Janet Matthews
May 2022
Janet
Matthews
,
BSN, RN, AMB-BC
Specialty Clinic
Mammoth Hospital
Mammoth Lakes
,
CA
United States

 

 

 

Janet is always pleasant, supportive, positive, and ready to help. She is the definition of doing the right thing every time. I believe she is one of those rare people who is her best self when no one is looking.
Janet's passion and dedication to all of the patients that come through her clinics is unmatched, and even as Specialty/WH Clinic Manager, she never fully steps out of her nursing role. I often wonder how someone can juggle so much and still keep such a wonderful balance of professionalism and light-heartedness. We are so lucky to have her as a part of our facility.

***

I can't imagine someone more deserving of this award than she is! She is always on the floor doing patient care and supporting her staff. You would not know she has such an administrative burden of a manager. I have yet to see a nurse leader support her department in such a dovetail, and happily. In this, she is more "patient first" than I have seen a nurse in a long time and offloads the burden of her staff by being forever present. She is always pleasant, supportive, positive, and ready to help. She is the definition of doing the right thing every time. I believe she is one of those rare people who is her best self when no one is looking. I have never heard her complain, grumble, or even hint at daily frustrations she must meet. Mammoth Hospital would be hard-pressed to find a nurse so true to being patient-centric and hospital first in the same breath.

***

Janet has been an amazing nurse manager. I’ve been working in the women’s clinic for 1 ½ years now. As the department has evolved. I’ve seen her tackle some very challenging circumstances. Our clinic has been chronically understaffed at times she has been the only RN assisting us. She juggles her managerial responsibilities, as challenging as that is. She is always available to assist the clinicians. She has an excellent rapport with the whole staff.

***

I can only say she saved me. I have never seen a nurse so committed to her work and her generosity as a human being and as a human being inspires.

***

The expectations set for our nurse leadership are incredibly difficult to meet. Not only are they responsible for the operational demands of the job they set the tone for the workplace mentally and morale. If you have ever frequented the specialty clinic you would never know Janet is the manager. She is always on the floor remaining patient-centered and supporting her staff. Somehow, she manages to keep all the behind-the-scenes responsibilities of a manager completed as well. Janet has taken on this burden admirably while maintaining the invaluable skill set of a Nurse. I was reminded of a recent patient story for a Cardiology patient which is only one of many to describe the standards Janet keeps for herself. The patient needed a pressing procedure. Janet spent hours working on just authorizing the procedure, then communicating the urgency to the patient and all staff involved and scheduling. We have been short-staffed in the Specialty clinic for some time. Janet has spent countless hours signally filling this gap; calling patients to remind them about their upcoming Specialty appointments, putting in Physician Orders, and maintaining staff and schedules. Janet has the can-do mentality that you cannot teach. You don’t have to ask her or explain “being patient-centered”, she is a natural servant to others, she is hospital and community-centered always. No one in my experience is a better example of what a nurse should look like and think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who did not agree.