for us healthcare workers, but the kindness shown by the Jenkin's family and our community brought smiles to our floor again.
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2020 had been a long, dark year for nursing staff. Nurses did NOT sign up for this and those on the front line of med/surg are often fresh out of school with no other nursing experience to compare it to. With management dealing with the economic impact, many have overlooked the emotional and spiritual impact on staff. We have lost many to other medical pursuits and some have chosen to leave the profession altogether. I don't think it's possible to overstate the light the Jenkins family has brought over the holiday season. Nor the thoughtfulness of a gift divided to reach everyone. St Francis Med/Surg nurses extend heartfelt gratitude to the Jenkins. May God bless you and keep you.