I am so fortunate that I get to know so many fabulous nurses and PCT's here at Shepherd Center. This is one of the reasons I love Shepherd and have worked here for so long. There's one nurse who comes to mind today as a true example of always going above and beyond. Carline Courtois.
Carline built such a bond with a patient and his mom that after discharge she continued to check in on them. When he was admitted to another hospital Carline would go after her night shift to spend time with them. Some days she was there until afternoon to comfort and educate them while procedures were being done. Her special patient finally got to go to his out of state home. Carline continued to check on their progress. She called them regularly and took calls from them in return when they had questions or needed support. She gave hours of her time and a big piece of her heart to this patient and his family. After several months we were all heartbroken when we learned that our struggling patient had passed away. Carline used her PDO time to go to the funeral in Virginia. She was a comfort to his family even after her patient had passed.
Another example of the special bond between Carline and her patients came up with a patient just 3 weeks ago. The patient was having a hard time wondering if her husband would still love her now that she has a spinal cord injury. Carline recognized she was heartbroken and scared. Carline pulled up a chair and talked with her that night for over an hour. Carline offered a shoulder to cry on and sincere advice. She treated this patient like a friend even though she was there as a caregiver.