July 2020
Deborah
Reeves
,
BSN, RN, CPN
Urology
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Debbie Reeves does not waiver, and I mean that in the form of the highest compliment. We live on the coast of Mississippi and our daughter has been a CCHMC patient for over 13 years. In 2005, we lost almost everything we owned due to Hurricane Katrina. At that time, we were using a small-town pharmacy. We had no way to get supplies for our daughter. When we evacuated, Debbie worked nonstop to ensure we had life-saving supplies that our daughter needed on a daily basis. Fast forward to 2020 and COVID-19. Mix in the fact that our insurance no longer would pay for supplies out of state. I called the insurance company and could not reach them. I reached out to Debbie and she, again, spent so much time with me in finding a supplier. Most people would have told me to provide the information and waited. She recognized that I was struggling and stepped in to help me. I will never forget both of these times when she demonstrated excellence, in helping us from so far away.
Debbie knows my entire family by name. She asks about our son, who has never been a patient at CCHMC but comes with us to our daughter's visits. My husband and I are both high school teachers and she always makes it a point to ask about school. And of course, with our daughter, Debbie has connected with her for literally more than a decade. She also speaks directly to our daughter instead of speaking only to the parents. Honestly, that was different to us; in the south, most healthcare professionals only speak to the parents. It is so refreshing to see nurses, like Debbie, speak to the patient, connecting to them while providing exceptional care.
Debbie has spent countless hours listening to our concerns about our child. I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back on it now, I realize listening to us was actually validating our concerns. She did not waiver in the doctor's stance on what needed to be done for our daughter. After she listened to our concerns, she continued to educate us on why we needed to be diligent in her care on a daily basis. As the parent of a medically complex child, I can sometimes get overwhelmed with "one more thing" that we need to do each day. By taking the time to listen to me, to respond with justification, and to teach me how to care for my daughter has been essential to her health.
When my daughter was young, we were doing daily medical procedures. After a urology visit, we discovered that we needed to add more procedures, which was invasive and awkward. At that moment, I wanted to scoop up my then 3 year old and take her back home while pretending the new diagnosis wasn't real. Debbie stayed with us and brought in supplies and a doll to show us how to correctly do what needed to be done. I don't know how she did it, but she pulled off being both empathetic and direct at the same time, which is exactly what we needed. I know with her taking the time to make us feel comfortable was vital in the success of our daughter's health.
My daughter is a champ. She's had numerous surgeries and undergoes several medical tests each year, without flinching. There is one exception - needles. She hates needles and is very afraid of them. I think it stems from a time when she was held down in a different hospital and was stuck repeatedly in an attempt to get an IV. Debbie remembers this and has helped us get certain creams and such to lessen the pain of the needle for our daughter. I know that sounds simple, but it's a really big deal to her.
Debbie knows my entire family by name. She asks about our son, who has never been a patient at CCHMC but comes with us to our daughter's visits. My husband and I are both high school teachers and she always makes it a point to ask about school. And of course, with our daughter, Debbie has connected with her for literally more than a decade. She also speaks directly to our daughter instead of speaking only to the parents. Honestly, that was different to us; in the south, most healthcare professionals only speak to the parents. It is so refreshing to see nurses, like Debbie, speak to the patient, connecting to them while providing exceptional care.
Debbie has spent countless hours listening to our concerns about our child. I didn't realize it at the time, but looking back on it now, I realize listening to us was actually validating our concerns. She did not waiver in the doctor's stance on what needed to be done for our daughter. After she listened to our concerns, she continued to educate us on why we needed to be diligent in her care on a daily basis. As the parent of a medically complex child, I can sometimes get overwhelmed with "one more thing" that we need to do each day. By taking the time to listen to me, to respond with justification, and to teach me how to care for my daughter has been essential to her health.
When my daughter was young, we were doing daily medical procedures. After a urology visit, we discovered that we needed to add more procedures, which was invasive and awkward. At that moment, I wanted to scoop up my then 3 year old and take her back home while pretending the new diagnosis wasn't real. Debbie stayed with us and brought in supplies and a doll to show us how to correctly do what needed to be done. I don't know how she did it, but she pulled off being both empathetic and direct at the same time, which is exactly what we needed. I know with her taking the time to make us feel comfortable was vital in the success of our daughter's health.
My daughter is a champ. She's had numerous surgeries and undergoes several medical tests each year, without flinching. There is one exception - needles. She hates needles and is very afraid of them. I think it stems from a time when she was held down in a different hospital and was stuck repeatedly in an attempt to get an IV. Debbie remembers this and has helped us get certain creams and such to lessen the pain of the needle for our daughter. I know that sounds simple, but it's a really big deal to her.