May 2024
Jennifer
Warren
,
RN
Green Clinic
University of Georgia Health Center
Athens
,
GA
United States
Her concern was always genuine--delivered in a quiet, concerned manner, always with a smile and those comforting words.
There are countless, small, consistent things that Jennifer Warren brings to her work every single day that inspire everyone around her, but I want to reference one very huge thing that best characterizes how she approaches caring for her patients. We work in a very busy college health center, seeing a diverse and ever-changing population of younger, mostly healthy patients--who still present with myriad needs. A young international student began dropping into Green Clinic early Fall semester--initially his complaints were of difficulty sleeping, then some anxiety. Later, these would encompass a multitude of inconsistent symptoms. The team worked diligently to address his medical needs, but still he came. Often, he would just need to talk, and the person who addressed these needs every time was Jennifer. When it was clear that mental health needs were a primary concern, it would be Jennifer who would walk him over to see if there were available counseling clinicians. When he missed appointments after appearing particularly fragile, it was Jennifer who initiated safety checks, who called his family to establish his whereabouts. Whether it was making sure that he at least tried to take his medication regularly through kind and patient explanation, helping navigate the bus route app on his phone (which was quite overwhelming to a person from a small, remote African community), or staying late after work on multiple occasions to address concerns with his care team, she never wavered and remained faithfully committed to providing some of the kindest, most compassionate care I have witnessed during my career. Her concern was always genuine--delivered in a quiet, concerned manner, always with a smile and those comforting words. She did this while continuing to provide excellent care to every patient she encountered in (and out of) Green Clinic, as well as her extra volunteer assignments and duties. She exemplifies absolutely and completely the mission of assuring the well-being and health of our students to allow for academic success and I could not be prouder to be her colleague.