Dorothy LaFauce
July 2021
Dorothy
Lafauce
,
RN
Hollis Cancer Center
Lakeland Regional Health
Lakeland
,
FL
United States

 

 

 

Before and after work, Dottie started delivering paperwork to the facility at the front desk and she would return to pick up the completed paperwork on her way to work.
Dottie is the Chemotherapy Education Nurse and Oral Chemo Navigator at the Hollis Cancer Center. She is extremely dedicated to her patients and she often goes above and beyond. Frequently she completes selfless acts and never asks for recognition. As a navigator, she will attend Oncology office visits and help to ensure the patients are comfortable and understand their plan of care. Dottie takes the time to educate patients in a way that they can understand because of her experience as an Oncology nurse for over 30 years. She recognizes when patients need a little extra “love” and is readily available for walk-in visits or frequent phone calls. Recently, she was assisting a patient with paperwork to help him get drug assistance and specialty pharmacy delivery. This patient lives in a retirement community and each time he leaves the facility, he has to quarantine for 14 days due to COVID precautions. We have a large number of patients that we care for and she routinely follows up to ensure the paperwork is filled out timely so that we can get the life-saving medications quickly. Dottie realized that this gentleman’s quality of life was greatly impacted due to his cancer care and COVID. During this quarantine period, he has to eat meals alone and cannot participate in social events in his apartment/community. Each time he comes for follow-up, labs, or paperwork, the 14 day period starts over. Before and after work, Dottie started delivering paperwork to the facility at the front desk and she would return to pick up the completed paperwork on her way to work. She then faxed it for the patient because he didn’t have access to a scanner or fax machine. The patient was so grateful that he can enjoy lunch and dinner with his friends! During this time, nurses have to see past the task at hand and remain aware of the challenges some patients face due to COVID. There are multiple examples of Dottie completing these golden acts of kindness. She truly deserves recognition for being a knowledgeable, skilled, and compassionate nurse.